Welcome to the first of what I hope to make into a series of cache hides situated along or near some of the seemingly too-many-to-count walkthroughs, or Connector Trails, in and around my neighbourhood. Since moving to Parksville in the Spring of 2023 I have discovered a lot of these by simply walking around, and I am amazed at how something so pedestrian can be so interesting. It's a great opportunity to explore the suburbs where you can sometimes discover local curiosities like neighbourhood book exchanges, kids' chalk street art, cute birdhouses, and even some trails where an adjacent homeowner has installed motion-activated lighting atop their fenceposts to help guide your way when it's dark!
The Hirst/Harnish Connector Trail is a paved pathway approximately 380m in length that is bike-friendly (there are gates to walk your bike around at each end) but be aware that there are some sections where the roots of nearby trees have lifted the asphalt so tread carefully! If you're in a hurry for a quick PNG the cache is closer to Harnish than Hirst.
I hope you enjoy this introduction to Parksville's Plentiful Paved Pathways, and I look forward to adding more caches to this series as suitable hiding spots and proximity issues will allow.