I (Mostly Safely) Hiked the West Coast Trail: Here are few things I Iearned about stumbling carefully...

[daftandbarmy]

I (Mostly Safely) Hiked the West Coast Trail: Here are few things I Iearned about stumbling carefully...​

The West Coast Trail (WCT) is a well-known global treasure stretching for about 75kms along the West Coast of Vancouver Island between Bamfield, in the north, to Port Renfrew, in the south. For outdoor adventurers it’s one of those must dos on the lifetime tick lists, and with good reason. With little more than a few bucks for a permit, some basic hiking gear, and a good level of fitness anyone can come face to face with some of the outrageously inspiring natural beauty that is Canada’s wild west coast. I mean where else in the world can you, quite safely, stand at the ‘edge of the world’ with a cup of coffee in your hand and watch a flotilla of humpbacks spouting contentedly away, for hours on end, less than a football field’s length away.

Having said that, the physical and mental commitment required can be daunting for some. My first trail trip was back in the early 90s, when the trail infrastructure was far less developed; like my sense of humour. What memories I can conjure from that voyage consist mainly of days of endless, torrential rain, and slipping and sliding up and down a succession of coastal chasms supported mainly by wet roots. I did not feel inclined to rush back for a repeat.

More recently, thanks largely to the aspirations of others, I had the opportunity to complete the trip twice, both north to south trips: once in 2021 and again in 2024. These hikes were much better than my earlier experiences and are largely a testament to the hard work that goes into keeping the trail in as good a shape as possible by Parks Canada and the ever present, hard working trail guardians from the three First Nations whose traditional territories are traversed by the trail: the Huu-ay-aht, Ditidaht and Pacheedaht.

So, for anyone thinking of undertaking this gloriously beautiful challenge of a lifetime, here are a few things I learned from stumbling carefully from end to end:

It’s Pretty Far

Everyone seems to know someone who ran the trail in under 18 hours. First of all, in my humble opinion, that’s not the point but by all means you do you. Secondly, normal people like me should probably not pick that as a goal for their first trip because it’s pretty far.

If you were to walk 75kms on a road, depending on your fitness levels of course, you might be able to cover that distance within a couple of days of hard work. But add about 50lbs of equipment, food and clothing, knee deep cedar swamps, 20 story high ladders, and potentially some of the worst weather you’ve ever encountered you can add three or four days to that. Or more if the rivers are too high to cross, or tree blowdowns have wrecked the trail.

I identify as a fairly experienced backcountry traveler and having been blessed by pretty good weather on both my more recent trips, we only had heavy rain on the first day in both cases, I’d say a 6-day schedule is perfectly doable at a comfortable pace of about 10-15kms per day. But I had enough food and fuel for 8 days, if you get my drift.

Bring a Massive Tarp

Amazingly, on all my trips, I met people who were doing the West Coast Trail as their first hike… like ever. I can’t emphasize this one enough – get some backcountry hiking and camping experience before you hit up the WCT. Unlike some hiking routes there is nowhere to hail an Uber should you sprain an ankle, drop from exhaustion, break a tent pole or a stove, or become hypothermic. You are your own 911.

No, you don’t need to be ‘Survivor Man’, but a good grounding in doing multi-day trips somewhere in the Boreal forest, during a variety of weather conditions, is a great way to develop your own skills and confidence before you are tested by the WCT. And while I refuse to make recommendations about most other clothing and equipment, there are many great sources of information you can mine for that beta, I would strongly recommend that you bring, and practice using beforehand, a massive tarp. Seriously.

I once heard someone describe getting caught in a West Coast rainstorm, that can occur anytime regardless of weather forecasts to the contrary, as like ‘standing up and drowning’. Imagine standing in a waterfall without a cliff being involved and you’ll get an idea of what that might be like. Keeping a tarp handy at the top of your pack for rapid deployment if required, as well as stringing it up over your tent at night, can make the difference between being dry and comfortable or the exact opposite. Sil Tarps or RAB tarps are the lightweight saviour of choice for many but, although a bit pricey, if there’s one piece of kit you should splurge on it should probably be a huge, lightweight tarp.

Be Bush Fit

I’m not a professional fitness trainer but bush fit is a bit different from gym fit, in my mind anyways.

Bush fit means you can cover 10-15kms a day bashing through soggy salal, slipping across huge logs, scaling ravines, small forested hills and ladders, trudging across sandy beaches and slurping through up-to-your-knees swamps with aplomb. All with a heavy-ish load on your back while – probably – being soaking wet.

Bashing, slipping, scaling, trudging, slurping: these are not activities that are included in many gym routines. Being gym fit is a great way to prepare for being bush fit, but you’ll also need to get out in the bush and safely stumble around on rough trails on a regular basis too. Because you’ll be covering about 10-15kms daily on the WCT it’s a good idea to test yourself beforehand on hikes of a similar duration, gradually building up your endurance and resilience. It’s also a great way to break in new boots, toughen your feet, and get used to other gear you might be carrying for the first time.

Stop and Smell the Whales’ Breath

One of the most important things you should be prepared for is to take advantage of the glorious experiences nature will throw at you with absolutely no notice, and stop for awhile to soak it all in. Standing so close to lounging whales that we could smell the plankton ejected in their exhaled spouts as it drifted over us in the onshore breeze. Standing awestuck while a huge murmuration of gulls arched back and forth across the seashore in front of us. Bent over massive tide pools, for ages, viewing every kind of sea creature imaginable. Following fresh cougar or bear tracks, as far as you dared, to see where they might be going.

If there’s one thing I regret, about my last couple of trips anyways, it is that we didn’t stick around for an extra day or so at some of the locations where so much nature was doing its thing in a way and place that is so unique. And, of course, even though I’ve said ‘never again’ after each of my three trips along the WCT that’s probably the key reason why I will, inevitably, return one day.