thanksgiving weekend autumn hiking

i have been planning this trip for a while since i didnt get out much this summer for any hiking. thanksgiving weekend is my favourite time in autumn to go out for a night or two in the woods. its so quiet and peaceful, not to mention visually appealing to the eyes. no one really comes out and does any camping around this time either.

i planned this trip to be a bit different than other trips. instead of going out and walking for a long distance, i planned on checking out 2 destinations i have never been to before: the head, and the nanobosho lookout. perfect time to go out to check out some views with the color changes. i arrived at sawyer bay thursday night and hung around camp in preparation for the next day. it was a good test of my sleep system, as i had upgraded my down sleeping bag for this year (same brand, upgraded model). it went down to 0 degrees and i was warm all night.

the next morning, i hung around and enjoyed some coffee before packing up and heading up to the head. it was 1.8km of straight up, and unfortunately for me, i had a foot injury that made the hike a little worse (i think i might have pulled a muscle at the arch of my foot as i could not put any weight on it, however after working it, i was able to). it kinda sucked initially. it was worth getting to the top. again, never been up here before in my 14 years of hiking here. sick views and the color change was massive all around. i hung around for 25 minutes before descending back down.

i arrived back at Sawyer Bay to take a short break and met a man from Tennessee who was visiting the area. afterwards, i headed up to the Talus trailhead. i must of got my ass kicked from going up the Head trail as i felt a little out of energy, and my foot injury wasn't making things better. however, i wasnt discouraged and still kept on going at a little of a slower pace than usual. i didn't remember it being so difficult going up this way compared to going the reverse. there was still water flowing parallel of the trail in the creeks and lots of fresh gold leaves littered throughout the forest. i would then arrive at the Nanaboso Lookout trailhead, .8km of trail to go. as i arrived up top, each step was a larger view of what was to come.

from the lookout, you can see Clavet Bay, Hoorigan Bay, and Sawyer Bay, and i think i could see a part of the road coming into the park at one part. it was amazing up here. i think there was another area to walk to, but i hate edges and decided no thanks! the colours were just amazing, seeing all of the land in the middle of a colour change made the entire trip worth it. i think i will return here next autumn and enjoy the views. ill say it again: i cant believe i have never been here before.

i took the rest of the Talus trail all the way down to the southern Kabeyun trail and hiked to Tee Harbour, where i spent the night at a campsite facing town. my foot wasnt doing bad but i knew i would feel it the next morning. after setting up camp, i realize that my USB cable was misplaced somewhere. i searched through all of my things, the area, couldnt find it. so i backtracked it to the Top of the Giant trailhead where i last unplugged my phone and found nothing. i walked back to camp accepting this loss. however, i then took out my phone and went to the last photo i took. as i was walking back to my campsite, i looked at the photo, then looked down and found the cable. nice!

didnt have a fire both nights. i didnt feel like babysitting it. the night sun appeared and i ended up going to bed rather than staying up. it was a peaceful night. no waves, no loud sounds, just peace and quiet. i had a great sleep. i sleep better outside than i do in my own bed.