Monday, October 16, 2017
We hiked from the campground to the Galloping Goose Trail, a rails-to-trails that runs from Victoria to Leechtown, just north of Sooke. This is 55 km, but they are building an ENN Trail in Victoria that will connect. Seeing how pretty it was, we walked back to camp and brought the bikes back up. We rode 12 miles up to Sooke and back. It goes along Lake Matheson and Roche Cove and into Sooke. It was all through a beautiful rain forest where moss grows a foot thick on trees, and ferns grow out of rocks. There were trestles across streams and great views of the lake, cove and the Straight of Juan de Fuca. Some beautiful houses sat on rocky outcrops with great views. We might have gone further, but with a prediction of rain and gathering clouds, we turned back. It didn’t seem as far going back, and it was all flat. This is a gorgeous trail with benches in scenic locations, kilometer markers and maps along the way.
We went back into Sooke to the grocery store, then Martha wanted to stop and get some beer at a liquor store. I couldn’t believe all the craft beers. How could you ever choose? It’s like buying wine now. She bought one big craft beer, Dark Lager by Tofino Brewing Company and a six pack of something else. The Dark Lager was excellent. We cooked a nice dinner of rainbow trout, rice, a nice Italian bread and leftover ratatouille.
