25 years ago, it was my first time visiting British Columbia.  It was also the time I purchased my first pair of hiking shoes. I was also pregnant with my first child Hanna.  I had never traveled passed Campbell River and I was always curious about what lied at the very Northern tip of Vancouver Island. 

Over six days, we hiked to beautiful San Josef Bay, Nissen Bay, Nels Bight, Guise Bay, The Cape Scott Lighthouse and back setting up camp each night on the sandy beach.  We watched mesmerizing sunsets in awe, slept amongst the stars, were hypnotized by the sounds of the ocean and woke up most mornings to a tent covered in dew.  The morning routine consisted of slowly waking and boiling some water for an instant coffee and some porridge, sitting on our makeshift stools made of driftwood.

There were definitely some unpleasant memorable moments.  Swarms of horseflies near Eric Lake caught between my back and my pack taking bites here and there and coping with an uneasy stomach from “the freeze dried high in sodium” dinners over a six - day period.  

As I hiked some of the most difficult terrain within the forest, I contemplated on the connection and relationships of family and friends – lost and also the connection of new family and friends – gained.

In her article, The Importance of Connection, Katie Stiles states that “Human Connection is when two or more people choose to engage in vulnerable interactions where each person is heard, seen, known and valued.” Some may navigate through life not ever knowing the empowering feeling of vulnerable interactions.

I definitely found solitude within the Cape Scott trail with its varied terrain, unpopulated beaches, wildlife, plant life, forests and sunsets – it offered me sheer rugged beauty.

After I completed the trail and celebrated a milestone birthday, I hung my hikers proudly 25 years later on the tree of hiking boots saying good bye to the trail but most importantly hoping that I can say goodbye to past family patterns and ways of conditioning.