Gordon River (end!)

We were expecting today to be one of the hardest of the trip but I didn't find it too bad at all. We got out of camp at 8:30 -- a new record. And it only took us 4:30 to do the 6 km.

At the end of the trail, we all shared some treats. I got a delicious baby bell from Julia and gave everyone a spoonful of Nutella. They were very appreciative, especially Heather who cleaned the jar.

Next time: bring duct tape for blisters!

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Thrasher Cove

The first few km of the day were super fast. We were doing a km every 30 minutes, which qualifies as fast for us now. For some reason, the last 2 km before the side trail to the campsite took a lot longer, and the 1 km side trail itself took 50 minutes.

It was all through the forest today. The tides were not in our favour to do the beach route. Others told us that the beach route to Owen Point was spectacular but after that it got really tough.

We got into the campsite around 3:00 and didn't know what to do with ourselves at such an early hour. Our frequent beach neighbours from Alberta had set up a fire so we hung out with them for a while.

We had some light rain on the trail but nothing too bad, especially since Heather found a perfectly sheltered lunch spot. My pita bread is getting pretty crispy and it's harder to not make a mess, but I did better than yesterday when I spilled some peanut butter on the trail and had to bury it with my pooper scooper.

In the tent right now it's raining steadily. That means the tent will be heavy tomorrow but at least most of the food is gone.

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Camper Creek

With 9 km to cover, today seemed like it should be a short day, but after 1 km I could see that our pace was about 40 minutes per km. That pace got even slower when we hit a traffic jam at the ladders at Cullite Creek. Total time today was just over 8 hours.

The thing with a big group is that you can only go as fast as the slowest person, and different people are slow on different types of terrain. Heather is slow in technical root and mud sections, Kent finds the beach difficult and Julia has trouble with heights, which slows her down on the high elevated logs we've had to walk on. I'm slow on the logs too. Everyone says to watch out for the ladders, but those aren't a problem for us. It's those logs that are scary. You are on a very narrow, slippery piece of wood; losing your balance would mean a very unpleasant drop.

Speaking of drops, Jen left her pack in a precarious position at lunch time and it ended up falling into a gulley. A couple of guys passing in the other direction helped us fish it out. Luckily, she only lost a spoon and cup.

Nice campsite tonight but crowded. I had rice and chicken tonight and it was soooo good. Much better than yesterday's chicken vindaloo.

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Walbran Creek

A much shorter day today distance-wise but we still didn't get in until 5 or so. We lost a lot of time at Chez Monique's because Monique lost Jen's burger order.  This made us narrowly miss a tide window that would have allowed us to avoid a cable car and save tons of time and energy.

After a brutal section of trail, we got into the Walbran site, which has a very nice pool for washing as long as you don't mind an audience. I stupidly washed all my dirty clothes thinking there would be enough sun left to dry them. Nope. They're here in the tent with me, heavy with moisture. I've left the fly open and put my long johns on, hoping that the air circulation will help them dry. If not, my pack will be a little heavier tomorrow.

Chez Monique's was otherwise a great treat, by the way. I had a cheeseburger with bacon and Doritos on the side and two bite brownies for dessert. Went down nicely!

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Cribs Creek

Writing this a day later , I don't remember much about the hiking, just that it was a loooong day. It took us 9:30 to cover 16 km.  The long distance was by necessity due to passing through reserves and areas of "high wildlife activity".

It rained quite hard for much of the hike but we were warm so that wasn't a huge deal.  The real problem for me came after the hike when people were doddling around when we should have been getting supper ready. I was very tired and hungry and grumpy.  And my blister was really hurting. I did feel a little better after dousing the fire with a huge barrel I found on the beach.  There's nothing like pouring cold water on a hot fire.

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Tsusiat falls

Not too much of note on the trail today. Lots of walking on big flat rocks on the beach. Tidal pools had lots of little critters scurrying around. Hit our first cable car, which was a good upper body workout.

The blister on my right big toe caused me grief today. I put moleskin on it at km 6 but I guess that wasn't soon enough. A heavy pack magnifies any shoe fit issues.

Camp site is on the beach again but much bigger.  We all took a bath in the pool under the falls, which felt awesome. My dry-bag-soapy-water-and-sponge technique worked well.

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Tsocowis Creek

At km 16.5, sitting around a fire. We were slow getting out this morning: around 10:30. Got into camp around 6.

Sun all day! Trail was mostly dry except for a few short muddy sections. Saw some huge sea lions at one of the lookouts.

Jen was the fastest all day until Darling Creek when we found her lying on the beach with a sore back. Disconcerting since she broke her back not too long ago. Anyway, she made it to the site without help.

Site is on the beach among a tangled mess of driftwood. Lovely!

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Bamfield

Picked up Julia yesterday and drove right onto the 6:00 ferry. Everyone else had more work packing since they are away from home. My bag was ready to go so I think I was the first to sleep. Slept soundly until about 3:30 when I started panicking about whether to bring sneakers or just flip flops.

Up at 4:55 this morning so others could catch the shuttle. Stomach was unsettled on the windy road to Port Renfrew but otherwise a fun drive.

Met a young couple on shuttle who had just finished. They had great weather and found it challenging but looked fresh.  Bumpy ride on the logging road!

About to get supper ready; everything going well so far. Just a bit worried that some of us might have too much stuff. When Jen sat down, her bag flipped her backwards.

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West Coast Trail Preface

Following are a few posts about my experience on the West Coast Trail with four fine folks from the east.  I wrote these on my phone in the tent at the end of each day, so they aren't very big on details and, in retrospect, they also reflect how tired I was.  It really was an amazing hike and I would definitely do it (or something like it) again!