My Summer Vacation on The West Coast Trail

Hi everyone,
I was fortunate enough to spend my summer vacation backpacking along The West Coast Trail on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the furthest western point of Canada. The trail was first hacked out of the wilderness in 1889 for a telegraph line connecting Victoria with Bamfield. Then in 1906 the shipwreck of the SS Valencia took the lives of 126 people. After this wreck the rough path was designated as a lifesaving trail for the survivors of shipwrecks, because there are so many along this coast.

In a nutshell, I'm going to say that this was the most dramatic, scenic and varied hike I've ever done in my life, and I've done many. It is remote, rugged, challenging, muddy with lots of roots and full of wildlife (bears, sea lions, cougars, bald eagles, seals). The scenery is so variable with misty ancient rainforest trails to sandy and rocky coastlines with dramatic ocean floors that resemble lunar landscapes., Rather than go into too many details here myself, I'm attaching the daily journal of Charlene SanJenko of CSJ Women's Excellence Inc. & Coast of Sunshine Fitness, who was one of the members of our journey.

As a tour operator, I can never go on a vacation and not look at it as a "future BikeHike destination". So if all goes according to plan, you can expect to see The West Coast Trail as a BikeHike destination for summer 2008.

Cheerio,
Trish Sare

“The West Coast Trail Adventures of the Group of Seven
(aka The Seven Dwarves)”

Over the last 10 days of August we enjoyed the adventures of the West Coast Trail… here’s a little journal I wrote while we were on the trail…

Saturday, August 25, 2007 –Gordon River Trailhead to Thrasher Cover

Today we hiked from our ferry crossing on the Gordon River to our first campsite at Thrasher Cover. It’s hard to believe we only hiked 6 km in 5 hours. I almost didn’t believe our chatty trail warden this morning during her safety seminar when she said we’d likely be hiking about one kilometer per hour. I thought, no way, not us. But she was right. It was so hilly and muddy, much muddier than I ever imagined for the end of August. But I guess that’s just how it is in a rainforest. Today’s inland trail was much more difficult than I anticipated. Glad it’s over and glad we started on the south end of the trail so we can get this hardest part over with first. The soles of my feet are sore. And Trish says she knows we worked her butt today!

Sunday, August 26th, 2007 – Thrasher Cover to Camper Bay

We had a decision to make this morning – to take the muddy, inland trail again today or venture out to the beach route. The beach route was chosen, and we started our ocean-side journey around 8:30 a.m. Our day began with the adventure of climbing and jumping from boulder-to-boulder for the first few hours. Some of the rocks were slippery but not as large as I had imagined from what other campers were talking about last night. There were also some incredible swells as well as a section of beach that looked like you were walking on the moon. It was so beautiful on the beach with brilliant sunshine and blue, blue sky. We kept watching for whales but no whales today. We stopped for a leisurely lunch break on the beautiful rock face and watched some sea lions playing in the water. Life is good! The only downside was when I was rushing to “answer nature’s call” after we had stopped for a lunch break and twisted my ankle as I jumped over a log. It didn’t feel too bad… until I took my boot off that night. Quite painful. Took four Ibuprofen and wrapped it hoping it would feel better in the morning. We had some incredible Indian food for dinner. Jacqueline is an incredible cook even way out here. At sunset, we settled in around the campfire to enjoy a few marshmallows and a Caper’s kamut nut bar. It feels good to have made it through a step-up day from hell. So what ever happened to the idea of vacationing at a Club Med?

Monday, August 27th, 2007 – Camper Bay to Logan Creek

Today I was a little worried about my ankle but we wrapped it up really well and even created created a makeshift cast using duck-tape around my pant leg and hiking boot. It was ok. It’s no one they take 100 people per summer out of here by air-vac (helicopter). I can totally see that. It was a day of fairly tough inland hiking today with lots of ladders. My hips are tired. The guys really seemed to enjoy the campsite we stopped at tonight. There was a pretty neat rock shelf that you could walk way out on (I didn’t want to chance it) but Ben said he saw some of the most memorable views he’s ever seen out: the open ocean with waves crashing into the shore, the unforgettable sunset, the beach surrounded by straight-up cliffs, and volcanic-looking rock shelves.

Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 – Logan Creek to Coal Creek

One of my favourite days! One of my favourite campsites! Today was the best day so far ~ lots of variety, lots of progress, and the burgers & beer certainly didn’t hurt none! We started off on boardwalks and inland trails until we hit Walbran Creek. Then it was beach time! We made great time as we past thousands of seagulls on the beach, waded through a creek where we had to take our boots and socks off, walked on rock shelves in the ocean that had little holes here & there in it reminding me of tiny little aquariums scattered around, and finally we traveled victoriously over boulders and through a narrow cave where we had to crawl on our bellies (at least I did) and pull ourselves forward with our elbows.

We ended up on a spectacular empty beach all our own with lots of sand and a gorgeous sunset. This is by far my favourite campsite. It truly is heaven. Jac & I had a quick swim in the ocean and then a bath in some fresh water.

