While planning our dive trip to British Columbia, we were looking for an additional avenue through which to depose of our boundless energy. Remembering the comments about a certain "West Coast Trail", we decided to find some more info regarding this popular hike over the Internet. There we came across a few well written reports and descriptions of the trail, all of which had the message in common that this trail was going to take a lot out of you and that you better hit it well prepared, be it that you bring the right equipment or that you be physically fit. Much in the same way the official Hiker's Prep Guide warns the rookies out there that the WCT, as it is commonly known, has the reputation of being "one of the most grueling treks in North America".
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Now that sounded just like what we were looking for. So we reserved our spot over the phone and started off the feast on July 6th, 1999, from the northern trailhead near Bamfield. Getting there is kind of a drag if you don't have your private limo driver or access to a chopper. We can't recommend a buddy or your girl-friend driving you there. They'd hate you for it, especially if they are not experienced 4x4 logging-road drivers. It's better to dish out the cash and catch a ride on the shuttle bus from Victoria, with guaranteed pick-up at the end of the trail.
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At the trailhead near Bamfield, a park ranger will instruct you regarding wildlife, conditions on the trail and tide tables. You are well advised to pay attention, especially to the tide tables. The park administration has actually not managed to print a tidetable figuring the daylight savings time in, so you gotta use your brain, too, when calculating the tides. That's also the time when you fork over the 70 C$ trail use fee and the 25 C$ for two ferry crossings provided by native bands along the trail. Sorry to say, but 12.50 C$ per person for the kind of crossing you get, is an incredible rip-off. The whole reserve must be living off the two guys running the ferry.
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You can find all the basic technical info on the various aspects of the trail on the
Net, so we won't bother to regurgitate all of it here. However, we have a little piece of advice for you. The trail can become (and was when we went through it) one huge mudhole in some parts, which is why these three things are absolutely essential items: adjustable lightweigt poles (a pair that is), gators and (when camping in the forest) industrial strength bug repellent (with lots of Deet in it). Duct tape, especially when water resistant, can also be useful as is a rain cover for your backpack. Other useful things to consider are: keep your group small or split it up right at the beginning, try to plan your hike around the low tides (walk on the sand or the shelves) and the times the ferries run. In that manner, the trail can be hiked in 5 to 7 days, without having to kill yourselves. One thing you might wanna consider also is to check out the
weather in the region over the past few years.
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The weather and the condition of the trail will render any fancy calculations about splitting the 75 km (47 miles) into equal legs useless. We did the trail in six days, going almost 20 km on one day and about eight the next, but spending equal amounts of time walking... And all that time you are carrying a 20 kilo (40 pds.) pack on your back. All told, the trail turned out to be harder than we actually expected it to be and nobody else we met and talked to did the trail in less than the time we did it in.
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So let's find out how we fared.
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