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| Engor
Intermediate Member
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Calgary
838 Posts |
Posted - 05/23/2007 : 5:29 PM
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Having arrived in Vancouver from Edmonton for 3 days I decided to spend a day in Victoria hiking East Sooke Coast Trail on Friday, May 18.
I took bus #61 (Sooke), then hitchhiked to Aylard Farm. On the way back I took Coppermine Trail to East Sooke, then hitchhiked back to bus#61. Map of this park: http://www.crd.bc.ca/parks/documents/east_sooke_web_map.pdf
Hitchhiking was very easy. Despite those roads see little traffic I didn't wait for more than 10-15 minutes to get a ride. That's a good news for solo travellers or parties that don't have 2 cars.
The trail itself is quite challenging - ups and downs, ups and downs on rocks and outcroppings. Part of it is quite steep blurring the distinction between hiking and scrambling. But the views were rewarding, especially between Beechey Head and Cabin Point, which also was the most challenging section.
  Beechey Head  
  Nearing Cabin Point 
 Cabin Point 
 Another Viewpoint  Nearing Iron Mine Bay
 Impressive Arbutus 
 Treaty of 1908 confirmed that all Vancouver island belongs to Canada, despite a part of it is below 49 parallel. |
Edited by - Engor on 05/23/2007 6:42 PM
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
2660 Posts |
Posted - 05/23/2007 : 6:12 PM
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Good for you! I hear there is also a community shuttle now that goes part way to East Sooke Park, but not close enough to do the loop end to end.
That section between Beechey Head and Cabin Point is very nice indeed. |
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| Engor
Intermediate Member
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Calgary
838 Posts |
Posted - 05/23/2007 : 6:27 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by hike_in_van
Good for you! I hear there is also a community shuttle now that goes part way to East Sooke Park, but not close enough to do the loop end to end.
Yes, there is a community shuttle # 66. It connects Sooke with the town of East Sooke, which is still not close enough to the both ends of the trail. This bus also doesn't run very often so I found hitch-hiking much easier way to get to the trail. |
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Peak bagging, bushwhacking, zamboni driving, snowshoeing, self portrait artist, and speed demon who loves to hang out on Mt. Seymour
3996 Posts |
Posted - 05/23/2007 : 9:50 PM
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| Nice trip. I remember seeing lots of bull kelp at Iron Mine Bay. |
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bandana wearin', pole huckin', view lovin', dog herdin', 4x4 navigatin', lake huntin', butt-slidin' bridge crosser, who enjoys postholing with an overnighter pack
Surrey, BC
Canada
4647 Posts |
Posted - 05/23/2007 : 10:03 PM
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Hey, thanks for posting. That Coast trail looks interesting indeed  . Might have to pay Sooke a visit one of these days. |
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Popkum, BC
Canada
5887 Posts |
Posted - 05/23/2007 : 10:05 PM
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| Great pictures, looks like a great place. |
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Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
13453 Posts |
Posted - 05/23/2007 : 11:35 PM
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Looks like a very pleasant area worth exploring. Love those shots of the Arbutus and Gary Oak.
Well done !
Regards, |
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| Engor
Intermediate Member
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Calgary
838 Posts |
Posted - 05/24/2007 : 11:13 AM
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| Thanks guys! Coast Trail is a nice place to visit, but I recommend doing it when it's dry. Many parts of the trail are quite steep requiring hopping on outcroppings of rocks and would present a real challenge if wet. |
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Calgary, AB
Canada
43 Posts |
Posted - 05/24/2007 : 11:45 AM
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| This gives me an idea for my visit to Van Island. Thanks. Nice TR |
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Maple Ridge, BC
Canada
773 Posts |
Posted - 05/24/2007 : 11:53 AM
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Headed to the Island on business this Sunday/Monday - will have to check this out
Thanks for the tip... |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
159 Posts |
Posted - 05/24/2007 : 12:45 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Engor
Impressive Arbutus
There are some really nice Arbutus trees in the park on Creyke Point, certainly the largest I've ever seen. (Electronic equivalent of rummaging...) Ah here we are:
At first I thought it was an oak tree... |
Edited by - aspersa on 05/24/2007 12:50 PM |
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| Engor
Intermediate Member
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Calgary
838 Posts |
Posted - 05/24/2007 : 5:02 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by aspersa
There are some really nice Arbutus trees in the park on Creyke Point, certainly the largest I've ever seen. (Electronic equivalent of rummaging...) Ah here we are:
At first I thought it was an oak tree...
