VICTORIA TRAIL TREKKERS

IS IT A WALK IN SPAIN? NO. ITS THE TCT IN BC

DISCOVERING MORE ABOUT CANADA DURING THE GREAT CANADIAN HIKE

TCT AND KETTLE VALLEY RAILWAY-STRENGTH IN COLLABORATION

15 DAYS AND ALMOST ACROSS SASKATCHEWAN!

FABULOUS FALL RIDE

Written by  By Victoria Trail Trekkers Team Member – Cheryl Harper

What a glorious late summer (still holding on that it’s summer) early fall ride.   Sunny day with just a hint of a breeze and open trails all the way from my home to the downtown inner core. So lucky to have the trail accessible for completing my everyday chores while enjoying time out in nature.

GET TO KNOW OUR TEAM MATE: CHARLES ANDRE

Charles’ 40 year career as a stunt man and stunt actor has taken him through many twists and turns in life. From early days working with Johnny Depp in Vancouver to jumping off buildings, fight scenes with Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro (just to name a few), his body has taken some hard hits. He is now teaching, stunt coordinating, and writing his book. You can find out more about Charles on his website: fasttraxfilmcorp.ca.

He can no longer do stunts but enjoys his daily walk on the Trans Canada Trail.

VICTORIA TRAIL TREKKERS TRAIL TIPS - MENTAL TOUGHNESS

Distance walks need physical fitness—we all know that! But the other thing they need is mental toughness. This is something you can also train for. We’ve walked across England. We’ve walked across Scotland. Both were beautiful and gave us a new sense of freedom. Then we walked the length of Wales. This tested us more than any other walk. Soaking feet day after day; mud mixed with cow patties—easily mid-calf deep; rain and wind that whips your voice away; blisters that tear the flesh off your heels… all this and more! No level of fitness prepares you for these trail challenges. But if you train by: walking in all weather conditions; walk when you are already exhausted; walk when you really don’t feel like it… this effort will pay off, as you will be able to emotionally and psychologically handle the difficult days. Or, at least, they won’t seem as bad.

ALREADY HALFWAY ACROSS ALBERTA!

We’ve cleared the majestic Rocky Mountains, walked through the crystal rivers and creeks of Alberta’s beautiful Foothills, and have headed north to Edmonton. The trail splits here. We could head farther north and aim for the Arctic Ocean, which might be a fun idea, as the TCT is from coast to coast to coast! That said, one of our walkers said, “but it would be such a feather in our cap to make it all the way across Canada.” Well yes, it would indeed. Let’s try it! Either way, we’ve already far exceeded both our goals. Thank you Victoria Trail Trekkers! You’re the best! Keep on trekking!

VICTORIA TRAIL TREKKERS TRAIL TIPS

We’re over 100 kms into Alberta! Way to go Team! The TCT takes us north up through Banff and into Canmore. The mountains are spectacular here and anyone visiting Canada should definitely visit Canmore! But what about snacks and trail food? I love it when people share their hiking tips, so here are a couple of my own.

Made in the Cowichan Valley at Fat Chili Farm, WEST COAST KITCHEN has excellent freeze-dried meals. They are delicious epicurean delights. No, this is not your typical sawdust with seasoning, not at all. The chillies and veggies are grown on the farm itself. The Persian flavours are superb! Shani and his team take trail food to a whole other level! Here’s the link: https://www.westcoastkitchen.ca/

 Then there are snacks! ISLAND JERKY made in Sidney, BC creates perfect pack sized snacks for the trail! Tender beyond belief, you can get a variety of jerkies, charcuterie, or succulent tidbits of jerky, which is my favourite. Here’s the link: https://islandjerkysidney.com/

None of the items I’m promoting are paid benefit type-things, I’m just sharing what we love when we’re on the trail. I hope you enjoy them as well.

STANDING ON THE BORDER

I can see it. We’re actually there. Nancy has logged over100 kms but there is some kind of technical glitch and her kms are not showing on the team page! So for tonight I’ll stand on the border of British Columbia and Alberta and wave. We’ll officially step into Alberta tomorrow… but we all know we’ve met our goal tonight!

Nine days in and we’ve done it!  Congratulations amazing Trail Trekkers! Let’s see how far across Canada we can get in the next 21 days!

TCT SWAG—NOT MUCH, BUT IT IS EXCELLENT!

I’m a gear junky. I admit it. I think when distance walking, hiking, camping—going on any adventure—if you’ve got the right gear it makes all the difference. I also like a pin or a sew-on patch for my pack saying I’ve completed a trail. It’s a memento, a little reward. In the UK the National Trails have both online and physical shops selling swag to promote their trails.

