Hiking the West Coast Trail

Getting ready

Day 1: Really started to have doubts about this hike when I lift my pack onto the fish scale. 47 lbs. What. The. Hell. How did it become so heavy? Too late to back out now. Our group attended the mandatory orientation earlier in the morning and we were now sitting on the riverbank awaiting a fishing boat to ferry us across the river to start our 75 kilometer hike on the Pacific Rim of Vancouver Island.
First off on the other side of the river is a ladder at a 90 degree angle. I have to two-step it all the way up. I know for a fact that my pack is much too heavy. I look back at the ferry making it's way back to the other side with the hikers who finished this morning and were looking forward to hot meals and even hotter showers. Thinking of crawling back down the ladder but I don't.
Carry on.
Lots of fallen trees, roots, mud and rocks to work through, over and under. Right leg, particularly the thigh and hip are getting weak. After hiking for three hours, realized we've only hiked about one and a half kilometers. Can't think of enough words to express my feelings at this point.
I make it to the first campsite by supper time. I am so sore. Can hardly stand up from a sitting position.
Do I cry? I've heard many hikers cry on the trail. Thinking of crying but not sure if that would help matters much. Realize that this is still day one. By early evening, we're at our first beautiful campground by the ocean. Thrasher Cove is probably the most memorable for me!
I make myself supper, my son helps me pitch my tent and I go to bed.

Waiting to get on the boat to be ferried across the river

Day two, my left leg and hip are arguing with me. Even though my physical aches are getting the better of me as I'm hiking, I try to look up and around every now and then to take in some scenery. How beautiful! Pitching the tent at the end of each day, making a hot meal and parking my head on my new blow-up pillow is one of the best parts of my day. We end up at another magnificent campground for the night.

Drying out our socks and boots to no avail

Bonilla

Day three, I pop those Tylenol 3's like a boss! Those are the painkillers I saved in case my abscessed tooth acted up. I'm not monkeying around.
We come across another beautiful campground, Bonilla Point, at the end of the hiking day, which I've deemed my favourite on the entire hike.

Coleson getting ready for night-night

Drying out my boots and socks turns into a daily occurrence and am mildly disappointed when they are still wet when I slip back into them in the morning.

Bonilla Point

The boys trying to stay cool

Day four we camp at Tsusiat Falls. That is where we end up beside more waterfalls and camp next to rock. We get there early in the afternoon. It was the hottest day or maybe it just seemed that way because we were next to lots of rock....but anyway, that, my friends, is where my socks and boots finally get dry! How exciting!

The next day we make it to what's affectionately called The Crab Shack. What a welcoming site! The family there kills the crab right in front of you so you know it's fresh! Baked potato, potato chips, pop and chocolate bars were big sellers with our group. We arrived later than we anticipated but Carl Edgar Jr and his family were kind enough, or they took pity on us, to stay late and bring us across the narrows in their fishing boat after we filled our bellies. I don't know the name of the campground we stayed at that night but they told us to hike until we see ladders going down, there would be camping for us. It was great! Beside the ocean and secluded ...just what we needed for that was our longest day of hiking.

On the fishing boat crossing the narrows

Probably should not have worn shorts on the first half of the trail

What a beautiful site!
The water was like glass

Day six we make it to the end of our trek. A day earlier than expected.

Camping beside the ocean every single night

We get taxied to the sweetest little town called Bamfield and stay the night on the lawn of a tourist information centre. We find a convenience store/pizza place and I ate myself crazy. If I lost any weight on that hike, I gained it all back that evening.





There is so much to say about our trek on the West Coast Trail. We walked for many kilometres on warm beautiful sand, trudged along miles of small rocks, scrambled over boulders the size of my house, walked across slippery logs, stepped into knee-high mud, climbed up and down ladders, crossed rivers on swinging bridges or on trolleys but damn it was fun.
I'll admit, I didn't enjoy every moment due to my inexperience as a back country camper, but that's not to say that I wouldn't do it again. Many times I saw the rescue boats or helicopters in the distance and considered waving them down.
I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted to because I had to work hard to keep up with the group but now that I look back, I don't feel so bad about that anymore. There are so many pictures and videos of the WCT online that I will just have to keep many parts of the trip as a wonderful memory.
We met many other hikers along the way. Most were happy but a few were not.

The best part of each day was sitting down with my after-dinner tea or coffee and staring over the ocean.

A big thanks to everyone that cheered me on -- my family, friends, clients and acquaintances.

The BIGGEST thanks go to the 14th McKillop Veuturer Company who got me into this and wouldn't let me bail out.....Scouter Dave, Scouter Coleson, Brett, Thomas and Evan.

How long is this walk?

