besthike.com

February 2, 2014July 1, 2014

West Coast Trail day 6

Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles.

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

A last minute change in my transportation itinerary required that I finish the West Coast Trail a day ahead of the rest of my group.

That meant I’d need to finish the last 2 days by 4pm TODAY, in time for the last ferry across the Gordon River.

P1220341

I packed up in the morning gloom.

P1220353

Alone and at low tide, however, I made very good time.

It was just me and these … smelly guys.

Sea stacks are the iconic image of the West Coast Trail.

P1220371

I did linger to take some photos at Owen Point.

P1220363

P1220361

In my opinion, the most dangerous section of the West Coast Trail is not Adrenaline Surge, rather the boulder section between Owen and Thrasher.

P1220374

These are hikers coming the other direction. In wet conditions, the footing is treacherous.

Walk balanced atop beached logs instead, at every opportunity.

I stopped for brunch at Thrasher, pleased with my time getting there. A brazen mink was making the trip from the safety of the forest to the shore right beside hikers.

P1220380

It was trying to tear off chunks of a dead octopus, washed up on the rocks.

P1220382

Twice a bald eagle swooped in. First time we assumed it was defending the dead octopus. After the second, we realized it was trying to take the mink, instead.

Ahead of me lay the “toughest” day. Supposedly.

P1220394

In 1999 this short section to the Gordon River had taken us 10hrs.

P1220392

I’m not sure what’s changed. But it seemed very easy. Very scenic. The footing excellent.

The only real challenge was wasps.

A scrawled paper warned of wasps. I ignored it. And was stung once.

Many others that day and the next were stung, as well. (Some were stung near Chez Monique’s, as well.)

But I had no time to lick my wounds. Here I am happy to have reached the Donkey Engine.

P1220403

P1220400

km 75. We made it in time for the 3pm Ferry.

P1220412

Happy. But dirty and tired. Some injured.

P1220417

Myself. I felt great. Especially while cooling my feet in the chill Gordon.

P1220422

If you miss the 4pm boat, there’s a chance you’ll be spending the night here.

P1220423

On the civilization side you can immediately get a hot shower at the campground.

P1220434

Transportation clicked. I caught the 5pm WCT shuttle to the downtown Victoria bus station. I was at my parent’s home in Parksville by 10pm.

more photos from this day

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

February 1, 2014July 1, 2014

West Coast Trail day 5

Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles.

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

Morning was, again, misty.

P1220261

We enjoyed one of the better toilets here, however.

P1220264

Sawdust does help reduce odour.

Seems the expensive solar composting toilets (used in the past) are no longer “must have” technology.

Hicham dressing for battle.

P1220268

We faced the most dangerous section of the West Coast Trail — dread Adrenaline Surge.

P1220271

Our arrival was perfectly timed for low tide.

Two choices. Down and back up? … Or scramble around?

P1220274

We opted to stay high rather than risk a freak wave flushing us out to sea. That had happened to a friend of ours in the past. (She was washed back into the Surge on the next wave. And pulled to safety.)

P1220275

All 11 made the traverse safely. But it was very, very slippery.

If not confident in your agility, take the inland route, instead.

P1220283

On the other hand, in good conditions, at low tide, the coast can be like a sidewalk. Sandy and myself ALWAYS voted to take the coastal route. Vistas are magnificent.

The first word that comes to mind when describing the WCT is … LADDERS.

P1220290

There are MANY. Some are LONG and STEEP.

P1220296

This is no adventure for those afraid of heights.

P1220292

The second word that comes to mind is … RAIN.

P1220306

P1220298

P1220321

P1220304

The WCT is no place for those afraid of slipping on wet surfaces.

Nor those who don’t like to get dirty.

P1220303

Actually, we had only a few hours of rain. This was a relatively dry week on the Wet Coast Trail.

Any idiot can hike when it’s dry. It takes experience and expertise to enjoy camping in the rain.

