Our group of adventurers arrived home today signaling the end of a long and very challenging hike on the West Coast Trail. My backpack and gear are full of sand and covered in mud. I am nursing the remnants of a black eye (contact with a root), battered knee (contact with a boardwalk) and bruises. All of this is accompanied by physical and mental exhaustion. In another week I will tell you what a great time I had, but right now it is enough to say that I successfully completed the hike.
Below are a few pictures of our adventure. Member of our hiking group were Bill Adams, Barbara Allen, Kim Robinette, Will Skelton, John and me.
Day 1-August 8. Day 1 was all forest hiking. We hiked through a lush rainforest filled with grand Sitka trees and large ferns. Most of the day was spent navigating the roots and mud pits. This piece of forest hiking made the hardest trails in the Smoky Mountains look like bunny trails. We were glad to see this day end and happy that we had chosen to hike the trail from the hardest end to the easiest. Campsite on night 1-Thrasher Cove.
Day 2-August 9th. We did everything right on this morning and beat the tides to Owen Point. This photo looks out on the sandstone rocks in front of Juan de Fuca Strait. The photo was taken from a cave. Owen Point is quite a spectacular place and worth the 6:00 am wake-up call to catch the tides just right.
Day 2-August 9. John and Bill are contemplating hiking along the sandstone shelf. Parts of the shelf were very slick and hiking with care was in order. The tidal pools within the shelf were our favorite. We spent a lot of time studying the different marine ecosystems in the pools…fish, crabs, muscles, seaweed and anemone. Campsite for Day 2-Camper’s Bay.
Day 3-August 10. Yep, that is me climbing off the suspension bridge and onto a ladder. Day 3 brought 926 rungs of ladders…up and down. And yes, the ladders are as steep as they appear in the photo. This was a particularly painful day; physically the hardest we experienced. We thought we were home-free after this but we didn’t realize the mental challenge Day 5 would bring.
Day 3-August 10. We camped at Walbran Creek on night 3. Kim and Will share stories of the day’s adventure with Bill, Barbara, John and me.
Day 4-August 11. Bill has just crossed Walbran Creek. The crossing was more than a rock hop, it amounted to a calf deep wade. Bill became legendary on the trail for his speed and big pack. He beat most everyone into camp by 2 or more hours.
Day 4-August 11 Will and Kim prepare to cross Walbran Creek…backpacks on, sandals on, boots in hand. The creek flows directly into the Juan de Fuca Strait and has a bit of current.
This was my favorite day! We spent a lot to time beach hiking and had our 1st of 2 lunches prepared by Native American food stands along the trail. On this day we enjoyed cheese burgers and chips at Chez Monique’s. I also had 2 Diet Cokes! Yum!
Day 4-August 11. John hiking on a sandstone shelf. We were fascinated by the patterns sculpted into the shelves by the waves. We thought they looked like farm fields plowed for the spring plant.
Day 4-August 11. Our first glimpse of Carmanah Lighthouse high on a rocky cliff! Shortly after this picture was shot, the three day fog lifted and we spent 1.5 hours at the burger joint, soaking up rays and enjoying the food.
Day 4-August 11. Our evening camp at Cribbs Creek provided us with our best sunset along the trail. The campers at this site lined up like paparazzi to photograph the changing light patterns.
Day 5-August 12. This was our longest and most mentally difficult day. The hiking guide said the hike, 9.9 miles to Tsuisiat Falls, should take 7+ hours. We were definitely apart of the + in the 7 + hour estimation. After beach hiking the day before, we decided to stay on the trail for Day 5. This was not our best choice; we discovered the beach cut off time and mileage. Oh well, we finally made it to camp before dark.
Trail hiking did provide the opportunity to hike on the cliffs high above the strait. This type of hiking provided views that we would have missed from the beach.
Day 5-August 12. John and Barbara high above the Juan de Fuca.
Day 6-August 13. On this day we took the beach where possible, but we still could not escape the inevitable ladders and boardwalks!
Day 6-August 13. I actually enjoyed this day, or at least parts of it. I did get weary of the ladders and uncomfortable on the broadwalks after a pretty nasty slip on Day 5. If you look close at my left knee, you will see a couple of cuts.
Day 6-August 13. Our final and favorite campsite, Michigan Creek. How do you like our “room with a view”? We spent much of the evening watching the tide crash into shore and drift back out to sea. Several campers claim to have seen whales but we didn’t.
Day 7-August 14. An early morning (4:30 am wake up) to begin our 7.5-mile hike out to catch the bus back to Port Renfrew. This was by far the easiest of the 7 hiking days but certainly not a walk in the park. The photo above is from the Pachena Lighthouse…in the fog of course!
While all of us feel a great sense of accomplishment, John and Bill thrived on the physical challenge and say they would do it again. For the other 4, once is enough!
