A delightful hike located in East Sooke Park that follows along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Starting from the Aylard Farm parking lot we wandered past fields and a large picnic area before sighting the Strait. Our hike was 5.68 miles with negligible elevation gain.

As we left the fields the trail soon narrowed to water and beach, a challenging trek from there with scrambles over rocks and tree roots. The bits of up and downs were great for our leg muscles, ankles, and even hips as we navigated the irregular terrain. Very helpful were many trail markers, installed after a hiker became lost on the trail some years back - along with some of the very rescue team sent out to locate him!

The rain free cool-ish day was appreciated, as well as pleasant breaks in the trees opening to water and shore views. The only letdown with the day was a thick haze in the sky. We could dimly make out the beautiful Olympic mountain range across the water obscured by the smoke of wildfires originating back home in Washington state.

The absolute best thing about the hike were the sound effects!! Half a dozen times as we trekked along, we heard the soft lapping of the water against the shore obliterated by the powerful blowing of a gray whale moving offshore!! The massive outbreak of sound fed our imaginations with pictures of just how huge the mammals must be! Mark was the ultimate lucky one on the hike, with his eyes in just the right place and time to catch sight of one of the magnificent creatures. It was thrilling to hear them! Several times along the trail we also caught sight of sea lions on the hunt, breaking the water. We were richly rewarded for our efforts this day.

Eventually our route led us to a junction with a forest road back to the trailhead and on to a tasty late lunch in Sooke. What a great hike!