P1220331

I insisted we finish off my booze.

P1220339

Good night.

more photos from this day

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

January 31, 2014July 1, 2014

West Coast Trail day 4

Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles.

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

Another misty morning on the West Coast Trail.

P1220187

Look! That head has a tree growing out of it. 🙂

P1220188

Happy hikers at the Carmanah Point Light Station.

P1220200

P1220201

Warren’s happy too. He knows Chez Monique’s is close.

P1220208

This was the 4th time over the past 14yrs that I’ve enjoyed this Beach restaurant. This time I took the opportunity to hang out with the Quebecois founder. Still feisty after all these years.

P1220209

P1220212

I learned of a new service. The restaurant will transfer 40 pounds of your food by boat for $35. You pick up that package when you get to Chez Monique’s. I’m not sure who to contact to arrange that transfer, however.

One of our best moments was hiking through tens of thousands of gulls.

P1220218

Of our 11 hikers, only 4 were brave enough to scramble the river inland to see the Canada’s tallest tree, the Carmanah Giant, at 95.836 m (314 ft). It’s the tallest Sitka Spruce in the world, too.

P1220226

A fair bit of boulder hopping was required to keep our feet dry.

P1220228

I left a Summit Stone in tribute.

Another day, more superb and varied hiking.

P1220236

P1220249

P1220230

P1220252

Some of our group reached Camp via the inland route. Some took the shore.

P1220259

One of the great joys of coastal hiking is the evening fire.

It’s not always easy to find dry wood, however.

P1220260

more photos from this day

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

January 30, 2014July 1, 2014

West Coast Trail day 3

Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles.

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

Though dry, 2003 was a foggy summer on the West Coast Trail.

P1220055

I’m trying to dry dew and mist before packing up.

Morning fog typically burns off fairly rapidly on the coast. But not this week.

P1220060

We timed our departure to reach Tsusiat Point at low tide.

P1220062

P1220085

We did some gymnastics.

P1220084

Warren showed off his mussels.

P1220081

In 1999 we could get mobile phone service most every day. In 2013 there was nothing, no matter how you “held” your phone.

P1220091

Wealthier folks than I reserve a night or two at the Dididaht tent camp.

P1220101

Happy. Happy. We reach Nitinat Narrows.

P1220118

The cost of this crossing is built into your hiking fees.

Some of us bought treats on the south side “restaurant”.

P1220133

On recommendation of the fisherman, I ordered salmon. It was cleaned in front of my eyes. Then served up with a delicious baked potato. ($25)

P1220128

P1220131

This guy ordered 2 crabs for himself. And ate every bite.

P1220132

P1220125

Onward.

P1220147

Onward.

P1220152

SOMEBODY got us lost, trying to stay on the coast when it was impassable.

P1220155

Who was that, Bill?

P1220172

We backtracked. Then made the final push to weird and wonderful Cribs Creek campsite.

P1220176

P1220179

P1220177

Food tastes GREAT when you are on the Trail, burning a lot of calories.

P1220181

P1220180

more photos from this day

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

January 29, 2014July 1, 2014

West Coast Trail day 2

Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles.

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

To catch low tide we were up and moving as early as possible.

P1210926

Of tidal pool creatures, I love starfish best.

P1210930

P1210937

Fishing was lousy out of Port Alberni in 2013. But there were plenty of Sport fishing boats off the WCT.

This is the water taxi bringing yet another group of hikers from Port Renfrew to the trailhead at Bamfield.

P1210939

Some of our group had seen a bear off our night 1 campsite. Rare on the WCT. That one had been attracted to the coast by washed up dead dolphins. The most common prints are mink.

P1210940

The WCT is the called the shipwreck coast for good reason.

P1210945

I stopped by the First Nations Trail Guardian cabin to thank the guys for taking in my friend Greg Kolodziejzyk the year before. At risk of hypothermia during a non-stop WCT trail run, Greg took refuge here for a few hours.

cabin

Boardwalk sections are better than ever.

