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Saanich to Victoria

Day 26 · Completed

Cordova Bay, Saanich

Lochside Trail near Cordova Bay, Saanich, British Columbia

Meeting Cyrus on the trail, and a runner’s invitation for the night

This day on the route

Date
The day
Walking
Walked
5 miles

Day 26, October 2: 5 miles walked, from Saanichton down the Lochside Trail toward Cordova Bay, in Saanich.

Route overview, not turn-by-turn directions.

Gouache and ink illustration of a country road past white barns with red trim, a round hay bale and a pumpkin field, a tiny walker in coral ahead and a low wooded hill beyond.
Saanich Peninsula farmland near Saanichton, where the day’s walk began. Illustration.

On October 2 Jeana walked 5 miles from Saanichton down the Lochside Trail toward Cordova Bay, and a runner who passed her invited her home for the night.

She said goodbye to Kath and Ted early, with everything clean and packed, and walked south from Saanichton on the Lochside Trail, which links North Saanich, Sidney and Central Saanich with Victoria along a former railway corridor. On the trail she met Cyrus.

Toward the end of her route, past Mattick’s Farm, a woman running by turned and asked whether she had a place to stay. The runner, Alex, had remembered backpacking in Scotland with her mother, when so many people there had invited them in. That evening Alex cooked an amazing dish with tomatoes and basil from her garden, and saganaki.

From the road

Meeting Cyrus on the trail, and a runner’s invitation for the night

She said goodbye to Kath and Ted early that morning. She had packed up most of her backpack the day before, and they had helped her get her laundry done, so everything was clean, packed and close to being ready to go. When she got up, she was able to get on her way pretty quickly.

Kath did a marvellous thing: she contacted friends of hers who live south along Jeana’s route toward Royal Oak and Victoria, to see whether anyone could help her out along the way. Kath also shared some very special chocolates with pistachio cream for her journey, and Ted some of the pears he had dried from his pear trees.

The walk along Lochside Drive was amazing: the permeating smell of the forest, mixed with the sea air, was intoxicating. She was falling in love with the Canadian people. Every day, she says, she meets kindness emanating from a new face.

She met Cyrus on the trail between Saanichton and Royal Oak. He read her sign as he flew by her on his bike, then quickly turned around and asked her what it was all about. After she explained, he shared that he was near the end of his treatments for lymphoma.

He appeared to her to be a giant on his bike: so tall, so strong and courageous. They both agreed that they were praying for the treatments to be his cure, so that there would be no need for him to find a matching stem cell donor. Meeting Cyrus gave her buoyancy throughout the day.

She stopped in at Mattick’s Farm, a series of shops and eating establishments, for a short rest. If you are looking to meet someone, she says, go to Mattick’s Farm. She met so many people there who were interested in the Steps to Marrow walk, and they all took a picture of the QR code around her neck. One woman took the time to share her story of moving to Vancouver Island from Ottawa many years ago, and of how happy she has been there.

She ran into an Amazon delivery guy, and she loved his response to the walk. He simply said, “I approve.” Toward the end of her route, a woman running by turned around to find out why she was walking. The runner shared her admiration for Jeana’s decision to walk to save lives, and began running again.

It wasn’t long before the runner turned and asked whether Jeana had a place to stay for the night. As she carried on with her run, she explained, she had remembered backpacking in Scotland with her mother, when so many Scottish people had invited them into their homes. She felt moved to return the favour and invite Jeana to stay in her home. Her name was Alex, and she and her husband, Jeremy, were outstanding hosts.

She got quite a bit of rest that afternoon, and was able to catch up on some work for planning bone marrow drives in Olympia once the walk is over. She also connected with Ann from the Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry about a stem cell swabbing event she was due to attend on Monday, October 5, at Camosun College with Isla, the president of the Lifeline Club on campus.

That evening Alex prepared the most amazing dish with fresh tomatoes and basil from her garden, and saganaki, a delicious Greek fried cheese. Jeana felt very fortunate that night.

I am walking for Cyrus and so many others I will never meet.

Jeana Moore
Orange pumpkins scattered across a farm field under a grey, cloudy morning sky, a lone tree and low farm buildings on the horizon.A field full of orange pumpkins among green and brown vines, with farm buildings and a line of trees beyond.A white trumpet-shaped flower beaded with raindrops, among dark green leaves.A rooster with white, rust and gold feathers and a red comb, with golden hens, in front of a wire fence thick with green leaves.Pale gold light breaking through grey cloud over a wide green field, a line of trees on the horizon.Golden morning cloud above a dark line of trees and a shadowed field.A paved trail running through a tunnel of trees, a mossy branch arching low across it and some leaves turning red, with fallen leaves scattered on the asphalt.The paved trail running straight ahead between tall, slender trees that arch overhead.A small creek curving between ferns and leafy shrubs, light glinting off the ripples on its dark water.A long-legged crane fly resting on a cream-coloured wall.A paved path with a yellow centre line curving through a wood of tall trees, a few leaves scattered on the asphalt.A pink flower with broad petals around a bright yellow centre, more blooms blurred behind it.
Show all 15 photos from this dayShow fewer photos
The words Mattick’s Farm in raised dark letters on a pale concrete band above a stone wall, with part of a brown sign about its shops and services above.A view past leafy branches, over evergreens and a rooftop, to the sea and distant hills under soft grey cloud with patches of blue.A paved lane running downhill past hedges toward rooftops, the bow of a parked boat at the edge, with the sea, a long low island and distant hills beyond under blue sky and white cloud.
Distance walked
5 miles
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Choose where you live

Continue to the official registry that serves you. It decides eligibility, handles registration and contacts you if you may match a patient.

Where in Canada?

Canada outside Québec — Canadian Blood Services

The Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry asks for people aged 17 to 35 in good general health. You answer eligibility questions online, complete a profile and sign a consent form; a cheek-swab kit arrives in the mail within one to three weeks for you to swab and return. If you live in Québec, you register with Héma-Québec instead. Canadian Blood Services makes the final eligibility decision.

Check the listed age range

Visit Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Services — Stem cell eligibility and registration · checked Sep 1, 2026

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Sources

Local history and background reading for this stop.

  1. Lochside Regional Trail — checked Sep 5, 2026
The flyer: STOP BLOOD CANCER set in tall letters over a dark plum page, a quote, and a QR code beside a text-to-join line for the U.S.One standing face of the table tent: the same headline and quote on the left, a large QR code on the right.

Take it off the screen

Print it. Put it where people already stand.

A coffee counter, a church foyer, a break room, a race table. Every sheet carries the code that opens Jeana’s walk, and a number to text for anyone who would rather not scan — no app, no wifi, nothing to hand back.Every sheet carries the code that opens Jeana’s walk — nothing to install, nothing to hand back. The number to text printed beside it is for joining NMDP, which registers people who live in the U.S., its territories and the freely associated states. If you live anywhere else, find your country’s registry.

Everything else for running a drive

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Host a registration drive at your school, work or place of worship, raise funds, or lend a skill. Tell us what you have in mind and we will help you plan it.

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