Well the proposal really began well before the actual date the question was ‘popped’.  We hiked the Westcoast Trail on Vancouver Island in August/2012. This particular hiking trip was one I have always wanted to do and had never known anyone interested or experienced in doing a long multi-night trip.

In DF I met the one person I trusted enough for a week on the trail.  It was intense (more so because we rushed through the trip rather than going slow and enjoying the hikes -next time we are doing it over many more nights!).  At the end of the trip, we both got sick with “Tsusiat’s Revenge”. DF had it worse than I did, but we both felt like death.  On our last morning (after a very rough night) we had an easy 12k hike out. This end of the trail was flat, was well defined and comfortable.  I would liken it to the trails around Stanley Park.  As we were hiking, I realized how sick DF was, and became worried that he would need more medical attention than I could give on the trail.  I started urging him to go faster so we’d be able to get out, get the bus, get back to our car so I could take him to the Doctor.  Sadly, he made it to the 6k marker and couldn’t go on as he was doubled over sick.  Thankfully, I’m a runner, so I dropped my pack beside him, grabbed my (no longer Tsusiat-Falls-Contaminated) water bottle and started sprinting.  A challenge in hiking boots.

Normally the 12k we did that day should take about 4hrs to complete, and I was so worried about DF that I did the last 6k in 1hr (which shocked the Park’s employee once I found her).  Every time I passed a person on the trail I asked them to give Dan an update on where I was.  We ended up having Parks Canada people go in to where DF was huddled in his bright orange sleeping bag, carry our packs, and help him out to a boat that was waiting on a beach ~1.5km away.  We met in the town of Bamfield and went to the clinic so DF could get fixed up.  We ended up spending one more night in Bamfield so I could nurse him back to health before the crazy bus trip back to our car.

That night I went digging through DF’s Pack to see if he had any clean clothes left. I gave up pretty quickly as I recalled that he hadn’t packed any extras.  Little did I know that I was within inches of discovering something surprising and sparkly hidden in his clothing.

All in all, we had many discussions about getting married, but I wasn’t really expecting a proposal just yet, so it came as a complete surprise…

Suffice it to say the engagement happened immediately after we got home (and slept a bit). It was hilarious, special and I will never forget that moment.