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15 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2009 : 3:09 PM
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Originally this years adventure was to consist of a group of 5. But as we neared the departure date it was apparent that this was not to be. One person got pregnant, another hurt his back and the third ended up in the hospital. That left only two to do the trip.
On July 17 we headed over from the mainland over to Vancouver Island. Then drove from the ferry terminal to Port Renfrew. It was a sunny day and the coastal drive was very pleasant.
We found the West Coast Trail Information Centre and had a short chat with a few people who had just finished the trail. I find it helpful to see what the trail conditions are straight from the horses mouth. I bought my souvenir T-shirt and stowed it away to be worn after the trip.
We camped at the campground at the Gordon River Trailhead. The showers were broken so in the morning we had to head off to town to use another campsites showers. We parked our vehicle and waited for the West Coast Trail bus. Lucky for my hiking mates that could not make it I found a group of people who did not have overnight trail use passes so I was able to give them a nice discount. I met some more people that had just finished the trail. They were from Alberta. A really nice couple that were pleasant to talk with.  
The bus left at about 8:30 am from the information centre and took us up towards Bamfield along the gravel logging roads. There were a lot of bones shaking on that ride. At times it felt like a massage. Other times it felt like my guts were going to shake out. There was one guy on the bus who just kept talking all the way up. .... man I wish he would just stop.
We got to Bamfield in time to do the 1pm orientation.
  
Notes from orientaion: -There was a Cougar Advisory at KM35-46 and a cougar seen
between km 14-17.
-There was a bee's/ wasp nest at km 4
-Closed area at km 56 Logan Camp Ground
-Voluntary Closures at km 36 due to Bear activity
-Do not stay overnight at Cheewhat due to habituated bear at km 33-38
-Darling River -no outhouse
-km9 Sea lions on rocks
-Tide tables add 1 hr to all times . the tides stay high or
low for 1hr and changes every 3hrs.
-No water between Tsusiat Falls to Cribs Creek
-Nitinat Ferry open from 10am to 4pm
-No bridge at Sandstone- need to cross creek there.
-from Camper to Thrasher it usually takes 4 hrs.
-from Thrasher to Gordon River it usually takes 4.5hrs.
-Gordon River Ferry open from 8:30am to 4:30pm
After the orientation we were issued our park maps and signed our lives away as we signed the permit waivers. It is important to carry those permits because the ferry boat operators will check for them and will not let you cross without them.
I camped at the trail head and met some other West Coast Trail hikers. I believe they were from Nova Scotia. One person was from Utah and another Family was from Austria.
Day 1- I did not sleep well at the trailhead campsite at all. The tent was a little cramped because we had the bright idea of sleeping with our back packs inside our two person tent. It was a good idea at the time. I thought it was kinda cool to have my feet elevated. But as the night wore on it just got in the way of me stretching out my legs. I guess I could have opened the door and tossed them under the vestibule but that action just did not happen. I woke up at 6:30 am and had the last hot shower for a while. Broke down the camp and did my stretches. It was a nice sunny morning with a good cool feeling in the morning. We started the hike at 8:30 am. There were ladders right from the start. First up then down.  
I had to adjust my son's back pack soon after we started. The back length was too much and he felt the pack slip down below his butt and the weight was on his shoulders. It took a bit to get it set up right for him. Everyone has a different body shape so the pack has to sit on those hips and the shoulder straps just need to be floating over the shoulders with a bit of pressure on the chest to prevent the pack from falling backwards. I started with a 49lbs pack and he had a 35lbs pack. From that I had about 10lbs of food and he had 9lbs of food. I am able to carry up to 3litres of water in my bladder and he had a 2litre bladder.
As we hiked I took some pictures of the trail and some big trees that had fallen. We made it to Pachena Lighthouse by 1pm at km10.      
We ate some food at the wooden light house and moved on to Michigan Campsite. There we met an guy who had done the trail 20 times.  We met many groups of people hiking out that day. Our destination was Darling River Campsite. We made it there by 3:30pm. There was a work group there to build a new compost toilet. I like the beach view from Darling. I asked the guy in charge of building the toilet to put in a nice window with a view.   
We had a nice campfire that night. 
Day 2- I woke at 5 am. ( I thought this was a vacation!) We broke camp and were on the trail by 6 am. We bumped into the first group from Tsusiat heading North towards Bamfield at about 1/2 km from Klanawa River Crossing. They were a family from Vancouver. When we made it to the cable crossing we met a group of 4 women from Vancouver area as well. We ended up helping each other across. .....nice guns on those arms ladies. I wish I could have done more to help. :) 
Tsusait Falls was our destination for the day. But we had to get water at the bridge above the falls because the water flow was so low. Good thing that we did this because the pool at the falls did not flow out to the ocean. Instead it just filtered out through the sand and rose and fell with the tides. Some people were about to get their water from the pool and I suggested that getting it from the top or from the falls itself is better. That pool water had to be something nasty. I myself stayed away from it......I could do with out the itch that may come with using the pool.   Camping was good at Tsusiat. Lots of groups go there. It was a great sunny day. I ended up getting a sunburn. I was not alone and I am sure there were others who started the next day with with a smile on their faces as they put the packs on.
Day 3- Had a really good night sleep and was on the trail by 8:12am. It started as a sunny day but turned foggy and overcast. There were a few groups that headed out before us towards Tsusiat Point ( aka Hole-in-the-Wall). 
Several groups ended up bunching up at the ferry crossing at Nitinat. 
We feasted on fresh Salmon and Potatoes. The dock on the otherside got a little crowded as more people came from the South.
The destination for today was Cribs campsite. It is a 17km walk from Tsusiat. I used the beach as much as possible. I packed 3 litres of water to start and ended up using it all up. I was able to mooch 500ml from my son. At Cribs I camped near a flat rock near some people from Calgary. They shared some marshmallows with us. 