Still, sections of boardwalk are rotted and/or collapsed.

P1210959

P1220007

Some who’ve never done the WCT wonder why BestHike.com calls the WCT the BEST hike in the world.

P1210950

P1210984

P1210958

It’s the VARIETY. Every step offers up a wonderful new vista.

The many cable cars are a thrill.

P1220006

Climbing ladders with full pack, a challenge.

P1220014

We carried a good first aid kit, of course. About 1 of every 100 hikers is evacuated due to injury.

P1220020

How do you beat campsites like this? 🙂

P1220018

Normally windy on the beach, I prevent Maytagging by putting smooth stones inside my tent.

P1220015

We camped at famed Tsusiat.

P1220019

Taking a plunge while reaching for the waterfall, I seized the opportunity to wash clothing and body.

Living this close together, the ladies insisted on some standards of personal hygiene. 🙂

P1220040

One of the biggest motivations for the trip was to show the West Coast Trail to some young people. Teegan thought it was pretty cool.

P1220042

P1220024

P1220053

more photos from this day

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

January 28, 2014July 1, 2014

West Coast Trail day 1

Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles.

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

By luck I met my friends at the store in Bamfield, buying last minute provisions. Everyone but myself had arrived by JUAN DE FUCA EXPRESS Water Taxi. (about $135 / person one way in 2013)

They’ll be hiking back to their vehicles in Port Renfrew.

P1210801

Still clean. Still fresh. But with HEAVY packs. 🙂

It’s not easy to get permits for a group this large. (The maximum group size is 10.) But we somehow managed it, booking by phone the very first minute that reservations are taken.

P1210820

Famously — this is supposed to be the EASY end of the WCT. Yet Sandy found this the toughest day of all.

Sandy’s catch phrase for our adventure, day-by-day, was from Big Bang Theory:

What fresh Hell is this?

Day 1 was not all that “easy”. New ladders have been added at the Bamfield end.

P1210834

Still — there are some gorgeous attractions.

P1210858

P1210866

When it’s not raining, temperate rain forests are intriguing. So many odd mushrooms, for example.

P1210825

P1210833

P1210826

Trying NOT to accidentally step on huge Banana slugs is a challenge.

P1210837

At this end, many of the biggest old growth trees have been logged.

P1210857

How are the toilets, you may ask?

P1210877

P1210868

Not as good as on my past trips. Avoid them if you can. Sit in the woods, instead. 🙂

How is the mud?

P1210870

Not as bad as on past trips. 2013 was a very dry season.

As always, the safest strategy is to plod right through the middle. This is one trek where waterproof footwear and gators are recommended.

Most of our group was from flat, FLAT Saskatchewan. Tidal pools are a big attraction.

P1210882

P1210883

All week our timing with the tides was perfect. Hiking the coast when tides are low, weather dry, makes the WCT far, far easier.

P1210888

On my other trips we camped at Michigan. Trying to avoid the crowds, we kept going to Tsocowis Creek. We found it fairly crowded.

P1210897

P1210907

P1210899

What’s this weird toilet-paper-look-a-like kelp?

P1210896

For the first time on the WCT (for me), we had a bear lockers at every campsite.

P1210914

A perfect start to the West Coast Trail. 🙂

P1210916

… Except that my headlamp failed. New batteries were dead. 😦

Warren advised to put a piece of plastic between the batteries and the contact while in transit. Next time.

more photos from this day

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

January 27, 2014February 3, 2014

West Coast Trail day 0

Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles.

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

The West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island in Canada is our #1 hike in the World.

This was my 4th WCT. 🙂

My Dad dropped me at the ferry in Port Alberni. Riding the Francis Barkley is my favourite way to start the WCT.

P1210737

The weather was perfect as it had been for most of the summer of 2013.

