Category: coastal

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North Coast Trail – day 1

Sept 2012 trip report by site editor Rick McCharles


» day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | ★ recommendations ★

My cost = $256:
$90 – water taxi (6 people)
$75 – shuttle from San Josef (10 people)
$10 – map
$60 – trail fees (6 nights x $10)
… plus 12% tax

Shushartie to Skinner Creek

Sunday morning, Port Hardy. End of the World.

The N.W. corner of Vancouver Island is remote, even for Canada.

I was early arriving at the offices of the North Coast Trail Shuttle at Quarterdeck Marina, allowing time for one LAST restaurant breakfast.

It didn’t take long to load 6 hikers and gear. Departure shortly after 8am.

Skipper, George, filled us in on what to expect. It sounded much tougher than what I’d been thinking.

En route we saw our first bear of many.

On arriving Shushartie Bay, we spot a wolf.


That’s actually the first wolf I’ve ever seen in the wild.

Seas were calm and we stepped ashore easily.

Skipper, after unloading, maneuvered his boat to capture some unique footage. A moma bear with 3 cubs.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

She’s training them to hunt for small crabs. (VIDEO)

Moma finally “puts the run” to the wolf. (40sec)

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I assume the wolf was hoping to nab one of the cubs.

Skipper’s spent a lot of time in these wilds, but he’d never seen anything like that before.

So here we are. Still clean and healthy.

3 young ladies from Calgary & Victoria. A couple from Germany who had done this same hike in 2011 — and returned in 2012 because they enjoyed it so much. And one hiking blogger, already out of line.

Most on this trail are from BC, Alberta and Germany. As we were.

We did the “standard” North Coast Trail — starting at km 58.1 and working backwards. … Yes — counter-intuitive for a Trail officially opened in only 2008.

Enjoy the view at km 57. That’s the last time you’ll see the Ocean for many hours.

Enthusiastic to get started, I was quickly depressed by MUD.

The only fun sections this day are new boardwalk, this being one of the best.

Plenty more construction material has been helicoptered in — with which to build more boardwalk. But I heard the budget had run out. Even with cash I’m not sure this stretch of trail will ever be worth hiking.

No sea views, a mud slog of 8.7km from Shushartie to Skinner Creek has little to commend itself. Avoid it if you can. It can take 9hrs or more for some groups!

… Yep. An hour / km. That’s dead slow.

That photo’s actually from the infamous South Coast Track in Tasmania. This hike rivals for infamy.

Another hiker, JT, calls this the “North Coast Swamp“.

The girls had rented a marine radio from North Coast Trail Shuttle. If they called for help, rescue costs $1000.


But what do you do if someone is injured far inland, hours from the sea?

😦

How can you avoid the day 1 mud slog, you ask?

Request the water taxi to drop you at Skinner. Or even Sutil, instead.

They can — IF sea conditions allow. The water taxi can make it to Shushartie almost every day, but not necessarily any further.

There was a bear on Skinner when we finally arrived — as there often is — our 6th bear of the day. But I was too tired even to notice.

Good night.

More photos.


» day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | ★ recommendations ★

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6 nights, 6 beach camps – North Coast Trail, BC

No rain for a week in Cape Scott Provincial Park. How about that?

See the high resolution versions on flickr.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My hiking buddy Damien, trained as an officer in the Swiss Army, hates sand. Especially tenting in sand. It ruins zippers and gets into everything.

This dry, fine sand was no problem. It was a joy to camp on sand every night.


» day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | ★ recommendations ★

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starting North Coast Trail Sunday

by site editor Rick McCharles

The North Coast Trail is a 43.1 km wilderness hiking trail in Cape Scott Provincial Park on northern Vancouver Island …

With essential sidetrips my distance will be at least 61km. …

The NCT is new, official grand opening held on May 10th, 2008.

Itinerary:

Bus Saturday to Port Hardy. I’ll stay at the North Coast Trail Backpacker’s Hostel.

Sunday morning 8am the North Coast Trail Shuttle water taxi departs for Shushartie Bay.