Yes, it looks to me like an oak tree 
I don't remember seeing Arbutus trees on Creyke Point. I guess it's just because I'm not good enough at tree identification |
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 Big pack hiker who sleeps with bears in tent and falls on slippery logs
Langley, BC
Canada
7647 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2009 : 06:52 AM
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| Cool seeing this report. I was really curious what this trail looked like when I was there earlier this week. How long did it take to hike? The sign says 7hrs, but I figured that is over exaggerated. I found myself wondering if it could be done in a one day loop using the interior trail on return. Has anyone done it that way or is hitching back to the other TH the way to go? |
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Too close to the city, BC
Canada
784 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2009 : 08:10 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by LongShadow
Cool seeing this report. I was really curious what this trail looked like when I was there earlier this week. How long did it take to hike? The sign says 7hrs, but I figured that is over exaggerated. I found myself wondering if it could be done in a one day loop using the interior trail on return. Has anyone done it that way or is hitching back to the other TH the way to go?
I've done the whole coast trail from Aylard to Iron Mine Bay, then up Anderson and across the Interior trail back to Aylard in a day. That was maybe 7 hours or so. Even doing the coast trail return is about 6-7 hours for a relatively strong hiker [I know they make those signs for hikers who dawdle and have lunch and don't want to rush, but I don't always want to go slow ]
Aylard is much busier than Iron Mine. Iron Mine might be hard to hitch back from because there are few homes and few hikers on that side. The other option is to cut up Coppermine or Parkheights trails at some point - both are basically old roads. The north end of Interior is definitely rougher than the south end. A loop of the Coast and Interior trails would make a solid day of up and down and varied terrain. Once you get north of Cabin Point you won't see too many people. I really enjoyed parking at Anderson Cove and doing the Coast/Interior loop from there, or from Endurance Ridge [but there's only room for a couple of cars at that pullout]. That way I could take Coppermine or Parkheights if I wanted to make a faster loop. Regardless, the trails are well marked at junctions, even if there are no maps on the trails except at the 3 main trailheads. It's a vast improvement over the old system up there where every trail there had a letter or a number and every junction was 'B2' or 'F8' or something! Hope that helps!
http://www.eastsookepark.com/directions.htm |
Edited by - icevixen on 08/20/2009 08:13 AM |
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Big pack hiker who sleeps with bears in tent and falls on slippery logs
Langley, BC
Canada
7647 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2009 : 7:26 PM
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| Great tips icevixen! Thanks for the info!! |
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Peak bagging, bushwhacking, zamboni driving, snowshoeing, self portrait artist, and speed demon who loves to hang out on Mt. Seymour
3996 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2009 : 9:15 PM
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I did a day trip loop starting at Aylard Farm, then onto the Interior Trail and Babbington Hill and Mt. Maguire, down the Anderson Cove Trail and then back along the Coast Trail back to Creyke Point and Aylard Farm.
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747 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2009 : 12:20 AM
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| I love that park. A few times when I've been there hiking I've seen orcas while sitting there and gazing out over the ocean. Very awesome :) |
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Slo mo sno shuin' Great Wall trekkin' triathalon doin' pale ale drinkin' all Patrick, all the time, smoothie
2497 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2009 : 8:52 PM
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We did the trail last year. Left our car at one end and got a ride to the other. 6-7 hours seemed like a lot of time for a 10k hike but it did take us more than 6 hours. Lots of slow sections and we had to hunt around for the trail a time or three. But a fabulous hike, highly recommend!
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East Sooke Coast Trail, Vancouver Island