P1210758

Scheduled to rendezvous with the rest of my group next day, I could have taken a trail shuttle out toPachena Bay Campground at the trailhead.

Instead, I stayed at small Centennial Park Campground ($23) in Bamfield.

P1210788

Having no place to store my food overnight, I ended up leaving it in this shed. Storage for a communal fenced garden.

P1210787

My new lighter failed. They truly are an unreliable technology. 😦

It was nice to have a final few hours with phone / free internet access (Bamfield Community School Library). And there were OTHER good reasons to spend my last night in Bamfield. 🙂

P1210786

P1210789

I enjoyed both meals at Tides and Trails Restaurant.

more photos from this day

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info page

January 24, 2014January 22, 2014

mountains are not stadiums

Kolby Kirk linked to this bit of wisdom:

“Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.”

~ Anatoli Boukreev

January 23, 2014January 22, 2014

visiting Lesotho

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

The landlocked mountain kingdom of Lesotho is an enclave completely surrounded by South Africa.

LESOTHO

Population just over two million, about 40% of the population lives below the international poverty line of US $1.25 a day. It’s one of the poorest nations on Earth.

The easiest way to hike Lesotho is by guided day tour ($50) out of Amphitheater Backpackers in the northern Drakensberg.

Our first stop was at Mafika-Lisiu school, the only one for many miles. Amphitheater Backpackers built a classroom.

One of the teachers joined us as an assistant guide. Local information, first hand.

This teacher has been waiting nearly 2yrs for a visa that would allow him to visit South Africa as a tourist.

Lesotho once had the opportunity to join South Africa, but the leaders — considered very corrupt — declined.

Many families here are self-sufficient, not much using currency. Maize is the primary crop. 75% of the population is rural.

No electricity. No formal shops. The school does have a football field.

From the school we hiked up to see some of the famous cave paintings.

Sadly, many had been defaced.

Again we saw plentiful bird life, but no wildlife. This was the wildest creature en route.

From the caves our group had the option to extend the hike up on to a ridge.

Hans loved the tranquility of the valley.

There are “roads” in Lesotho, but most are awful.

Hans signed on for the tour because he wanted to see a traditional African healer.

She’s entirely self-taught. Her healing ability is a “gift” first revealed in dreams.

Here is her home.

I’m a skeptic of natural medicine. But most people in Lesotho do not have the money nor transportation to make the long trip to a clinic or hospital. She is all they’ve got.

Her bedside manner is excellent. Warm and charismatic.

One tidbit we learned is that the traditional round houses with thatched roofs are slowly being phased out. Thatch is expensive in 2014. And must be replaced regularly.

Children here do not have much. The healer married at age-20 and had had 8 children.

Kids seem to roam about unattended by parents. They are raised (and disciplined) by the village.

AIDS infects about ⅓ of the population. But we heard nothing of that on the tour.

Theft of animals is the most worrisome “crime” in Lesotho. Though the kids are ignored, valuable stock animals are watched closely.

One local man was trying to chase down a young cow while we were there. 🙂

more photos

Full disclosure: I had been booked on a serious 8hr mountain climb for this day. But opted out, switching to the Lesotho cultural tour instead. After only one day in the summer sun, I was too sunburned to risk a tough climb.

January 22, 2014January 21, 2014

Thukela Gorge, South Africa

I hiked to the top of Thukela Falls, one of the highest in the world. There’s another terrific trek in the National Park to the base of the Falls.

Trip report from the Cooking in Tongues blog:

Royal Natal National Park, Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa, September 26, 2011

I’m up early hoping to catch the first rays of light on the Amphitheater. The cliff face glows in the early morning light just before 6. …

… about nine miles round trip up the gorge with great views of the Amphitheater. …

We follow the river upstream until we come to the confluence of two rivers. Here you have the option of taking the “tunnel” along the river through the gorge or climbing the chain ladder up about 50 feet to a path that bypasses the “tunnel”. …

read more …