trails Archives

Running a half marathon on the ʔapsčiik t̓ašii on Vancouver Island

A couple weeks into my marathon training, my schedule showed it was time to run a half marathon in the last weekend of February. It happened to coincide with a Vancouver Island weekend trip we were planning, so I searched for some running trails in the Ucluelet and Tofino area. To my delight, I learned that a multi-use path of 25 kilometers between the two beach towns had been opened in 2022. Challenge accepted: run a half marathon on the ʔapsčiik t̓ašii in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve!

After the Christmas holidays of 2024, I sat myself down for 2025 goal setting and decided it was time to kick off my marathon training. I crafted a 16-week schedule that put me on a regime of four runs per week, with Sunday marked as my long-run day. Having a solid plan really helped me bring back some discipline, and my progress has been steady and motivating so far. Week 6 was going to be a milestone: the half marathon.

The thing with marathon training is that at some point, you can’t just ‘go for a quick run’. The weekly long run entails setting an alarm, have a power breakfast, give the stomach about 45 minutes to process, then push out that long run, shower, and have a recovery lunch. Long story short: it takes up a whole morning. But you know what, that doesn’t mean we have to be stuck at the apartment every weekend, does it? We had been chatting about planning a weekend trip in February, and just as I completed booking our Ucluelet accommodation on Vancouver Island, we realized that weekend was half-marathon-weekend.

ʔapsčiik t̓ašii, upscheek tashee

I searched running trails near Ucluelet as well as running trails near Tofino and was just about to give up when I read something about a new ‘MUP’ between Tofino and Ucluelet. Crossing my fingers, I went on to figure out whether it was suitable for a run.

The ʔapsčiik t̓ašii (pronounced ups-cheek ta-shee) pathway was developed as part of a long-term vision to enhance sustainable transportation, safety, and cultural connection in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The idea of a multi-use trail had been discussed for decades, but planning and construction took several years (as it usually tends to).

The need for a safe cycling and walking route was recognized as early as the early 2000s, as Highway 4 connecting Tofino and Ucluelet was too dangerous for non-motorized travelers. Parks Canada, in collaboration with the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government, began planning a trail that would respect the ecological and cultural importance of the land. Community engagement and environmental assessments helped shape the project, ensuring minimal impact on sensitive ecosystems.

Building began in 2018, and in the early summer of 2022, the 25 km pathway opened to provide a safe, eco-friendly, and super scenic connection through the national park. The name means “going the right way together” in the Nuu-chah-nulth language and honours the partnership between Indigenous communities and Parks Canada.

In addition to 25-kms of new 2-way multi-use path, the fully constructed project includes: 3 bridges over fish bearing streams, 370 lineal meters of elevated boardwalks over sensitive wetlands, 4 new highway culverts, 8 highway culvert extensions, 60 amphibian culverts, 180 pathway culverts, 7 major retaining walls (up to 5m in height), 700 lineal meters of highway widening & slope stabilization, 11 Fisheries Enhancement sites, & mitigation of former slides & general slope stabilization of a 20m high foreshore slope to facilitate trail switchbacks. (ACEC BC Awards)

Running the ʔapsčiik t̓ašii, upscheek tashee

My reference point was this route from AllTrails: from the Radar Hill trailhead parking, it’s a straightforward route that has you run parallel to the coast, passing Radar Beaches, Schooner Cove Beach, Long Beach, Combers Beach, Wickaninnish Beach, and finally, Florencia Beach.

The logistics had us torture our brain a little bit. Recovering from a injury, but still hoping to run the marathon in May, Tom wasn’t too sure if he’d join the run. If he can’t, do I still go? Is it not too creepy by myself? Are the bears awake yet? How do we get there? How do we get back to the car at the end of the 21 km? Google Maps doesn’t give any public transit options. What does a cab cost? Excuse me HOW MUCH you say? Never mind that. What if Tom rented a bike? What if we drove our car to the endpoint and found a ride to Radar Hill somehow?

Here’s how we made it work in the end:

💛 West Coast Transit Service | There’s a local (not known on Google Maps) transit service that you can find on the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District website. The West Coast Transit Service page included a schedule which showed that on weekends, there would be a bus going from Ucluelet to Tofino twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. We also need the Token Transit App (App Store / Google Play) to pay for the ride.

💛 Weather check | It was forecasted to be a very rainy weekend; especially Saturday it was just pouring and pouring all day. Checking our trusted weather apps, we decided Sunday morning looked a lot better.

💛 Double check | We went into the Pacific Rim Visitor Centre which is just at the junction right before you enter Ucluelet, to ask if this bus is really going every day and at this time of year. She confirmed, and pointed at a little pole that said ‘Transit’ just there on the parking lot.

💛 Prep & Gear up | We got ourselves some groceries the day before to ensure we could have some pre-run breakfast and post-run lunch. Our alarm went off at 6.30 AM, we prepared our peanut butter toast, and got into our running outfits. I packed one gel each, and Builder Bar for Tom. I forgot my little flexible water bottles at home, but thank goodness Tom had packed his running vest and water bladder.