Lunch today at Che Monique was another huge highlight of the trip. Quite the experience. Monique is an older French lady who has set up her home and make-shift restaurant right on the beach close to the Carmanah Lighthouse. We enjoyed burgers and beer. Everything we were most craving. After lunch we all lounged around for awhile some even napped before we continued making our way to Coal Creek.

The sunset tonight was unbelievable. The waves are crashing on the shore just right of us, and we just saw some dolphins playing in the far distance. The sea lions are busy talking away on their small island home not far from shore. All in all, the perfect day. As Gord put it, so fully “alive”.

August 29th Coal Creek to Cheewhat River

We had a leisurely and enjoyable morning at Coal Creek. I don’t think any of us really wanted to leave. I got up early to a beautiful pink sky, a big, round, orange moon and the silhouette of the sea lions on their island. Once Jac got up, we went for a walk along the beach and found a brilliant bright orange star fish. I hadn’t seen one that bright before. The waves were crashing along the shore ~ big surfing waves with white caps. It was one of those moments you never want to end or forget.

Our hike today wasn’t that long, maybe 4 hours. We didn’t end up leaving Coal Creek until noon. It was all on the beach, lots of shelves, rocks and some boulders. It was all at high tide so we ended up taking our boots off and on. One scary point, Ben lost his footing and almost fell down a cliff and grabbed onto some long grass to break his fall. Thank God. That could’ve been bad. I retracted myself down a 20’ foot cliff which felt very adventuresome. All in all a good day, an easy day. I didn’t care much for Cheewhat River. It was ok, not a lot of fresh water. I think the bear & cougar warning signs around the campsite also threw me a lot.

August 30th – Cheewhat River to Tsusiat Falls

This felt like our longest daily trek yet. We started off this morning at 9:30 a.m. and hiked until about 5 p.m. (36k-25k or 11km). We stopped for lunch at the crab shack at Nitinat Narrows before we crossed the narrows by ferry. Ben & I shared a salmon and baked potato. Boy, they sure hit the spot as did the ice cold pop. I’ve been craving pop as well as a blended Mohito! Hiking was mostly inland today nothing overly tough. Once we got to the campsite which we had heard a lot about, we had a bath under the waterfalls. It was awesome. I was also very sad to discover that I had dropped a little plastic bag carrying my pillow, long fleece underwear, fuzzy blue socks that I sleep in, and this journal! However, a lady found it back on the ferry and carried it with her all afternoon. It was a nice reminder of human kindness.

August 31st – Tsusiat Falls to Tsocowis Creek

A fairly short day as we didn’t start out until around 11 a.m. and got to our site about 4 p.m. We took a couple good breaks today too and only did a total of 6 km or so. I think everyone is starting to get tired. It was sprinkling when we got up this morning but mostly just cloudy/foggy/misty for most of the day. It was an inland hike and out on the beach a couple of times. The sun came out once we got camp set up so that was a real treat. It’s a lovely place with a waterfall and creek right beside us. Ben and I walked over to see some caves in the ocean wall. There were also these incredible rocks that had a super-neat texture and design in them because of the waves. I kept thinking how neat they would be to have on your front lawn or in your garden. You’ll never see anything like that unless you do this trail.

September 1st – Tsocowis Creek to Michigan Creek

Our beach day! Finally! What an enjoyable way to spend our last full day on the trail. We hiked along the ocean for an hour and a half this morning just 4 km to our final campsite of the trip then spent the rest of the day journaling and lying in the sun. Heaven, truly heaven. It was also this evening that my dream came true of seeing a whale. As we were sitting around the campfire we saw a whale breeching (jumping straight up) 13 times! Everyone said that was quite uncommon so I took as a sign that the Universe heard my request.



Thank you’s to the Group of 7:

Jacqueline: Our incredible chef and camp-maker (instead of homemaker). Thank you for all your energy and effort with the food planning, shopping, and prep. Cocktail hour and marshmallows will always be looked back fondly on!

Dave: Our fearless leader. Thank you for mentoring Ben & I, the rookies, on our first full-out camping and backpacking adventure. We appreciate it!

Gord: Thank you for your good conversation and taking photos, both of which we’ll look back fondly on when we remember the adventure.

Cher: Thank you also for taking precious photos and being our resident campfire-starter. Now Ben finally knows how to properly start a fire.

Trish: Ah, the “turtle princess”, thank you also for the good conversation and being a great dishwashing buddy.

Ben: My gentle bear, thank you for coming on this adventure with me, putting up with my bad ankle, my coughing during the nights, taking some of my weight in your backpack, and looking out for me on the trip.

WCT Reflections from The Group of 7:

“This trip signifies the end of one phase of my life and the beginning of the next… a whole new adventure!” – Charlene

“Strength, courage & wisdom, it takes a little of all three of these out here.” – Jacqueline

“Reflection.” – Ben

“I’m struck by how much death and life there is out here. The cycle of life is so evident.” – Trish

“Everything is so alive!” – Gord

“Gorgeousness!”- Trish

“34 meals per litre of fuel…” - Dave