Comedian Steven Wright once joked that “everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.”
Long-distance hiker Krysta Norwick has taken that idea to heart.
The physiotherapist and social-media content creator has hiked through the Rockies, covered all corners of Croatia and hiked from Canada to Mexico via the Pacific Crest Trail.
Her most recent adventure was a bit closer to home — in fact, it started at the door of Norwick and husband Brian’s downtown Victoria apartment, and took them all the way to Tofino. On foot.
The couple had some time off in May and were looking for a coastal hike, knowing the Island’s mountains would still be full of snow.
They had hiked the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail and West Coast Trail last year, and considered doing them again.
“And then one of us had the idea — what if we walk from our apartment all the way to the start of the Juan de Fuca trail, and then we can just link it to the West Coast Trail, and then oh, why don’t we keep going and go all the way to Tofino?” Norwick said.
“We put our backpacks on in our apartment and then the first step of the hike was the step we took out our front door.”
Although they had a few days of torrential downpours that forced them to put their heads down, don ponchos and forget the day’s plan to focus on just getting through the next kilometre, Norwick said she never felt like giving up during the 15-day journey.
“I love hiking so much. So even when it’s tough, I always feel like I’m just really grateful to be out there,” she said.
While hiking on a beach on their last day on the West Coast Trail, they heard a whistle and looked over to see two trail guardians in a cabin waving and cheering them on. The couple smiled, gave them a thumbs up and trudged on.
“Those little moments, they just help so much. I felt rejuvenated after that,” she said.
The pair hiked around 20 kilometres a day on their custom 258-kilometre route.
They started by walking to the Galloping Goose trail and connecting to Thetis Lake trails to hike over Mount Finlayson on their first day.
From there, they walked mostly on roads for a couple of days to reach Shirley, stopping at restaurants and cafés to break up the monotony of road-walking.
A rest day in Shirley allowed them to pick up a resupply package of dehydrated hiking food Norwick had prepared, as well as snacks, before they reached the Juan de Fuca trail.
They had to walk on roads a bit more in Port Renfrew, where Norwick’s family dropped off another food package, to get to the start of the West Coast Trail and then again in Bamfield, where they took a float plane to Ucluelet and picked up their final food package.
From there, their route was mostly on trails or beaches to Tofino, where they celebrated reaching their goal by doing laundry and enjoying a meal that didn’t need to be rehydrated.
Since finishing the hike, Norwick has returned to Oregon to hike some miles of the Pacific Crest Trail that she had to skip last year due to wildfires.
She’s not sure what her next adventure will be, but she hopes to complete a long-distance hike every year.
“I’ve got a lot of things on my hiking list,” she said.
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