I’ve looked for Trans Canada Trail swag in Tourist Information Centres across BC—nothing! No sew-on patches for your packs. No t-shirts. No maps! Except in the Kettle Valley. They have maps. Excellent maps. But they only say Kettle Valley Rail Trail and the folks behind the counters across our fine province have barely heard of the TCT if at all. Again, Kettle Valley definitely knew the most. All the more reason we need to increase awareness of the TCT in BC.

 But what about that swag? I found the only thing available that I could buy to boast about—I mean, promote—the Trans Canada Trail, were socks. Well, when I found out they were 100% made in Canada by The Great Canadian Sock Company, I ordered two pairs. The are 75% merino, 20% nylon, 5% lycra. They are fantastic! So I ordered 5 more pairs. I highly recommend them! The Great Canadian Sock Company donates 20% of the proceeds from every pair of socks sold to help support the Trans Canada Trail. Now, that is an arrangement I’d love to see with more Canadian companies.

SOMETIMES WE'RE JUST CLOCKING THE KILOMETRES

As much as I’d like to be on the TCT every day, some days we just can’t get there. The beautiful thing about Vancouver Island is that we have many parks and so much beauty. Today, we just needed to get walking and clock the kilometres and see how far “across British Columbia” we could get. Keep on Trekking Victoria Trail Trekkers! We’ve almost reached our distance goal! We’re almost “across British Columbia!”

GET TO KNOW OUR TEAM MATE: SEBASTIAN CORBY

It’s usually when I’m sipping my morning coffee I see Seb’s email. “I just did 10 kms this morning.” He’s already been up and out. Four days into the Great Canadian Hike he emails me, “I have done 74.51 KM of distance on the Batec Scrambler 2. This adapter fits onto his wheelchair turning it into an e-bike of sorts. Seb heads off to the trails near Royal Roads each morning. Before his accident Seb was an exceptional skateboarder. At a young age he was doing technical jumps and moves with some of the top skateboarders in Hainan, China. He has just started creating a clothing line with his designs inspired by the early skateboard culture. Check out ancient-wear.ca Seb and his incredible network have been a great help to me as I learn more and more about making the Trans Canada Trail accessible. Keep rolling Seb, you’re an inspiration!

SOOKE HILLS WILDERNESS AREA: WOLF MOUNTAIN

Today was the perfect autumnal day for exploring our next section of the TCT. Bill, Matt, Taeho and I headed off from Westhills Park. Matt was going to show us where the elusive TCT was actually located. Turns out there were two critical intersections that did not have TCT signs and that was how Joy and I missed the trail on Wednesday. However, once into Sooke Hills Wilderness area the signage for the TCT is super. As you pass Humpback Road reservoir the trail is in excellent condition. A look out at Waugh Creek enables perfect views of the waterfall in season. The suspension bridge over Niagara Creek is a destination for hikers with young families. The forest is a tapestry of green made up of Douglas fir, cedar, broadleaf maple, spruce, hemlock, and alder. Arbutus greet you as you start to climb up the slopes of Wolf Mountain. I was thrilled to discover the TCT has found a beautiful route away from the highway, which was its earlier iteration in 2008. The climb is steady yet as you reach this side of the unmarked summit, Wolf Mountain does not offer great vistas to the west, but instead enables hikers to have a little taste of being immersed in Vancouver Island’s wilderness. Deep dark pockets of forest provide cool from the early autumn sun. Just past the summit there is a bike rack and a pit toilet immediately to the west of the trail. This is a beautiful and accessible section of the trail.

ROBINSON’S OUTDOOR STORE – QUIETLY ENABLING ACCESSIBILITY

Robinson’s is a family business that has been in Victoria for nearly 100 years. Yes, their service is exceptional, as is their selection of outdoor clothing and gear. But what I didn’t know, when I asked owner Erin Boggs to sponsor our team, was what they had been quietly doing for over 10 years. Erin explained that they are asked for donations and sponsorships multiple times a day. But when I mentioned our fundraising efforts were to go toward trail maintenance and making the TCT more accessible, Erin became very interested. She told me about Power to Be and that they have given donations and helped get individuals outdoors for over 10 years. She then handed me $300 and said, “Trail accessibility is so important! Go for it!”

Power to Be… In an earlier blog post I mentioned my remarkable visit with Jasmine, but in this post I wanted to highlight Robinson’s as they have provided equipment to help Power to Be get people outdoors. A “Mini Robinson’s Outdoor Store” quietly exists behind the scenes, helping our community experience the outdoors. Thank you Erin, Matt and Gail, for helping ensure everyone can open the healing gift that Nature offers.

FIRST DISTANCE GOAL MET: VANCOUVER ISLAND AND BEYOND!