💛 DO IT!

So there we went… We drove to the Pacific Rim Visitor Centre, parked the car, and waited for the 7.45 AM bus. When he arrived and we got on, the driver asked where we were planning to get off. “The Radar Hill parking lot please,” I asked. His eyebrows shot up, and he said, “Wow, you’re the first to ever ask me for a drop-off at that stop.” He went on to ask us if we would be taking a ride back to Ucluelet later in the day. “Well…” I began, “The plan is actually to run back”.

“RUN back?,” he went, “Ahhh, what’s it like to be YOUNG?!”

We hopped out at the Radar Hill Parking Lot and immediately saw the entrance to the trail. “Look out for me on the road in case you get injured or something,” the friendly driver told us. We did some stretching, got the GPS tracking on our watch going, and started our 21 KM run. Thankfully, it was only drizzling rain, not pouring like it did the day before. It was actually the perfect weather for such a long forest run!

The trail was perfect for our run. It’s paved through rain forest with a total of 128 meters elevation – good practice for our marathon in Vancouver, which will also have some hilly sections. Full disclosure: I am terrible at running upwards – I walked those steep bits of the trail asking my upper legs to please not die and asking the universe why I was doing this. At 5K, we were rewarded for finishing the first quarter with an impressive view of Long Beach. Unfortunately, it was very foggy from the drizzle, but it looked incredible nonetheless. Impossible to capture well, but here’s a photo I quickly snapped before catching up with Tom.

Apart from that beautiful bit of beach, you don’t actually see more of the coast because of all the forest. The path switches between being surrounded on either side by forest, to having the road on your side. That allowed our bus driver to check in on us twice; he honked and waved at us as he continued his bus service back and forth between Ucluelet and Tofino. We waved back reassuringly – we’re still going, all good!

Two hours and ten minutes is how long it took us. The last 3Ks were gruelling though – why do those last kilometers always feel like it’s taking ages? Everything was hurting at that point and I was terribly thirsty. After high-fiveing and gulping down what little water was left, we walked the last bit back to the car, where two glorious water bottles were waiting for us.

And heated seats.

But the next bit was even more like heaven – our Airbnb had a hot tub, which was the perfect way to relax those angry muscles.

And that was it! I hope that the next time we come here, we’ll finally see it with sunny weather… And who knows, we might find ourselves on the trail again in the future. But maybe just for a walk or a bike ride 🥲

Travel Feb 08

Walking Whistler

Everybody here talks about it: if you’re going to be a Vancouverite you can’t sit around and ignore the ski culture. Everyone skis. You learn this very quickly (alongside these other 6 things). You’ll see people carrying their snowboard or skis on their shoulders on their way to a bus stop in the city. It’s literally just a 1 hour and 45 minute bus ride to Whistler! I have yet to learn how to ski, but was curious what made Whistler in particular so special. As I have zero snow skills, I didn’t want to pay $200 for one day of skiing (which is literally what a day pass costs), so for now the plan was to see the town and explore the area.

whistler village

We had booked a very early (6:20 AM) EpicRides bus to Whistler for $43 (round trip). When the sun started to rise, the mountains were an incredible sight in the early morning light! Once we arrived at the bus loop, we followed the crowd into the village. It’s a charming little centre with restaurants, bars, and shops. Watching people around us full of anticipation for their day in the snow was like watching Disney figures happily skip through the forest with birds singing on their shoulders. Couldn’t blame them – it was a gorgeous morning and the weather forecast for the entire day was perfect.

We started our day grabbing a map at the visitor center and having a closer look at it over a coffee. Estimating roughly how long it would take to walk around the area, we decided to go and see what the lakes around Whistler are like. As we didn’t bring our hiking shoes (and you’d need more serious gear in these conditions!), we went for walking trails.

lakes in whistler

We started walking toward Lost Lake, a small lake with a park and beach. It’s supposed to be really beautiful and open year-round. The further we went out of the village, the more snowy the paths got. A true winter wonderland, we enjoyed the crisp air, the huge trees, and the surrounding snow-covered mountains. Unfortunately, Lost Lake turned out not to be accessible at the moment unless you were nordic skiing. We decided to turn around and head to the biggest lake instead, which was Alta Lake, to the west of the village.

By the time we were on a trail around Alta Lake, quite some time had gone by, and walking around the lake itself took us around 2,5 hours. Some paths were made snow-free, other parts were icy or had thick layers of snow. Wintery beauty was all around us, so we stopped often for pictures and taking in all the sights. The weather stayed sooooo good throughout the day – it was 3 degrees but bright and sunny!

holiday seasons in whistler

On the way we saw such beautiful neighbourhoods with lovely houses in the mountains or by the lake. If we didn’t see people walking around, they’d be running, or nordic skiing with their dog(s) running alongside them. Also: houses that obviously looked like abandoned holiday homes… Perhaps they belonged to people that prefer the lake in liquid state! It was a bit hard imagining what it would be like in summer, with the lake completely frozen over and covered with snow… But Alta Lake actually has three beaches which are very popular in summer. I’m told summers in BC are absolutely stunning so I guess it’s not surprising that people like to come up here!

