When the owner of the trail bike shop is wearing a neck-brace, you tend to take his totally unsolicited route advice more seriously. Which is why we did NOT drive into the northern region of Quadra to do Norton Lake Trail. Instead we drove out to Morte Lake (that means EXACTLY what you think it means) to do a 'fairly easy route for beginners who are just getting into the sport.'
Right.
Two minutes in I had already switched to my trail shoes and ditched the helmet. Half and hour later we were still carrying our bikes and thinking maybe we should have asked Steve 'this neck-brace is really itchy' Jones* for some clarification on his definition of the words 'fairly easy.'
However, after hike-riding, a new sport we developed right on the spot, for another hour up and down some of the rockiest slag strewn trail ever seen, we made it to as perfect a little beach as you could imagine. White sand and cool water, surrounded by massive trees and not a single sign of bear poop (I checked). We had to admit that it was worth the trek in. To be perfectly honest, once I had stopped mentally picturing Steve in a series of dangerous situations which would add to his need for braces on multiple body parts, I started to take a more active interest in the scenery we were slogging through. The route, despite the obvious downfall of being 100% horrible while carrying a 25 lb. bike over my shoulder, offered some fantastic views. Huge trees you could build a house in, panoramic vistas of Morte Lake with Victoria Peak in the distance. Those white sandy beaches beckoning us forward, and the ever-present eagle flying overhead.
Morte Lake Trail is a 7.2 km route meant to be hiked on foot, sans bicycle, and it really is worth the look. Next time, I'll ditch the bike and bring the camera instead.
*Names have been changed to protect the incredibly unhelpful.