Hiking is my newest hobby/project. What, pray tell, made me want to do such a thing? Well, I'm getting older. Really? Yes I am, and I knew that with several decades of mild neglect, I had to do something so that my body will still be ticking well into my golden years.

A couple of years ago I decided to start walking more. Then it turned into going for longer walks. Then it turned into buying real big girl hiking boots. THEN I heard that our scouting group's adventure to the West Coast Trail on British Columbia's beautiful coast needed another adult to accompany them. I gave it some thought. Yep, I'm gonna do it.

I may end up being the weak link in the group but unless something horrible happens like I break a body part, I'm doing it. It's been months of preparation, mentally and physically. I've had several opportunities to back out. I've heard several horror stories about the 75 kilometre trail but more often than not, I've heard wonderful stories. More and more negative thoughts swirl around in my head but all I keep thinking about is stepping out of my box.

I don't like being in my box all the time anymore. My box is comfy and warm. My box has a flush toilet and running water. My box is cool when it's hot outside and warm when it's cold out. My box also has plenty of food and beautiful clothing. I'm taking my chances and stepping out and allowing the sun to shine on my face and let the breeze flow through my hair.

(The hair that's going to be dirtier than I've ever seen it in my life!)

I've worked hard to build my nice box. I appreciate how pleasantly snug and warm I've built it but I need to open the door more often.

So next month, I'll be hauling 30+ pounds of water, food, clothing, sleeping accommodations and other necessities, on my back and walking across beautiful beaches, rickety ladders, thrilling cable cars and slimy trails...for...a...week.

I can't wait!

"It's Not Easy Being Green..." Kermit the Frog

I'm trying to be environmentally sensible. I really am. Sometimes it's cost effective and sometimes it's not. I swing towards the cost effective route whenever possible. Sometimes my memories will wander back to my childhood and think "What would my parents have done in this case?" That seems to help.

My parents were extremely frugal. (Except they didn't have plastic coming out of their you-know-what) I'm not going to start burning my garbage in the backyard and only drink water from a hole in the ground but using more reusable items and re-purposing everything possible is a wonderful way to get going.

We already cook a lot of our own food. I make many convenience foods and spice mixes. I make my own laundry detergent and use vinegar as a softener. That's just to name a few things. I'm almost to "hillbilly" level of make-your-own stuff!

Anything that I find too expensive, like purchasing items just because they're "green", well, that doesn't work for me.

Recently I discovered Norwex products. This company sells cleaning and other household products and beauty supplies that are made from environmentally-friendly ingredients and eliminates the use of harmful chemicals.

Although quite pricey at first, many of the items are of great quality and will stand the test of time. Many products contain silver which doesn't harbour bacteria. That's an idea they would've gathered from a century or two ago....even baby soothers were made from silver! (Learned that from Pawn Stars!)

Being green is hard work sometimes. I've taught my offspring a lot of DIY tactics and life skills...you know...how to sew on a button. Thanks to the internet and you tube videos, there's no excuse for anyone not to be able to figure things out on their own.

We haven't gone off the grid or anything and we're definitely not minimalists. Living in one of those "tiny houses" isn't our idea of a good time either. We find ways to lighten our impact on the environment if possible. If something just doesn't work for us, that's okay....we take from it what we can.

Which brings me to minimalism. (Does anyone else find this almost as extreme as hoarding?) You've heard the jokes...your friend comes over, she asks you if you have a place for her to sit down and you say no...because you own enough chairs for just you or your family but not enough for if guests were to visit.

I recently started following The Minimalists on social media. They say you need to get rid of "stuff" so you can make room for more things that bring you happiness. I've lived in small homes and I don't like clutter. When there's something that doesn't get used or is just taking up space, I like to give it to somebody who can use it, re-purpose, upcycle or throw it away if necessary. I realize what size house I have and that I can't fill it up with too much stuff. It's just not reasonable and it looks ridiculous when my house is jam-packed with crap. But I like my home to look homey. I like it when a friend  comes into my house and feels at ease...feel like they can just plop on the couch or pull out a kitchen chair and have a seat waiting for the coffee I'm about to serve them. I like guests looking at my pictures on the walls and asking me about them or discussing some of the pieces I retrieved from my mother's house after she passed away.

My parents were frugal because they had to be, not because it was the thing to do. They didn't know who David Suzuki was and they probably would've thought he was an idiot. Ma and Pa were from the "dirty 30's" era and everything, I mean everything, was scarce. But they made do with what they had and what they could share with and from family and friends. They didn't know that they were poor at the time.

We can read all the blogs, articles and videos about having less impact on the environment all day long but what we really need to do is think back to a time when our ancestors were alive.

Unless of course you're a close descendant of a royal family. That may be a little different I suppose.