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eh-TEE-oh-clez |
Has anyone hiked this trail? 75 kilometers of temperate old growth rainforests, rocky beaches, and cliffs on Southwestern Vancouver Island. A friend of a friend invited me out for an 7 night hike. Any tips for the logistics of getting out there, readying up, and getting back via plane is welcome! Hiking North to South in late September. | ||
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| Mired in the Fog of Lucidity |
Never hiked it. Sounds like an awesome time of year to be doing it - have fun! | |||
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The Unmanned Writer |
Be ready for rain regardless of the forecast. When packing, have extra socks and underwear keeping them all packed in zip lock bags. (To keep dry) Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. "If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers The definition of the words we used, carry a meaning of their own... | |||
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The Joy Maker |
Keep an eye out for shoes along the coast, there could be a prize inside! 
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Member |
Went on a motorcycle trip up there,beautiful. If you can check out http://www.butchartgardens.com/,, It's a party town also. This place was cool... http://www.fairmont.com/empress-victoria/ | |||
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goodheart |
Years ago North Face had a write-up in their catalog about this hike. IIRC the hikers practically went mad with the incessant rain....  _________________________ “ What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.”— Lord Melbourne | |||
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| The Main Thing Is Not To Get Excited  |
sissies. _______________________ | |||
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| eh-TEE-oh-clez |
The North end of the island is where the tv show Alone was filmed. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It's on Netflix. | |||
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| Old, Slow, but Lucky!  |
I'm not a hiker any longer, but I DO love Vancouver Island! My youngest son and his fiance who were living in the Seattle area at the time, decided that Tofino, on the upper Northwest corner of the island would be the ideal place to be married. Our two families met there and spent a wonderful four days getting to know each other, walk the beaches and eat wonderfully at the hotel there... and Yes, it rained a good bit! I've always wanted to get back there on my motorcycle, some of the roads would be an epic ride! One thing that is a bit unnerving along the coastal area are the frequent signs warning that you are in a Tsunami Zone!! Don _______________________ Living the Dream... One Day at a Time. | |||
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| eh-TEE-oh-clez |
Yup, there are instructions all over their parks website with warnings that if you see the sea level rapidly decreasing, that you should GTFO of there. | |||
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| Thank you Very little  |
From the deck of the cruise ship on our Alaska Cruise I can tell you its one big fuggin island, I'm thinking it took three martinis, a sit down 5 course dinner and a couple of evening cigars and we still were not past the island. LOL Looks pretty much uninhabited sans the few small towns, and it was wet and cold, we went up in August. | |||
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| The Main Thing Is Not To Get Excited |
The weather is so bad there that it pissed off the original inhabitants so bad they were head hunters and cannibals. Abandon all hope Californians that want to winter over up here. seriously _______________________ | |||
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| eh-TEE-oh-clez |
I started reading some blogs of people recounting their trip and the West Coast Trail sorta looks like a shit show. I think the biggest draw is that you get to claim that you've completed it. Apparently 1 in 100 hikers have to get rescued off of the trail. Luckily, the Canadian park service makes it easy--your trail permit fees include rescue services and the trail is pretty much accessible by Zodiac at any given point. Otherwise, the trail actually looks pretty crowded. And rainy. Definitely rainy. Oh well, I've already pretty much committed, and any excuse to get out on the trail is welcome. But why the heck did this trail ever even become "a thing"? | |||
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| Member |
There are Black Bears, wolves & cougars(big cats, not single middle-aged women  ), that can be encountered on the trail, practice good back country safety & food storage, and you'll be fine. Most people that get in trouble in the back country overestimate their ability. Can't bring a gun, but should be able to get a canister of bear spray locally on the island. Late September should make it a bit less crowded. | |||
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| Conveniently located directly above the center of the Earth  |
If this is the same one, about 20 years ago #2 son & a buddy hobbled along part of it. I think they abandoned the trip as it was really more challenging than they were prepared for. Isn't this the 'coastal shipwreck survivor trail? Good luck. **************~~~~~~~~~~ "I've been on this rock too long to bother with these liars any more." ~SIGforum advisor~ "When the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change, then change will come."~~sigmonkey | |||
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Member |
Sounds pretty intense. And roughing it. I couldn't do that anymore. I did some long hikes related to this (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikoku_Pilgrimage ); while some of the hikes were hard and long (10+ miles per day), at least I had good food, a warm bath and a comfortable bed each night. I'm not buddhist so I can't say it was explicitly a religious experience for me. But it was certainly contemplative. And except for being at the temples, the (I only did about 60 miles total) hiking was largely solitary and remote; I probably only met 2 people across all those miles. Only advice - good boots made all the difference for me - I was very happy with Danner Rivot RTF. I love nature hikes. Wish I could do more. I envy you if you make this hike. "Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." L.Tolstoy "A government is just a body of people, usually, notably, ungoverned." Shepherd Book | |||
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| Muzzle flash aficionado  |
My photos of Victoria and Butchart Gardens in 2007: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157603512311778/. flashguy Texan by choice, not accident of birth | |||
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| eh-TEE-oh-clez |
Great photos Flashguy! | |||
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| eh-TEE-oh-clez |
Yeah. The trail was used to ease rescue efforts along that stretch of coast, part of the "Graveyard of the Pacific" and then to support telepgraph lines and Lighthouses. Pretty rough and pretty much impassable by modern trail standards without all of the built up ladders, boardwalks, and | |||
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| eh-TEE-oh-clez |
Are you no longer able to distance hike because of health or age? Lightweight gear is getting more and more affordable. With a pack that weighs less than no 25lbs, fully loaded, you can easily continue hiking well into your "golden years." | |||
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