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Published: September 2nd 2009
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Hope you're all well.
The West Coast Trail in Vancouver Island is part of the Pacific Rim National Park - an area inhabited only by indignious folk and with a couple of parks Canada wardens offices dotted around. It's a 75km hike following the shoreline from Pacheena Bay to Port Renfrew and was built in 1906 as a life-saving route to provide help for the many ships that become stranded on the stretch of coastline known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. In the last 150 years there have been 23 shipwrecks there with 160 lives lost.
Nowadays its a hike that offers what very few other places in the world can - temperate rainforest on one side of you and Pacific Ocean on the other. As we walked we saw Grey Whales, Killer Whales and sea lions on our right as brown and grizzly bears, cougars and wolves roamed on our left. Six days of sun too - but the pacific mist lingered around us too.
Other than the wildlife there are other things to be wary of. These are covered superficially at the madatory orientation session before you emabark on the trek and include:
1)
Cable Car
These were used to cross large expanses of water that couldn't be waded through. PSP (Paralytic Shellfish Poisioning) - don't eat any of the bivalves (clams, muscles and oysters) that are washed up by the bucket load in a red tide otherwise you will die. The poisoning is lethal to humans.
2) Tsunami extraction points are signposted all over the trail with ladders in place to escape a giant tidal wave should it hit. We're informed they are 'relatively' rare but if you feel an earthquake (less rare) you should drop your packs and get your skates on.
3) High Tides and surge channels - high tides have stranded many people attempting to walk around a headland on an income tide and being cut off. People have recently been swept into sea caves by rogue waves and been unable to exit before the high tide does for them. There are only a few areas where access is possible to the rainforrest - the majority of the trail is beside steep cliffs. Surge channels on the other hand can sweep you off your feet and out to sea even at low tides and should never be crossed by a novie hiker. But then we're pros aren't we.
4) Animal tracks are posted
in the wardens office at the beginning of the trail and if you see them on the beach or in the mud ahead on your route and note they are fresh you should 'exact caution'. So what does that mean then. It was Cougar kitten season and apparently the mums to like you near them.
But apart from this and the avearge of over 100 evacuations by helicopter or boat per year we weren't too concerned. And we were fine. We met several really nice geeky hikers (I think were rapidly falling into this category) who we beat in to camp every night. Naturally our stage wins (6 from 6) were as a result of a relentless competitiveness that saw me allow Lindsay only 10mins break per 3 hours on average and this for a trail famous for its heavy going nature.
Every night we camped on the beach and dreaded a rolling wave would penetrate our makeshift driftwood sea defence and soak us. I would normally haul a piece of wood about 6 yards from its original place and pop it 2 yards in front of our tent assuming it would do the job. The next day
Driftwood moved by a high tide
Ridiculous - amazing power, FYI Sam Taylor I would invariably notice driftwood literally 20 times the size had been mercilessly thrown hundreds of meters down the beach. Not a place to go swimming.
Hygiene was called into question regularly as with six days and nights on a wilderness trail there are no showers, no running water no nothing. Just a drop toilet. We would wash in creeks and streams or the sea. Nutrition was simply porridge for breakfast, bagel and dried sausage for lunch and pasta and pesto for tea with a few chocolate bars and wine gums thrown in. A simple life for simple people. We will obviously be doing much more in the states before times change significantly in South America.
Not that I want to take anything away from the difficulty of the trail but it is worth saying here that a woman completed the trail with only one leg. And she didn't have a prosthetic one to aid her either. Just two crutches and a leg. Incredible. Inspirational.
I will let the photos do the rest of the talking and update you further from San Francisco in a weeks time. Hope everyone is enjoying the end of the British summer?!
Lighthouse
Not much good in these conditions so they use a horn non-stop throughout the day And you are all fit and well.
Toodle pip for now
Linz and G x
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Mum and Dad F
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Piece of cake- not!
What an incredible hike. The sunset at camp one looks so cosy and inviting and gives little indication of what lay ahead. It made our little walk in the Pacific Rim near Ucluelet look like a Sunday School picnic. Could not have done the ladders - up or down. Well done George! The warning list was a bit scary... but as you have proved, you finished it, emerging winners... but it wasn't a race! Where have we heard that before? Awesome pictures- look forward to seeing the rest on Truprint. Lovely to be in contact tonight. Keep writing the blogs and the diaries.... could publish them on your return. Bill Bryson eat your heart out. Mum and Dad F. xx