My adventure included a 29 km hike deep into Strathcona Provincial Park, a rugged mountain wilderness of over 250,000 hectares that dominates central Vancouver Island. Created in 1911, Strathcona is the oldest provincial park in BC and the largest on Vancouver Island. The triangular shaped park practically spans the entire width of Vancouver Island, in that it borders on Herbert Inlet off Clayoquot Sound on the Pacific Coast, and extends eastwards to within 13 kilometers of the sea near Comox.

Expedition backpacking doesn’t come as naturally to me as sea kayaking, though much like sea kayaking I find that with each experience I grow in knowledge, skill and learn something to apply for next time. The ability to pump and filter one’s own water from lakes, rivers and streams at incremental locations is a must and critical for a backpacker in order to reduce the weight one has to carry. I will be purchasing a filtration system in the very near future that I can use for both backpacking and sea kayaking.

Lastly, a call out for those that use Strathcona Provincial Park to be on the lookout for any clues related to the very mysterious and tragic disappearance of Sylvia Apps almost a year ago. My thoughts go out to her family and friends.