Encounter with a Vulture
We initially planned to just go on a River Tubing and do a bit of exploring. But when we arrived it was cloudy and no one is doing a river tubing and we could not do an early check-in because there was an occupant from last night that has not check out yet. So, we did an exploring of the town instead. In one of the dirt roads that we go, we were scared to death, because there was a vulture that were eating a left over of an animal. As we get closer, it looks like a dead bear cub, that the vulture's were feasting, it has thick black fur and the carcass is a bit bigger. Here is the picture and see for yourself it is a bear or not.
Vulture feasting on a (bear?)
Skultz Falls
Our walk exploration was cut short by the vulture encounter. We decided to check out other areas of Lake Cowichan by car instead. We first go to the Greendale Rd where the easy part of the river tubing ends. We saw a sign in there that says 6 more hours to go to Skultz Falls by tubing. So, we decided to head to Skultz falls by car and check it out. I keep looking around for the falls, its not really a falls, its just a fast flowing river. The view is still awesome.
The Runkin at the Skultz Falls
The Pretend Marathon
The Great Lake Walk and Ultramarathon supposedly ends at the Lake Cowichan Sports Arena, and you have to ring the bell at the finished line. We decided to run 1 km just for the fun of it, and did our imaginary bell ringing. Here we are:
The Runkin running towards the Sports Arena
The Runkin Man and The Imaginary Bell
The Marathon of Hope
Early morning, we were checking out the areas near our Hotel, the Runkin Man in his Pajamas and I'm on my flip-flops, and we keep seeing this posters for the Terry Fox Run (5KM or 10KM run/walk). We were like, what if we join the run. As we were contemplating whether to join or not, we saw 2 women with Terry Fox ribbons. So, we ask them about the event and where to start. We had 20 minutes to go back to the hotel and change to our running gears and go to the Saywell Park(Visitors Info Center). When we arrived at the start line they were already playing the Oh-Canada national anthem. We register ourselves for the event, but we only have 4 bucks cash with us, so we donated our 4 bucks. We join the warm up aerobics and then follow everybody. We participated the 5-KM run/walk. The route goes to the Trans Canada trail. It was so amazing, the trail connects from Shawnigan lake to Lake Cowichan. Here is the route captured from our garmin watch.
Lake Cowichan Terry Fox Run-Marathon of Hope route
We initially started at the back, but as the run progress, we decided to pass the other walkers/runners. When we reached the 3rd kilometer marker, we could not see the runners ahead and before us. But after a while we were able to catch up with a woman running with her dog. At some point we were able to passed her too. But since we don't know the route when ever we see a crossing, we look back and ask her where to go. We finished 4th and 5th of the 5-KM run/walk. For the first time, we were at the front of the pack. They served bbq at the finished line. But since we only donated 4-bucks, we decided not to get any bbq, since we felt so guilty about it, we ate our lunch at the nearby restaurant instead.
Future Adventures on Lake Cowichan
We were very happy with the hotel that we stayed at. It is like a cabin and has direct access to the river. We might come back this winter to do some kayaking adventures in the river.
