Filled with excited anticipation of a hot shower, clean laundry and a solid meal, Krysta Norwick trudged into Tofino under a deluge of rain.
The appeal of the usually mundane elevated after hiking hundreds of kilometres – the length of Vancouver Island – eventually gave way to awe of what she and her husband Brian had accomplished.
“It is really cool that we walked here from Victoria,” Norwick remembers thinking.
One cool May morning after breakfast at home, the backpack-wearing couple locked the door of their downtown apartment and headed out on their second long distance hike of the month.
The couple previously warmed up with the Sunshine Coast Trail.
With several long distance hikes under her belt, starting from home was a first for Norwick.
“The first step we took of the hike was the first step out of our apartment, it was so cool,” she says. “That was so thrilling because the other hikes I’ve done I had to travel quite a distance to get to the start of the trail.”
Norwick is an avid through hiker – which means tackling an established long distance trail end-to-end in one take.
Her first was the Great Divide Trail just a few years ago. Since then she’s added the Croatian Long Distance Trail and Pacific Crest Trail before this spring’s adventure checked the West Coast and Juan de Fuca trails off her list.
“I just fell in love with long distance hiking and I’ve been trying to do at least one long hike every year since,” she says. “I really enjoy that a through hike changes as you go.”
The entire route holds fond memories – from the first few urban days in cafés, through to a stop at Stoked Pizzeria in Shirley (population 650 including Jordan River) before the “rugged and beautiful” trails through beaches and rainforest along the west coast.
The whale sightings while walking the waterfront and backcountry are the highlights for Norwick, plus the float plane flight they ponied up for to get from Bamfield to Ucluelet.
“I had never seen the Broken Group Islands before so I was so excited to see that from above,” she says. “It almost looks tropical from above.”
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The trek to Tofino took 15 days and Norwick shared the ups and downs with her followers online.
“I love documenting my hikes. I think it’s fun to be able to share the story and the beautiful nature with people so they can almost hike with me,” Norwick says. “It seems like a lot of people were interested and love to see these areas.”
“There are lots of people who maybe can’t do it or maybe they’re far away. Getting to experience it and share – especially share the beauty of Vancouver Island – is really meaningful to me.”
Find her adventure @krystanorwick on Instagram. There will be more.
Raised in Campbell River, the west coast trails were on her bucket list, but a handful remain including long hikes in New Zealand and Nepal.
“I have a lot on my list.”
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