Juan de Fuca Marine Trail - June 2009
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Day 3 - Bear Beach to Chin Beach
June 10/09 (Wednesday)
Awake again before 7am, it was another beautiful morning on the trail. The sun was glinting off of the waves in the distance, and a fine coastal mist was in the air. Packing everything up after our breakfast of dark rye bread and blackberry jam, we were on the trail just past 8am. Victoria Guy had already left.
Today we'd encounter our first real mud sections, and despite the constant ups and downs of this part of the trail, we'd be keeping to our 20 minute per kilometer pace without straining ourselves.
After our Clif Bar lunch, the sun began beating down pretty hard. Fortunately our direct exposure to the sun was limited, just on some of the uphill's after dipping down and crossing the streams. Around the 18 kilometer mark I started feeling exhausted, not sure why. I had felt pretty good earlier in the day, mentally commenting that by this time in 2006 we were drenched in sweat, and every step was a struggle, amazing how well we're doing this time! We caught up to and passed Victoria Guy around here, but my sudden lack of energy (even after a landjaeger) allowed him to re-pass us.
Weak as I felt, Kathy was strong throughout the whole trek today, and her encouragement got us to the Chin emergency shelter at half past 12. Another blazingly fast day! We even had time to stop and look inside, it'd be pretty amazing if you had nowhere to camp that night and could bunk up here. Rough as it was inside, it had a certain rustic charm, and a solarium on one side ensured it was warm.
We headed down to Chin Beach and dropped our packs off around halfway across. Our last time here the beach was pretty full, the actual sites had all been taken, and we had camped behind a wall of driftwood right on the beach. The waves are much harder here than at Bear Beach due to being more exposed, and so the waves become very loud at night. Something we'd want to avoid, if possible. We found our spot just past the small river that exits onto the beach, tucked into the trees. Someone had constructed a wind break from driftwood here, protecting a fire pit on the beach, and the site itself was soft and sheltered. The downside was its proximity to the sole outhouse, but at least we were close to the bear lockers and fresh water from the creek.
After setting up the tent, I was feeling a bit more energetic, so we took a walk down the beach again. We had plenty of time to kill! Unfortunately, I did not bring my hat. Sitting on the beach, shoes and socks off, digging my feet into the sand, I felt my cares drop away. This was awesome...but gee, my head is a bit hot. Oh well, Kathy's in the water up to her knees now and I've been convinced this is a good thing too, in I go! Ocean water is ridiculous cold, and my tolerance is much less than hers, so out I went pretty quick after that. Random Chin Beach shots to follow:
My head is still hot, maybe I should put a hat on...oh, too late. Major sunburn! My nose and forehead are now beat red. Let this be a lesson: on the ocean, wear a hat!
A few more hours of sitting on the beach, or behind our wind blocking driftwood, staring out into the gleaming and choppy waters of the Juan de Fuca Straight. Very relaxing, no thinking of work or tasks that needed doing, just relaxing. Dinner time was approaching though, and tonight's meal was Turkey Tetrazini. This was by far the best meal, it was practically like home cooking. The turkey was tender, the noodles were exciting and saturated in a cheese sauce. Amazing!
We sat for a while after dinner, and I sneakily once again fetched the ring from my pack. This would be it! No one would hike through our site, surely! On bended knee, I asked for Kathy's hand in marriage, June 10th at 7pm. She happily agreed, thankfully, or else this would be a very awkward trip! Obligatory ring photos were taken and a tentative date is set for our wedding, one year hence!
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