Filled with excited anticipation of a hot shower, clean laundry and a solid meal, Krysta Norwick trudged into Tofino under a deluge of rain.

The appeal of the usually mundane elevated after hiking hundreds of kilometres 含羞草研究社� the length of Vancouver Island 含羞草研究社� eventually gave way to awe of what she and her husband Brian had accomplished.

含羞草研究社淚t is really cool that we walked here from Victoria,含羞草研究社� Norwick remembers thinking later.

One cool May morning after breakfast at home, the backpack-wearing couple locked the door of their downtown apartment and headed out on their second long distance hike of the month.

The couple previously warmed up with the Sunshine Coast Trail.

With several long distance hikes under her belt, starting from home was a first for Norwick.

含羞草研究社淭he first step we took of the hike was the first step out of our apartment, it was so cool,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淭hat was so thrilling because the other hikes I含羞草研究社檝e done I had to travel quite a distance to get to the start of the trail.含羞草研究社�

Norwick is an avid through hiker 含羞草研究社� which means tackling an established long distance trail end-to-end in one take.

Her first was the Great Divide Trail just a few years ago. Since then she含羞草研究社檚 added the Croatian Long Distance Trail and Pacific Crest Trail before this spring含羞草研究社檚 adventure checked the West Coast and Juan de Fuca trails off her list.

含羞草研究社淚 just fell in love with long distance hiking and I have ben trying to do at least one long hike every year since,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淚 really enjoy that a through hike changes as you go.含羞草研究社�

The entire route holds fond memories 含羞草研究社� from the first few urban days in cafes, through to a stop at Stoked pizza in Shirley (population 650 including Jordan River) before the 含羞草研究社渞ugged and beautiful含羞草研究社� trails through beaches and rainforest along the west coast.

The whale sightings while walking the waterfront and backcountry are the highlights for Norwick

Plus the float plane flight they ponied up for to get from Bamfield to Ucluelet.

含羞草研究社淚 had never seen the Broken Group Islands before so I was so excited to see that from above,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淚t almost looks tropical from above.含羞草研究社�

The trek to Tofino took 15 days.

She shared the ups and downs with her followers online.

含羞草研究社淚 love documenting my hikes. I think it含羞草研究社檚 fun to be able to share the story and the beautiful nature with people so they can almost hike with me,含羞草研究社� Norwick said. 含羞草研究社淚t seems like a lot of people were interested and love to see these areas.含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淭here are lots of people who maybe can含羞草研究社檛 do it or maybe they含羞草研究社檙e far away. Getting to experience it and share 含羞草研究社� especially share the beauty of Vancouver Island 含羞草研究社� is really meaningful to me.含羞草研究社�

Find her adventure on Instagram. There will be more. 

Raised in Campbell River, the west coast trails were on her bucket list, but a handful remain including long hikes in New Zealand and Nepal.

含羞草研究社淚 have a lot on my list.含羞草研究社