I’ll hike East to West.

Wild Coast Magazine has the best maps.

I’ll finish at Cape Scott Provincial Park, San Josef River trailhead. Returning to Port Hardy over 64km of logging roads by North Coast Trail Shuttle van.

… This is a very challenging route and is not recommended for inexperienced hikers. Many sections require hikers to climb over or along fallen trees, to cross through deep mud, and to use fixed ropes to climb up and over steep sections. It is not recommended for those with a fear of heights. …

… a wilderness area with minimal supplies or equipment of any kind. It is not regularly patrolled, so hikers should be completely self sufficient. …

Wish me luck. 🙂

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Skerwink Trail, Newfloundland

A hiker named “Walker” recommends this short coastal hike in gorgeous Newfoundland:

… 5.8 km moderate trail that skirts the edge of ocean-side cliffs towering to 300 feet above the water. Beats most of the southern stretches of the East Coast Trail hands down. Trail head in Trinity East or Rexport (5 minute drive from 300+ year old Trinity). …

photos

What’s a Skerwink?

A shearwater. “Skerwink” is a local name for this pelagic seabird species, which lives offshore (they’re also known as “hagdowns,” in Newfoundland). It is highly unlikely that you will see a shearwater when you hike the trail. Many shearwaters do breed on the island of Newfoundland but only in a few places, and they return to their nests only at night. But do keep your eye open for other birds and wildlife!

FAQs

TheSkerwinkTrail.com

It gets great reviews on Trip Advisor, too.

More NFLD hikes.

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Nootka Trail 2011

Nootka on the northleft of Vancouver Island is like the West Coast Trail. But unofficial. And wilder.

Esperanza Ministries does a youth adventure program every year for 3 weeks (one week hiking the Nootka Trail, another week camping at Ferrier Point and another week canoeing back to Esperanza).

Click PLAY or watch 2011 highlights on YouTube. Both hilarious and inspiring.

I’m looking at the North Coast Trail, another WCT alternative, sometime last 2wks of August.

Esperanza.ca is their website. A good source of information for your own trip to wild Nootka island.

Thanks to the Boy family for the link.

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Dientes Circuit trip report

Sebastian Irazuzta via email:

… In 2010 I was inspired by the trek you have posted on Navarino Island in the South of Chile. After some research my wife and I decided to take our Canadian winter vacation to Southern Chile and Argentina and see the wilderness of Navarino Island for ourselves. I have posted a short description along with some photos and videos of this trip on Everytrail. …

That’s an interactive map. Click on the image to see it.

I should mention that the weather was sometimes amazingly harsh.

Despite this, I think it was one of the nicest wilderness treks I have
done. I think you may find this post interesting in that I have
uploaded my GPS tracks for the entire trail. This is something I wish
I had had when I was on the trail myself as some sections were
difficult to navigate by map alone due to bad weather.

Thanks Sebastian!

Check out Dientes information page.

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Hiking Whitsunday Coast – Great Barrier Reef

Flight Centre’s in-house copywriter Lyndon Barnett is an avid hiker. He recently visited Tropical North Queenslands Whitsunday Coast of the Great Barrier Reef, which is easy to reach with domestic flights from the major cities of Australia such as Sydney and Brisbane.

Most visitors come to the Whitsundays to relax on the islands and snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef – both of which are perfectly legitimate reasons to appreciate this incredible destination. However hikers might also be interested to know that the region has some terrific day hikes.

Around two hour’s drive south of Airlie Beach is the Eungella National Park. I really enjoyed hiking the various walks through the sub-tropical rainforest – the views across the valley are spectacular. The park itself is part of the wider Great Dividing Range that stretches the entire east coast of Australia. One of the big attractions for kids of all ages is the opportunity to spot a wild platypus swimming in the nearby river.

Whitsunday Coast
Whitsunday Coast

About the Author: Lyndon Barnett has travelled independently to 68 countries and extensively throughout Australia. He currently resides in Brisbane, Queensland.