Our first distance goal was for our team to “walk” the length of the TCT on Vancouver Island. That’s 215 kms. Together we’ve done it and beyond! As of time of writing we have clocked 423 kms and have the most distance logged by any team in Canada! It’s only Day 3 and you all have done amazing! Thank you so much! Keep up the great work Trail Trekkers! We’re heading across BC at a fabulous Gallop! We’ve made it to Chilliwack! Let’s see how far we get! Go Team GO!

TRAIL ANGELS

You hear about them, but you wonder these days, do they exist? Today my friend and I were determined to see if we could follow the TCT past the Langford Lake Section.

But first, let’s pick up where we left off… Yesterday we left off at the Selkirk Trestle. The route through Colwood is straightforward. Bill and I have walked it before. Its not the most beautiful path to walk, but is great to cycle.

The Bruce Obee map (2008) shows the TCT following the highway along the north side of Langford Lake and up the Malahat. The older version, created by Mussio Ventures & Trails BC (a 2001 edition I found in a thrift store which started my first awareness and passion for the TCT) shows a possible future route past Langford Lake through to Goldstream park. This would keep us off Highway 1. We were keen to find it.

There has been so much recent housing development that the TCT signage seems to stop at this point. After multiple starts and stops and backtracking we noticed a young man on his bike with loaded panniers. We were tired of false attempts and wanted to get some distance between us and the busy roads. We flagged the fellow down and asked him if he knew where the TCT was. He and his brother were from Denver and were biking part of the Vancouver Island TCT. They were heading to Whistler, so crossing over at Nanaimo. He waved his brother (the navigator) down and they spent a long time trying to find the TCT and then telling us which direction we should go.  Lovely. Perfect timing. Off we went.  Strange. We still felt our direction was wrong so we turned back around one last time.  As we were trudging back up the hill we saw him. “Thank goodness I found you!” he said cheerfully. “I’m so sorry, I sent you in the wrong direction. It’s this way.” We weren’t soaked to the skin or out of food. We weren’t in a life-threatening situation. We just wanted to find the trail and were tired of searching. The fact that he came back, actually concerned about us, setting us on the right path, felt like a blessing. This afternoon we felt a little bit of that kindness known as “Trail Magic”. It reinforced, early in this adventure we call The Great Canadian Hike, that hikers can still have that beautiful way about them—a way of caring for complete strangers. Yes, it was a little trail magic from two young guys from Denver. They were our trail angels today.

TRANS CANADA TRAIL MILE ‘0’ – VICTORIA, BC WEST TO EAST

The Great Canadian Hike 2026 has begun! Our team, The Victoria Trail Trekkers, will highlight BC's TCT. Some elements we post we will have walked before, others will be new to us. But we're excited to share our beautiful province via the TCT. Using Bruce Obee’s Official Guide of the Trans Canada Trail for British Columbia our trail adventure begins at Mile ‘0’, on Victoria’s picturesque waterfront, overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Map and images show highlights at dusk along the first leg of the journey. The Dallas Road walk along the waterfront is beautiful, but we could not find any signage indicating the TCT. Fisherman’s wharf has changed a lot over the years and is now a vibrant buzz of tourists. Locals know that Barb’s Fish n Chips is still the best after decades in the same location. The map leads us along the inner harbour, which is beautiful. Over the Johnson Street Bridge and heading north alongside Selkirk waterway there is still no signage until you arrive at the south end of the Selkirk Trestle. Here there is a TCT Kiosk. Here actually feels like the trail is celebrated.

This entire stretch of the trail has excellent cycle paths and is accessible for walkers, rollers, cyclist and paddlers. Enjoy!

FUNDRAISING GOAL EXCEEDED! CONGRATULATIONS TEAM!

COMMUNITY SUPPORT ENCOURAGES OUR TEAM!

CONNECTIONS BUILD AWARENESS AND MOMENTUM

WALKING THE LENGTH OF BC'S TCT!

The Trans Canada Trail is not just a trail. It's a 30,000-kilometre network that connects people and communities from coast to coast to coast.

We are excited to join the Great Canadian Hike, a nationwide challenge to hike, bike, paddle or roll in support of the Trail. OUR TEAM wants to log 1750 kms, which is the length of the TCT in BC. We want to bring awareness to this great trail in BC as it seems so many folks don't even know it exits. 

From September 1 to 30, we’ll be logging our kilometres, contributing to the national goal of 100,000 kilometres in 30 days, while raising funds to help keep the Trail accessible, safe, and thriving — for everyone, now and for future generations.

PLEASE  sign up to participate, donate to our team, or share our campaign with your network to help spread the word.

Let’s be part of something great — together.