Once we reached the furthest tip of Alta Lake, we had finished most of our food, so with our empty backpacks we looped back via the other side of the lake. I must say the view over the lake is much more impressive from the west overlooking the east than the other way around. But it’s all beautiful nonetheless.

enjoying the village

Back in the village, we took a table on a patio under a heater and ordered a poutine to share. It was delicious! After a while, the entire patio was filled with people, and the village was buzzing with folks re-energizing after a day on the slopes. As good as this restaurant was at poutine, they were just as bad at steaks… That was a bit of a bummer 😉

We strolled a bit more through the village, visited some shops, added a Whistler mug from Starbucks to our collection, and laughed at some seriously funny t-shirts. With 1,5 hours or so left before our bus ride back to Vancouver, we went to Earl’s Bar & Kitchen (popular chain here) for a drink until it was time to head back. Arriving at the bus loop, we had the funniest bus driver welcoming us in and waving us off once we were back in Vancouver.

is it worth (it without) skiing?

So… As non-skiers and walking/hiking lovers we had a great time. The mountains are huge and stunning. I’d imagine the weather conditions can make or break the experience – the sunny weather made it amazing, so check the forecast for the best day in the week. There are more options than just walking around though. You can buy a sightseeing day pass and take the gondola up the mountains. You can go snow tubing, or even snowmobiling (like a snow scooter). There’s a distillery to visit as well. Plenty of options, but you should try to book it in advance. We went without much prep, knowing we can return easily by bus if we want to.

As I’m currently not much of a snow enthusiast, I’m not sure I’d find it worth $200 to ski in Whistler when there are other more affordable skiing areas close by. But I can imagine that if skiing or snowboarding is in your bones, this would be a bucket list destination. It was the 2010 Olympic Winter Games location after all! Once I’ve taken (a) lesson(s), I’ll have to come back to give it a shot to really see if it’s as amazing as they say. I’ll let you know when that moment comes! 😉

Travel Jan 22

Sundays are for Lynn Valley trails

One of the best things about Vancouver is how easy it is to combine city life with outdoor activities. This Sunday we enjoyed this combination for the first time since we moved here. A hearty late breakfast at the last available table at our favourite all-day-breakfast spot, a beautiful forest hike on Lynn Valley trails, and then back home by 4 PM. What more could I wish for on a Sunday with nothing but freedom on the calendar?

all day breakfast yes please

Before travelling to North Vancouver for a bit of hiking, you do need to make sure you fuel up, right? Well, we don’t have a car, so after sleeping in, we made sure we had a proper breakfast nearby 😉 I live for breakfast and brunch, so the all-day-breakfast place Red Umbrella Café on Davie Street always makes me happy. Though there are so many places to explore, this certainly wasn’t our first time walking over to Red Umbrella for breakfast or lunch. Just can’t help but come back there! With some effort (and donating the last few bites to Tom), I fuelled up with a royal egg sandwich. Next, it was just about a 10 minute walk to the bus stop near the bridge to North Vancouver.

lynn valley’s baden powell trail

Following up on my film locations bucket list, we picked Princess Park and Lynn Valley in North Vancouver to go check out first. These locations were used in two movies I wrote about a while ago (#hollywoodnorth: The Art of Racing In The Rain & The Adam Project). The area is very easy to get to from Vancouver. Hopping on two buses, we arrived at Princess Park in just an hour and fifteen minutes.

Unfamiliar with the area and open to anything, we looked at the map near the Princess Park entrance to see which Lynn Valley trails seemed nice to start with. We decided to walk towards the Baden Powell Trail and see how far we’d get. We strolled through Braemar Park Reservoir, onto Dempsey Trail, and soon enough we were on the Baden Powell Trail. In total it has four sections, which would take about 4 to 5 hours to fully complete.

We only did part of one section. Easy to intermediate, it was a nice and quiet area with deliciously fresh air, mountain bikers passing by every now and then… It must have been about 5 degrees – nice and crisp, just perfect! A couple of lovely bridges over streams and small waterfalls… People trail-running with their dogs… Imagine this being your everyday spot to just walk your dog. Wow.

Reading into the different sections of the Baden Powell Trail, I’m pretty sure this was not the most impressive part. It was pretty dense forest, so no lookout points in this area. Further up, there should be some great parts including views overlooking the mountains and water. The full trail stretches from Deep Cove to Lynn Valley, Lynn Valley to Grouse Mountain, Grouse Mountain to Cypress Mountain, and Cypress to Horseshoe Bay.

When we arrived at a road, we knew the next part would be a bit too lengthy to start now. My bottle of water was empty, and it gets dark pretty early this time of year. We decided to find a bus stop to go back home for now. However, we will definitely come back soon to continue the trail better prepared: earlier, with more food and water.

The stroll to the nearest bus stop was a nice cooling-down, with views on the mountains which were partly covered in ice/snow. My camera loves being here!