Esquimalt to Cowichan Valley Trail: My First Mountain

 


Finlayson Arm from Malahat Drive
October 16, 2013

Refreshed from a restful night of sleep, day 2 of the journey is a beautiful, colorful fall day. Today would prove to an interesting day, as I would cross the first mountain on the Trans Canada Trail, named the Malahat Summit. Flying down the other side, I quickly achieved the Shawnigan Lake area, and eventually,  The Cowichan Valley Trail.

But first I need to tell you about the Butchart Gardens, an absolute must-see for any tourist in the Victoria vicinity,   In 1904, Robert and Jennie Butchart  moved to Vancouver Island in order to build a cement plant on a rich limestone deposit.  In 1912, after the cement production had been exhausted, Jennie began plans for a magnificent garden in the quarry.  That garden eventually became the Sunken Garden. Jennie’s grandson Ian Ross took over management of the gardens on his 21st birthday in 1939.  Under his leadership the gardens were transformed to the amazing place it is today. In addition to the Sunken Garden, now there are: the Japanese Garden, the Mediterranean Garden, the Italian Garden, and the Rose Garden.  Due to the very moderate climate on Vancouver Island, plants grow year round.  The Gardens are open year round, and a visitor will see very different sights depending upon the time of year.  For example, the Japanese Garden, which is a tourist favorite is not the grand spectacle in the autumn as it is at other times of the year.  While not exactly on the Trans Canada Trail, the Butchart Gardens are definitely worth the small side trip!

So back on the bike as the Trail beckons, if I intend to make any trail progress today. Leaving the Galloping Goose Trail, I travel through a small community called Goldstream,  navigating on city streets. After which, I have sort of a rude awakening.  The distinctive TCT signs lead me onto Trans Canada Highway 1, for my climb up the Malahat Simmit. For those not familiar with driving in Canada, the Trans Canada 1 is Canada’s main highway. Like the interstate highways of the US, Trans Canada 1 is the route that spans the country.  That’s where the truckers are traveling. Multi lanes and high speeds. Definitely very non-trail like! My guidebook had warned me, that the trail quality varies greatly from place to place. The TCT is a string of local routes that have been joined to create a continuous pathway across the country. A very meandering pathway.  And in some cases when there is no existing trail or bike route, the pathway follows the shoulder of  the only road in the area.  In mountainous areas, that  may be a road very unsuitable for cycling. [See footnote]

The Malahat Summit turns out to have an elevation of about 250 meters, so in reality not a mountain, but a large enough hill to get a cyclists attention and breathing elevated,.  Around the size of Granite Peak near Wausau, WI.  It feels like a mountain, and the elevation is high enough to get some scenic views of the Saanich Inlet off the Pacific Ocean.  After cresting the summit, the TCT turns inward on the island, It is the last of he Pacific Ocean that I will see on the trail for this year. 

So today I have climbed the first mountain and have tracked away from the ocean, not a bad result for one day.  The journey across the continent is beginning.  I end the ride today in the vicinity of the trailhead of the Cowichan Valley Rail Trail.

Distance: 31 km
Total:   52 km

Footnote: I understand that now in 2021, the Trans CanadaTrail has been moved away from the Trans Canada Highway 1 in the Malahat area.  Back in 2013, the highway and the trail were one in the same.  Plans were in place to build a new route for the trail over the Malahat Summit but had not been completed in 2013.  Please realize that the Trans Canada Trail is an  evolving route that is changing as I am riding on it. The new route removes a very dangerous stretch of the TCT in the Malahat area.

Entrance sign for Butchart Gardens

Sunken Garden

Another photo of the Sunken Garden


A fountain in one of the Butchart Gardens

The Italian Garden

Mediterranean Garden at Butchart Gardens

Finlayson Arm of Saanich Inlet

The trail runs along the Trans Canada Highway

Not my vision of the Trans Canada Trail

TCT travels through community of Goldstream

 TCT joins the Cowichan Valley Trail



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