THE WEATHER
Sorry guys but that is the big one and there is no way on earth, or at least on the West Coast, that we can give you any guarantees on that one. Hypothermia is a very real risk, even mid-summer if you do not come prepared for the possibility of being caught in one of our torrential rains. You do not get these wonderful temperate rain forests without a little precipitation. The rain that is wonderful for our trees seldom brings joy to the heart of a trekker. It makes packs heavier, boardwalks slicker, and mud holes muddier. When a group get talking about this trail the unenthusiastic ones are those who encountered bad weather.
THE ROUTE
In many places you have a choice of whether to hike through the woods or along the shore. If you take the shore route, you avoid the climbs and you do not walk as far. I think most people consider the beach walks more scenic though I met a German couple who were enchanted by our forests and found the beaches dull. I guess it is matter of taste. Why then doesn't every one take the sea side option? There are a number of reasons. First of all you will have to be prepared to have your schedule dictated by the tides. Experienced beach trekkers will often plan their trip for the week or so in the summer when tides will be lowest. There are sections of the beach which are not accessible except on a very low tide and there is always the danger of getting stranded by the advancing waters if you are not very careful. The walking itself can also be treacherous. There are parts of the shore line composed of shale or sandstone plates and these can be very slippery. There are stretches which are covered by a very loose, coarse sand that you sink right into. It makes walking very difficult. We stuck to the high road because Susan has some trouble with one ankle and found this loose sand was an invitation to a sprain. I figure we also got the better aerobic work out since we were clambering about like mountain goats most days.
THE WEATHER AGAIN
The state of the trail and the rivers will reflect the rainfall that the area has had over the weeks immediately preceding your hike. We did the trail at the beginning of August after a fairly dry July. We were largely spared the big mud holes and slippery board walk. We had read about all the precautions you were to take when wading across rivers and found these instructions rather wasted since the said rivers were only ankle deep. On the down side, Tsusiat Falls which I have heard many hikers describe as their favourite sight on the trail, was barely a trickle.
The official literature on the West Coast Trail describes it in these terms:
The West Coast Trail has the reputation of being one of the most grueling treks in North America. It is isolated, strenuous, physically challenging and potentially hazardous. Hiking the W.C.T. demands stamina and expertise in hiking and backcountry camping skills. Only competent backpackers should attempt the entire route. You are required to cross deep gullies on fallen trees, negotiate very steep slopes and follow an irregular, slippery trail. This is a wilderness area and it may be many hours before help can be obtained should an accident occur. All hikers should carefully evaluate their individual and group abilities before attempting the route.Now I am usually a sensible and cautious woman and it is not like me to read a warning like this and then proceed to do exactly what they tell you you should not do and take on the W.C.T. as my first back packing trip. The problem was that by the time I finally had the opportunity to go on this hike I was 52 years old and I was not at all confident that I had enough years left in me to acquire the experience they were recommending.
I am a walker. It is one of my favourite ways to relax and unwind. The only one who regularly shares my high level of enthusiasm for this pastime is Kiwi, my dog. When we lived in suburbia, we used to walk the streets of the surrounding subdivisions. Since moving to Fanny Bay, we have been delighted to find a complex network of trails that cross meadows, cut through stands of forest and then lead along dykes bordering the sea. Perhaps it was my enjoyment of this new walking domain that led to dreams of the West Coast. The West Coast Trail began figuring large in my fantasies. What could be better? A holiday by the sea and in the midst of the wild forests with nothing to do but walk all day.
I considered it just a pleasant daydream because it was obviously something I couldn't really do, though I often spoke of how I would love the chance to go. Then in the fall of 1995 my daughter Susan called my bluff. She had been surveying her own friends but it seems she hangs out with couch potatoes who threaten cardiac arrest if they have to walk a block up hill. She had decided I was the fittest hiking partner available to her. I was fascinated at the possibility but also apprehensive. How would I fare trying to keep up with someone a quarter of a century my junior? How would she feel having to slow her pace for this doddering old woman who was following along after her? She made reassuring noises and also persuaded me that if we did not do it together we might never do it at all since neither of seemed to have access to a more age appropriate hiking partner.
