Take the Long Way Home
In the B.C. Vacation Guide, the Sooke Region is touted as having coastal rainforests, rugged coastlines, spectacular ocean views and southern Vancouver Island's most pristine beaches-you can get a real taste of west coast wilderness here.
It stretches up the west coast of Vancouver Island from East Sooke Park, renowned for its hiking trails, to the scenic little village of Port Renfrew with its spectacular shorelines most accessible at Botanical Beach.
Port Renfrew is also the trail head for serious hikers who have a choice between the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail that hugs the coast in a southerly direction as far as Loss Creek Provincial Park, or hiking north on the famous West Coast Trail that follows the rugged shore line for a five to six day hike to Bamfield. From there one can return to civilization by taking the MS Lady Rose to Port Alberni.
The region's main town of Sooke, located about an hour's drive north-west along Highway 12 from Victoria, is known for its warm hospitality, natural attractions and outdoor activities, including ocean kayaking, hiking and cycling.
Sooke is best known as a world class fishing destination with plenty to offer anglers.
On Monday, May 8, 2006, Barbara and her supervisor drove to Sooke, not for the scenery, hiking nor fishing. It was a business trip on behalf of the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) and its purpose was to work with a client located in Sooke.
The only office of the CNIB with an "O & M Instructor" (Orientation and Mobility) is located in Victoria and a large part of the region is served from here. So there are occasions when distances have to be traveled to reach a client, as it was on this day.
With their work completed around 14:30 it was time to head home, a lovely one hour drive along Highway 14.
Shortly before hitting the road for the drive home, an overheard phone conversation contained news that did not bode well for a rapid return to Victoria.
It was words to the effect-"we won't be home for a few hours because the bridge is out".
"The bridge is out!" are words that any motorist pays attention to, especially if you are in Sooke and the Sooke River, located just south of here, lies between Sooke and Victoria--so much for the one hour scenic drive back to Victoria.
This is not Prince Edward Island with its rolling hills and network of rural roads which could by-pass any potential bridge problems. I mention Prince Edward Island because when Barbara selected her three choices as to where to complete her three-month practicum, it was Vancouver, Victoria and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
This is Vancouver Island and if you look at the map, there is one thing that strikes you, and that is the same thing that strikes you when you look at the map of the rest of British Columbia-there are very few roads. The reason, of course, is the rugged, mountainous terrain making road building very difficult and expensive.
So if you find yourself in Sooke and you can't take Highway 14 south-east, you don't have very many options. It seems there is only one way out and that is to drive another hour north-west to Port Renfrew on paved road. From that point, there is a "Restricted Road"-meaning, a lumber road to Youbou on Lake Cowichan - not a good omen. From there, it is back on paved road to Duncan on the east coast of Vancouver Island and then south on the Trans Canada Highway, the No.1 to Victoria.
So in essence, it means driving up the west coast, across the interior on a lumber road and then back down to Victoria - an estimated trip of 4 hours.
The positive aspects are that you don't have to sit around waiting and, of course, you get to see some pretty impressive scenery, including the Lake Cowichan region.
Before long, the problem was the topic of general conversation and the story grew in leaps and bounds. The bottom line, however, was that the only bridge leading out of town towards Victoria had been incapacitated by a major accident involving a flat bed truck. In the final analysis, the road would be closed for a minimum of seven hours, before traffic could flow safely again-at least that was the news on the radio.
--see Photo 1
With this type of prognosis, does one wait or take the long way home--but then there is the restricted lumber road?
Any apprehension, however, was overcome by joining another driver who was familiar with the route and who had also decided not to sit and wait for the final outcome. And so it was that at 17:20 the van was turned towards Port Renfrew "to take the long way home" and four hours later to the relief of everyone (that would be me), Barbara arrived home having seen a lot of the scenery that I spoke of at the beginning. Well, I guess that's one way to get to know more of the island.
