Every year, Swift Campout is organized worldwide on the same weekend as my partners’ birthday. Since going as a family is not particularly feasible for a few reasons, some years I sneak off to join friends with a quick overnight camp and some years I don’t. This year I did, just joining for the first of a two-night camp on Galiano Island.
I rode the Hillborne as outfitted above, rocking a small and large Fab’s Chest along with a small HMPL frame bag that carried my tool kit. My sleeping kit fills out the large bag out back, while the front carries my clothing, food, and kitchen items.
I hitched a ride with my pal Morgan out to the ferry, making for a minimal mileage trip to the campsite. The campsite was Montague Harbour, which is hard to beat for natural beauty. The group site isn’t particularly noteworthy, but a short trip to the beach delivers the full gulf island experience.
After enjoy the sunset, followed by a couple glasses of IPA at the group site, I got an appropriately iffy night sleep. The following morning was my partner Aimée’s birthday and I wanted to be home to join her at an outdoor movie being played by friends that evening. Thinking back, it’s kind of surreal to have been where I was, explore all I did, and make it home to see my sweetie in time to watch a movie together. It speaks to the power of the bicycle.
I left camp mid morning, not particularly early, because the ferry wasn’t until the late afternoon. Given the extra time on my hands, I decided to investigate something I saw on maps about a Japanese charcoal kiln.
If it weren’t for the clear signage at the beginning, I would have quickly turned back due to the fact the trail was nearly non-existent. Keep in mind, I was pushing my fully loaded bike with me through the brush. To my relief, the trail did open up and I found myself at the site of the kilns. Japanese immigrants landed on Galiano, as well as Steveston, in the late 1800s and brought with them knowledge of of charcoal making, which they practiced at this site to the benefit of the local economy.
From the pit site, I made the ill-advised choice to follow the trail up to the bluffs. While it was only a 300m long trail, which is how I convinced myself to do it, it was a steep hiking trail that was foolish to drag a fully laden touring bike up. Nonetheless I eventually made it, and the views all but justified my effort.
From the bluffs, I worked my way down dirt roads and back to town to meet up with friends at the weekly farmers’ market, where I enjoyed a hotdog and basked in the sun. From there I made my way towards the ferry, still very early – had I planned better I would have realized I could have easily caught the earlier ferry, so instead I spent the better part of three hours relaxing in a park just down the road from the ferry terminal.
Once on the other side, I had about 60 kilometres to get home to my sweetie, the first half being on gravel paths as shown above. It was a beautiful day, not too hot, but hours of continuous sun did take a toll on me.
It started to get dark as I neared the city, and I rolled into the movie shortly after it had begun. Above is a photo from 10pm, just having gotten situated with a beer in hand that I’d purchased at a brewery about 15 km from home. The SON tail light’s stand light still going strong.
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