With fire sirens blaring and pints raised, the good folks of Gold River and Tahsis made everyone feel welcome.
Last month, a friend and I went in the 21st annual Great Walk on Vancouver Island. Why we decided to try a 64 kilometre (40-mile) walk of the hilly, gravel road between Gold River and Tahsis I don't know. Perhaps it was the exotic location. Perhaps it was the physical challenge, if not a rite of manhood for two guys in their 50s. In any case, we went; it hurt; and we made it.
The Great Walk begins in the darkness at 4 a.m. where the pavement ends on the only road to Tahsis. As 600 walker s climbed the first pass (490 metres vertical), the darkness turned to shadow, then to haze and finally, after four hours, we were rewarded with warming sunlight and the depth and sharpness of colour that only a sunny day in the rainforest can deliver.
We were on a road that every other day of the year thunders with logging trucks, raising thick clouds of dust and terrorizing anyone going the other way. Over the route, there is virtually no sign of human existence, other than the road and the clearcuts in varying phases of secondary growth.
The monotony of the trudge was broken by townspeople who drove past, slowly to keep the dust down, offering to transport our backpacks to the next rest stop, offering water, thumbs-up and "way-to-go" words of encouragement. The rest stops came to be keenly anticipated for their cheerful locals, talc for the feet, bins of home-made sandwiches, volunteer doctors and volunteer foot masseuses. Kids, adults - everybody chipped in to a supply operation spread over 60 km which is extremely complex. How did that portable toilet get out there anyway?
Apparently the first finisher took six hours. We took 13 1/2, and many others were behind us. Driving along the road, horns beeping, teenagers hanging out the windows, pickups with four in the box, a Volkswagen with loudspeaker playing Sousa - everybody was enjoying a sunny Saturday in June.
A half-kilometre from the finish line, people sat on the grass pounding frying pans with spoons. Further along, the pubsters (we would soon join them) sat outside with their pints and applauded. Then the fire truck fell in behind us and, siren blaring, accompanied us to the finish line where a crowd, that had been there for up to eight hours, cheered us across.
Walking 64 km can be painful and requires determination, but is not a huge athletic feat. We realized this when a woman, we thought likely in her mid-70s weighing in at probably 100 pounds, matched us stride for stride until the 58th kilometre when she took a ride, only because her back was sore. She was an unforgettable inspiration, but so much for the rite of manhood.
Yet, in the end, we knew it was a day well spent. It was refreshing for me, a Vancouverite, to spend a day with such friendly and encouraging people, obviously bound together by a strong sense of community. I would like to congratulate them and thank them for a great walk.
Larry Blain is vice-president and director of investment banking for RBC Dominion Securities.
Courtesy of The Vancouver Sun
Return to Home Page