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Duncan, BC
Canada
32 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2012 : 11:20 PM
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Hi;
I know of a young person coming from overseas to hike the whole trail in early may, can any one suggest approx times it would take to hike the whole trail? transportation to and from? and other information she may need to know prior to starting the trail, such as information on tides etc, as im told she would need it in certain areas. ,is it possible to rent some of the gear? if so from whom?
Thank you
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Edited by - truespirit on 04/27/2012 4:36 PM
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Victoria, British Columbia
Canada
110 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2012 : 4:32 PM
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I have done bits and pieces of the JDF trail, but not in its entirety. My wife however has done the whole thing, took her 4days 3nights, it all depends on your strength and speed, everyone is different.
There are 2 main trailheads, the south trail head is at china beach, which is about 20 mins from Sooke. The 2nd main trailhead is Botanical Beach near Port Renfrew, which is about 45-1 hour past Sooke. Now the JDF Trail runs perpendicular with the highway so this represents a few other trail exits and entrances, the others are Sombrio beach trail head and Parkinson creek trail head.
The trail varies in difficulty as well, some areas are easier than others, the difficult sections are tough, up and down gullies that are very muddy, old slippery boardwalk, downed trees are some of the obstacles you might encounter. As for tides, I believe there are some spots along the way that you need to pay attention to, that I am not 100% sure, you can get the tide charts from the Fisheries and Oceans of Canada website.
Transportation can be interesting from what I've heard, my wife and her friend drove to the Botanical beach trailhead and left one vehicle there and drove the other to the china beach trail head. Some have to hitch hike if they dont have the 2nd car.
There also might be a shuttle bus, I think, not totally sure on this, the West coast trail bus might service the JDF as well, thats a maybe?
I recommend camping at bear beach, sombrio is nice, mystic beach not bad, little small, chin beach I heard is nice as well, hope this helps. Is this person hiking it alone? good luck, its a nice area. |
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Victoria, British Columbia
Canada
110 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2012 : 4:36 PM
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| As for renting gear Mountain Equipment Co-op might, and Robinsons outdoor store might as well, they are both located in victoria, check out their websites or give em a call. |
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Victoria, British Columbia
Canada
110 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2012 : 4:38 PM
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| just checked for ya, Mountain equipment co-op rents outdoor gear, good to go. |
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victoria, bc
Canada
50 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2012 : 6:39 PM
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| 4 days and 3 nights is the best. Lots of info on beaches along the way and all good that time of year. SportsRent also rents gear out of downtown Victoria. Enjoy the trail is great. No issues with finding camping areas, good frequent water sources and in May there is still lots of driftwood to burn. |
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Duncan, BC
Canada
32 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2012 : 7:29 PM
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| Thank you board walker and icanfly for your feed back. So far she has not found any one yet to hike the trail with. |
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Mission, bc
Canada
151 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2012 : 7:40 PM
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| there is a book called, giant ceders white sands. it is a guide book for the trail and is full of info |
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Brentwood Bay, BC
216 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2012 : 10:15 PM
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I've done the trail once end to end but done it in sections and via the "secret" side trails countless times.
Tide information is key here, the trail map http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/juan_de_fuca/jdf_map.pdf marks where these cut off are located and the tide height needed to pass. Knowing high and low tide is very helpful (comforting) for beach camping, but really only Mystic and Sombrio offer that. With Bear and Chin beach the prefered camping spots are back in the trees. Tide information can be found here http://www.waterlevels.gc.ca/cgi-bin/tide-shc.cgi?queryType=showFrameset&zone=11&language=english®ion=1&stnnum=8525 It should be Port Renfrew but the date will have to be changed.
Camping spots are usually easy to find, unless she is going on the May Long Weekend; that's when I did the entire trail and it was like a race to get to the camping spots.
At all the main campsites there are food caches so you don't have to worry about that too much.
The boardwalks can be very slippery when wet and are brutal! Hiking poles can help here.
The section between Bear and Chin is by far the toughest, basically you are always either going up or down. This is not the section for a late start, so I would try to get on the trail sooner rather than later.
You want to be mindful of bears. They are typically not a problem but a noise maker does let them know you are coming. The section near the parkinson trail head tends to have more bears. Just let them know you're coming and it should be fine.
Transportation can be a challenge. There is a private bus but it's time table might not meet yours. I tend to try to get a friend to pick me up in Port Renfrew when I have done that section and then drive me back to my car. I'm also planning on doing this trail before the long weekend and when I go might depend a lot on aranging transportation.
And yes 4 days 3 nights is about the average, but people have done it faster... while going slower means you can stop and camp at a few more spots.
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Duncan, BC
Canada
32 Posts |
Posted - 04/22/2012 : 7:47 PM
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| thanks joker for your info as well;0) |
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111 Posts |
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Port McNeill, BC
Canada
108 Posts |
Posted - 04/25/2012 : 1:20 PM
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for renting gear. check out a local company called Shelter from the Storm. they rent all the gear you could need, also show you how everything works give you any helpfull tips.
happy hiking |
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salt spring island, bc
Canada
179 Posts |
Posted - 04/25/2012 : 1:39 PM
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| My wife and I just completed the JDF over Easter weekend — a trip report is coming soon. Although it hadn't started up at that time, the trail shuttle would have made things much more convenient. Instead we stashed the car in Port Renfrew and hitched to the China beach trailhead. For more info, visit: http://www.trailbus.com/ |
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Port McNeill, BC
Canada
108 Posts |
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Campbell River, B.C.
Canada
116 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2012 : 5:23 PM
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| Another cool place while on the trail to see, is on Sombrio Beach. There is a cool sandstone waterfall at the top of a stream leading to the chuck. While standing on the beach facing the ocean, it would be just around the point of beach on your left side. Nice trail. |
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Topic |
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Requested Juan de fuca marine trail information