Day 4 - This was a down day for us. Left Cribs by 8:30 am and walked over to Chez Moniques. We took a few photo's at Carmanah Light house. But the big thing of the day was to feast on the burgers that where at Moniques. She had some "woolfers" working there to help her run the business. We camped at Carmanah Creek that night. At first I thought we were going to be there alone. But late in the day few groups hiked in. We shared our fire.  
Day 5 -Carmanah to Walbran. Started the hike by 8:10 am. Took some pictures at Bonilla Point and walked along the beach and on the sandstone shelf. We made it to Walbran within 2hrs 10 minutes. Set up camp and watched as others just ate lunch and left. We had the beach at Walbran all to ourselves for most of the day. Then others started filtering in from the North and South after 3 pm. It was over cast and there was lots of sea spray. My tarp was wet the next morning.  
Day 6 - Walbran to Camper. Started the hike at 8:55 am and Finished at Camper by 16:30hrs. This was a long hard day. The wet bogs were gone. But still some mud around plus the tree roots did not disappear. It was a sunny yet foggy day. A good thing is that it did not rain. As we pulled into Camper the sun was out and we set up our tents and bathed right away. Then within a short period of time the fog moved in and it just got chilly. I had to wear dry my clothes. 
Day 7- Camper to Trailhead at Gordon River. The plan was to actually skip staying a night at Thrasher. We we going to camp in the bush near km 72 with another group. However, they continued on and so did we. What a long hard hike. It was sunny and hot out. That really saps the energy from a person. We started late at about 9:10 am. At about 9.5hrs later we were at the trail head. The ferry was closed for the day and we camped over night at the trail head and woke up the next morning to finish off the hike by crossing the Gordon River via Ferry.
 
Day 8- Crossed the Gordon River and finished hiking the West Coast Trail.  
This is my 5th time completing the West Coast Trail in the Pacific Rim National Park. I really enjoy hiking and I enjoy backpacking on this trail. I hope this trip report will encourage you to come out and hike this trail as well. I know there are a lot of people
who claim that they can do the hike in less days. I like to take the time on this hike because it is a fun journey. See you all on the trails.
Remember to take rain gear on the trail just in case the weather gets nasty. I have been on the West Coast Trail when it rains and it gets to be a tough slog in the mud.
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 | DW2
Senior Member
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West Coast, B.C.
1396 Posts |
Posted - 07/31/2009 : 10:21 PM
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| Good report, and it looks like you both had a good time. It's been about 11 years since I was there and it is a must do trip for those who live around here. Of course great weather helps make the experience more memorable. Thanks for posting. |
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Chilliwack, BC
Canada
13 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 09:15 AM
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Great report. I am doing the trail on Sept. 2 and am very excited.
Do you bring gaitors?
Do you filter your water or use tablets or drops?
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
1 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 09:37 AM
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Great stories. Sounds a lot like the trip I took earlier this summer. We left July 1st and traveled South from Pachena to Gordon River. I definitely think that's the best route to go.
JarrettVaughan, If your doing the trail in September, you absolutely need gaiters along with a sturdy collection of waterproof clothes and either a pack liner or a garbage bag for any wet clothes you may end up with. We only had one day of rain on our trip but there was still a large amount of mud. Not to mention that with rain brings very sandy gear.
My roommate and I took drops to filter our water on the trip and it worked well (if you don't mind a few floaties in your water). We took Pristine CI02 treatment ($18 from MEC) and to date it hasn't done me wrong. Have a great trip to those that are heading out soon. It's an unforgettable trek. |
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Port Moody, BC
Canada
544 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 10:57 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by jarrettvaughan
Do you bring gaitors?
I found them useful only during some sandy beach sections, to keep sand out of your shoes, as it gets quite uncomfortable and annoying hiking with sand in your shoes.
For mud...I don't see why. There is always something in the mud to step on, so that you wouldn't have to step directly into mud, like a rock, a branch, a stump, etc. However, I did see lots of tracks in the mud...not sure why though. Maybe some people like stepping in mud, maybe some are just too stupid to understand, that you can step around it, or maybe someone wants to go superman-fast and avoid spending time trying to find a mud-free path. |
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1097 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2009 : 11:16 AM
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| Gaitors are a godsend in the mud if you are using low cut trail runners. |
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15 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2009 : 1:35 PM
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Thanks for the feedback. This is my first trip report on CT. Yeah, we both had a pretty good time on this years trip. Lot's of open campfires on the beach and the weather was pretty good. As you know this hike is a lot of fun because people from various groups leapfrog as we are hiking along the trails so you end up talking with each other. There are stretches of the trail where one basically is walking along the edge of cliffs. The vegetation hides this fact but it is happening. One of the best things about hiking the West Coast Trail is when one forgets if it is Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday. It just becomes Day 1, Day2, Day3 or 4 or 5 etc.
Yes, I wear gaitors because I find them useful to keep sand out along the beaches and it helps keep the mud off the bottom of my hiking pants. The boggy areas were pretty dry when we went through them but I still managed to get my gaitors muddy. Maybe I am not smart enough to avoid the mud no matter what the conditions are.
For water. First, I use a container to collect the water from the creek. Then I put chlorination drops in. Then I filter the water into my bladder. The water levels were very low this year when we went. I know that there are other animals that use the same water sources and they may not follow our rules for going to the washroom. So the chlorine should take care of that. I use the filter to take out the big lumps out of the water. That way there are no chunks of crud getting caught in my teeth when I drink from my bladder.
I have had no blisters at all from hiking this trail. So look after your feet and have a safe fun adventure on it. Take good meals to eat and enjoy them. Good Luck.
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West Coast Trail July 2009