Once we were registered I started to believe we were really going and I had to face the fact that my wealth of knowledge would be no substitute for the brute strength and stamina I was going to need to do this. My daily routine with Kiwi involves a three to five mile walk each evening. I started adding miles to the walks and doing some longer hikes on the weekends. For months before our departure I made a spectacle of myself by trudging about on extended dog walking exercises carrying a back pack with a 25 pound sack of sugar in it. We even found a place where there were steep stairs down a cliff to the waterfront so I climbed those each evening and practiced walking on the rough foreshore available in my own back yard. By summer I was feeling quite confident. I was walking 5 to 8-miles each day and that was only by way of an after dinner walk. The whole West Coast Trail is only about 48 miles long. How bad could it be?
In the morning we were astonished to find we had to hike about a mile or so back out the highway to register. Some of it was even up hill! Then we had to turn around and come back to the waterfront again. We caught our boat and were asked whether we wished to be dropped off across the inlet at the Port Renfrew end of the trail or a little further down the coast at Thrasher Cove. Well when we said we were going to do the West Coast Trail, we committed ourselves to doing the WHOLE thing. Why forfeit the glory to save a mere 3 miles or there abouts? Five hours later we were wondering how it could possibly have taken that long to go such a short distance. I have concluded that the problem arises because of the way they take their measurements. These sketches should illustrate my point.
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Trail as seen from the air. |
Cross section of trail. |
That night I was beginning to think I had made a terrible mistake. The ladders up out of Camper Bay are huge and day three was to take us up and down the even larger ones at Cullite. I was woefully expressing my misgivings to a young man who had done the trail several times before. When he found out I had completed day two he said that it was common to experience this type of fatigue the second day and that I would probably get into the swing of the trail by tomorrow. Then he looked perplexed and asked since I was on day two, where was it I had started. When I told him we had come on the trail at Port Renfrew, he laughed and told me NO ONE started there. It was his theory that that five km. stretch had only been added for the Germans who are notoriously fit and keen. In fact we later learned that 90% of hikers come onto the trail or leave it at Thrasher Cove. I left this conversation feeling a little more optimistic and much more heroic.
It helped that he was right. By day three I had turned into a hiker. I cannot say what had changed but the pack felt more comfortable, my legs were in good shape and suddenly it had all become challenging but not painful. We put in a pleasant day and reached Logan Creek. The big excitement for me was that the following day we would be hiking on the beach. When the morning came and we set out, the reality surpassed my wildest dreams! Almost all of the pictures I have included on my photo page here were taken on that stretch in the area of the Walbran and Carmanah! As the days went on there were other pleasant surprises. We enjoyed the best tasting hamburger and chips in the world at a stand that our native hosts had set up at the Nitnat Narrows. The first meat we had had for several days. We spent that night a Tsusiat Falls and encountered our only rainy evening on the hike. We started off the next morning in a bit of a drizzle but it cleared up by noon so we were able to dry out our gear before setting up camp for the night. Like horses getting close to the barn, we could not wait to get to the trail end at Pachena on our final day. We had camped that night at the Darling River and we did that final 14 km. and arrived at the trail head office before noon. By that time our greatest interest was a shower and a receptive audience to impress. Susan will probably do the trail again sometime with another companion. For me though it was a once in a life time experience. I still smile inwardly every time I think of it. Taking that hike may not have been the most sensible thing I have ever done but it was certainly the wisest. There is a line in a hymn I know that promises, "You shall see the face of God and live..." When I hear that I think, yes, I've been there and done that.
Blisters and Bliss, by David Foster and Wayne Aitken (B & B Publishing
- Victoria and Cloudcap Press - Seattle) Box 27344 Seattle, Wa 98125This is the hiker's bible. It is a small lightweight paperback with maps and good descriptions. It is one you should consider taking with you. Its authors have lots of trail smarts and a great sense of humour. Here is a sample.
Hiking
on the Edge, by Ian Gill and David Nunuk (Raincoast Books - Vancouver)Lots of wonderful photographs as well as excellent information on the trail. Again quite a humourous approach to the subject. Gill and Nunuk describe doing the trail from south to north....as opposed to Foster and Aitken who take the reader from north to south.
Timeless
Shore, by George Allen (Bayeux Publishing).Wonderful photographs and sort of a poetic approach. I suggest you read this one when you get back. Better to be prepared by looking at Nunuk's stunning coloured photo of someone's (his own?) bandaged, blistered feet at the point when you are preparing for the hike.
For Further Information: Pacific Rim National Park Reserve Box 280 Ucluelet, B.C. V0R 3A0 250- 726-7721 email: pacriminfo@pch.gc.ca
