Mount Erskine

We awoke early Wednesday morning after a very restful night’s sleep and with a plan to be out the door by 9:00 to hike the Mt. Erskine loop. This 3.9 km trail features a 218 metre elevation gain and several hidden fairy doors to try to locate. We couldn’t find any information about bike parking at the trailhead and, after yesterday’s traumatizing hill climbs, decided we’d walk the 6 kms to get there. It was a little cool with a fine mist in the air when we departed, but I soon found myself shedding my rainshell as the Salt Spring hills once again reminded me that I’m not eighteen anymore.

It took us the better part of 90 minutes to arrive at the trail, but we immediately set off in search of the elusive fairy doors. As soon as we set foot on the forest grounds, the ascent commenced, although at this point the trail was wide and relatively free of obstacles. As we climbed higher and higher, Brenda began wondering if we would ever find any of the fairy doors. It didn’t look good.

Onward and upward, the trail became more and more difficult and we had little time to look for fairy doors as we had to continuously watch the placement of each step. Then suddenly, on the upper side of a tree stump, there it was: fairy door number one. It isn’t a myth! After paying our respects and taking some photos, reinvigorated we continued our march to the summit. And our efforts were handsomely rewarded by the beautiful views and panoramas Mother Nature offered us.

After spending some time at the summit, we began our descent down a much steeper, but shorter trail. Our progress was slow, but we eventually made it back down to the trailhead and then hiked a further 4.4 kms to Dagwood’s Restaurant (apparently,”where the locals dine“) where we devoured a veggie burger, fries and a Blue Buck Ale.

By the time we walked back to our room, we had covered 19.85 kms and gained 612 metres in elevation. According to Strava, all that exercise burned off 1215 calories, more than enough to cover my burger and beer.Read more