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kayak hike Baja

Diana Vann on Seattle Backpackers Magazine:

If winter’s chill finds you longing for summer’s sunny days, consider a trip south of the border to Baja. Greatly reduced temperatures make winter a far more pleasant time to hike at most Baja locations than summer. Autumn and spring are good times to hike there, too. It’s also a great place for enjoying a combination of outdoor activities.

I’ve discovered that my own favorite Baja combination adventure is kayaking and camping along the Sea of Cortez, stopping to hike and to snorkel at various locations along the way. …

Camping on Isla Danzante ©Diana Vann

Adventuring through Baja – Hiking and Paddling

That’s part 1 of a 3 part series.

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Barefooting the Ozette, Washington

Barefoot Jake doesn’t always go barefoot. On this weekend adventure out of Ozette Lake he wore his Luna ATS Huaraches and Vibram Five Finger KSO.

This terrain and climate is ideal for minimal footwear.

… over 90% Board Walk made up of new, old and really old planks that have been in place for probably longer than I have been born. Figured this would be a perfect opportunity to to break in my Luna ATS Huaraches further. Felt great to let the feet air out …

Evocative photos. Check them out here – Weekend of Barefooting the Ozette

That post caught my eye linked from Hiking in Finland as I’d been to Ozette myself last week.

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Ozette Loop, Washington in winter

trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles

Also called “Cape Alava – Sand Point Loop“, the trailhead is Ozette Lake.

Ozette Lake offers several trails leading to the Pacific Coast Marine Sanctuary. I chose this adventure as it’s open year round. And because I was hiking alone, preferring a loop trail over an out-and-back.

Washington Trails Association:

With sea stacks, sea otters, sea lions, and ocean scenery for as far as you can see, the 9.4-mile Ozette Triangle is one of the finest hikes on the Olympic Coast. Easily accessible and a loop hike, the Triangle (named for the loop’s shape) is a perfect introduction to America’s wildest coastline south of Alaska. …

There are literally MILES of boardwalk.

A ranger warned me of the dangers of slipping … but (as a Canadian) even those slicked over with frost were fun for me. I ‘skated’ some of the downhill sections.

On arrival at Cape Alva, I decided to detour Tskawahan “island”. It’s actually connected to mainland at most tides.

I left a Summit Stone atop that feature, one of the westerly most points of land on the lower 48 States.

Beach walking is gorgeous. Nobody could believe this was early February — it looks like July!

There’s some fascinating flotsam or jetsam around every corner. This hot tub, for example.

I assume deer come out on to the beach for salt.

Cool Trails trip report:

… A doe and fawn passed our camp a few times. We also saw golden eagles, bald eagles, crabs, raccoons, and a fur seal pup on the beach.

Speaking of raccoons, they are as much a problem for campers as bears in the high country. (But at least you don’t have to worry about raccoons dragging your friends into the woods and mauling them.) Come prepared to hang your food and anything else scented in a tough container, like a bucket, day and night. Take your backpack into the tent with you at night, to keep the varmints from ripping it open with their razor-sharp little claws. During the day, leave your tent open and empty. I once lost an empty dome tent to raccoons who wanted to see what was inside. Don’t underestimate their tenacity or intelligence. …

At this point I was certain I’d not get back to the trailhead before dark. The sun was sinking fast.

Perhaps I should have camped here. There’s plenty of space and plenty of (tannin stained) water. 🙂

But I’d left the tent in my vehicle, so could only enjoy this vista before plunging back into the trees …

Sand Point

more photos from this day hike
_____

I used Hiking Olympic National Park by Molvar, but no guidebook is needed.

I’m inspired next time to hike Cape Alava all the way to Rialto Beach, a slow, but gorgeous, 20.2mi. That’s called “Olympic Coast North: The Shipwreck Coast“.

I might even add on “Olympic Coast South: The Wildcatter Coast”, another 17.5mi.

That’s the closet American equivalent to the West Coast Trail not far away on Vancouver Island, Canada.