–submitted by Matthew Lettington
The Island Mountain Ramblers has been my home for hiking since sometime in 2011. In that time, I’ve had the joy of exploring many far-flung places. Some are tucked away on the outer edges of the coast, some high in the hills, and others are places that simply can’t be shared. Over the years, I’ve also had plenty of time to consider the club’s various hiking and climbing objectives.
I’ve answered many questions from members about who chose these objectives and why. Some choices are obvious, while others leave us scratching our heads. The reality is that access has changed considerably over the years. What once took several days of trekking to reach might now be a two-hour jaunt. A route that was once the standard approach might now take you well out of your way. Even the best routes and trails change as time marches on, whether through windfall, erosion, or other natural forces.
But there’s one objective that has taken on a bit of mystique within the club: the Cowichan River Trail.
Looking at the list of Lifetime Hiking Objectives, it’s clear that the people who originally put it together wanted members to explore some of the island’s longer hikes. These routes reach into remote corners of Vancouver Island and showcase some of its premier locations, encouraging members to discover places they might otherwise overlook. The Cowichan River Trail certainly fits the bill.
The objective is to hike from Glenora all the way to Lake Cowichan. Given the trail’s length, however, we usually tackle it in sections, which we refer to locally as the Lower and Upper Cowichan River trails.
The lower section is the more commonly hiked portion, with a lovely, well-developed route from Glenora to Skutz Falls. Depending on your plans, it can even be completed as a loop.
It’s the Upper Cowichan River Trail that causes members the most frustration. In some ways, it might even rival the challenge of getting onto the West Coast Trail.
The upper section traditionally followed what’s known as the Cowichan Fisherman’s Trail. That name still appears on signage in Lake Cowichan, including a sign dating from 2013. Unfortunately, anyone who has tried to follow the route might tell you that sign is a big, fat liar.
So, what happened to the Fisherman’s Trail? I’ll get to that in a bit. First, a little story about our hike!
This was at least my third time hiking the route. Each time, we’d stuck fairly close to the original Fisherman’s Trail. On this most recent trip, I remarked several times on how well the trail had become booted in while retaining its lovely, walk-in-the-woods character. At least until it doesn’t.
At one point, the route meets an old logging road before continuing alongside the river. Here, the pleasant woodland trail gives way to something altogether different. The route becomes completely overgrown, and our lovely walk in the woods turns into something more like a visit to the bramble store. For about a kilometre, we find ourselves pushing through moderate bushwhacking.
On our recent trip, that meant a good old-fashioned forest bath, with water pouring down through my pants and into my boots. Hemingway, being smarter than me, had kept his rain pants on. He still suffered from wet, cold feet, but at least his pants were dry.
It’s difficult to complain too much when you’re out hiking. Still, we ended up taking a very short lunch break beside the Cowichan Footpath, huddled beneath what little cover a few scraggly alders can provide. I’m sure most of us would have preferred a beautiful sunny spot overlooking the beaver ponds. But hey, at least I was hiking! But the highlight of the trip was the smile on Linda’s face as she took her last steps, marking the completion of the last Lifetime Hiking Objectives. Way to go, Linda!
So, back to my ponderings about this trail. I think I’ve finally figured out where it disappears. The answer seems pretty obvious once you stop to think about it, although it took me a few years to get there.
This brings me back to my original thoughts about how trails wander and change over time. Perhaps the Upper Cowichan River Trail hasn’t deteriorated nearly as badly as I’d assumed. Maybe the route hasn’t changed much at all. In fact, that’s the problem.
I’ve been sticking pretty closely to the original route. The trail itself has remained much the same for years. It’s the river that has had the audacity to change!.
