So the day has come for us to leave.

We are packed and ready. We needed to get from Kits, Vancouver to Victoria, where the Shuttle Bus will be picking us up the next morning (6am) to take us to the trail head.

We manage to just about fit the bags in the car which we then fire up, ready to head to the airport

Look at those smiles – Leaving Sunny Kits in Style

Well, we could have taken the ferry, and numerous modes of public transport but where would the fun be in that?

If you knew Flo, you would realise by now that he was training to be a pilot. If the Top Gun jacket and aviators didn’t give it away, the dedication to stuying those thick aviation books would have.

We get to the airport and I let Flo do his thing. We have to weigh ourselves and the gear to make sure that we aren’t too heavy. We managed to fit within the weight limit so we load up the plane and get ready. I sit in the back, legs tucked in tight against my seat, with Flo’s chair resting against my shins. In was pretty cosy. To say that I was excited was an understatement, but this was mixed with nervous energy too. I’ve been in a glider before, and a  4 seater helicopter so it’s not completely new experience, but you still feel slightly vulnerable and fragile. The weather wasn’t the greatest but certainly good enough for a flight like this. The only thing the weather prevented us doing was taking good arial photos

The flight was pretty smooth and Flo did a great job. I sat back and ‘relaxed’ . . . although there were a few times that I though to myself “Err, Flo why are the rotors slowing? Err, Flo, why are they still slowing?”. It was fine. They stopped decelerating and remained at a normal speed and we got into Victoria with no issues at all.

I was alive.

I have to admit, that the whole experience was pretty awesome. I felt like a kid again. We walk off the plane at Victoria Airport, with our packs still floating on air. I don’t know about Flo, but I felt pretty effing cool. This was the only way to arrive.

We still had to wait for a bus in the rain but that didn’t take too long. We went straight into town and looked for a Pre-Hike meal and drink whilst we waited for our the third musketeer, Sean. Sean was a late addition to the hike, but it was great to have a 3rd person. It was with Sean that we would be staying that night. His sister had an empty house which they kindly lent us.

Whist waiting we ate pretty well, and filled our bellies with some high caloried food – clam chowder and fish ‘n’ chips.

At a suitably late time we get a cab and mean Sean at his place. It was still pissing it down outside. Flo and Sean were gushing over their time in NZ together (they met having hiked the length of NZ) which was cute, but we slept shortly after, knowing we had to get up in 4 hours (5am)

• Flight School can be found HERE
• More about Flo’s Flights can be found HERE

Lights Out