Vancouver Island!
It's very difficult to paraphrase into a short blog the incredible events of about 2 weeks on Vancouver Island, but I will do my best to hit the highlights, and leave some of the finer details to be further documented in the film, eventually.
So, after a short visit with B-Rad in Vancouver, Scott took the ferry over to Victoria and Brad and I flew the short 30min flight over the Georgia Strait to the Victoria International Airport. We passed Scott's ferry along the way and the timing was perfect for our friend Justin, who lives in Victoria, to pick up Scott at the ferry terminal and then pick up Brad and I at the airport nearby. So, Justin got full points for timing the pick ups without anyone waiting, however, unlike our host Ben in Calgary and Brad in Vancouver, Justin did NOT greet us with cold beers. But, we were able to make up for it later with some local micro-brewery ales.
We gave ourselves only 1.5 days in Victoria to prepare for the epic West Coast Trail (WCT) hike because we wanted to capitalize on the window of sunny weather that was forecast for the island. Our first stop was at my aunt Mary and uncle Deg's house in Esquimalt where the four of us barged in unannounced for dinner and to pick up some camping supplies of mine that they had taken west for me from Alberta the previous week. Scott and I were particularly greatful for the delicious home cooked meal considering our staple through the BC interior had been peanut butter sandwiches. That same night we met up with some friends of Justin's who are avid backpackers and gave us many useful recommendations of what to bring and what not to bring. We stocked up on high density, high calorie groceries, stopped at the Mountain Equipment Co-op for about $300 worth of gear, stove fuel and energy bars, and then began to assemble everything back at Justin's house. In the back yard we set up tents, checked to make sure all our gear worked, waterproofed boots, etc. Inside we spread groceries all over the living room, repackaging everything for better packing efficiency. When all four packs tipped the scales at about 45lbs each we were ready for bed.
In the morning we hurried out the door after a quick breakfast and a quick excel spreedsheet to figure out the cost sharing of all the food and supplies. We somehow crammed all our packs into the back of Justin's tiny little Ford Festiva, and drove about 2 hrs up to Port Renfrew for our WCT orientation session. After we'd been adequately informed and warned of the perils that lie ahead, mostly bears, cougars, wolves, slippery rocks and ladders, broken and tipsy boardwalks and the threat of hypothermia, we took a ferry across a short inlet to where the actual trail begins.
We tightened up our shiny clean hiking boots, donned our new goretex gators, and struck off into the rainforest. All of us were immediately in awe. I couldn't believe the imensity of the trees and the intricate canopy formed by their giant moss covered branches. The forest floor was a profusion of lush ferns and colorful, wet flowers.
At a moderate pace we were right on track to make the first camp site well before dark, but we didn't want to push it too hard and rush to the second camp site to arrive late in the evening. The first 22km at the south end of the trail are the most technically challenging and slowest to cover. We averaged close to only 1km/hr while climbing ladder after ladder after ladder, and often had to slow down to find ways around giant mud holes or walk carefully balanced along slippery logs suspended in the air. This was our first day, we wanted to be safe and we certainly didn't want to hike such long days that we wouldn't have any time to enjoy the beaches along the way. We had scheduled and planned our food for a 6 day hike, with enough extra for a 7th day if necessary.
The first camp site "Thrasher Cove" was incredible. Imagine a pristine deserted beach on the Pacific Ocean, with soft warm sand, blue skies, an abundance of dry drift wood for camp fires, and a nearby stream of all natural, crystal clear drinking water. And imagine having all that, all to yourself. We did. We tore off our packs and smelly socks and ran laughing into the freezing cold sea. We rested against massive logs of drift wood on the warm sand, completely exhausted after only covering the first 6km of the 77km trail. Every tool, every piece of clothing and rain gear, every ounce of food that we would require to hike through that 77km of trail, was all in our 4 backpacks. We were self sufficient, independant, all of a sudden cut off completely from the world of civilization and the conveniences of plumbing, electricity and effortless transportation.
Above all else, we were told, the most important thing to pack on a hiking trip, is really really really good food. And it's so true. There are few minutes in the day while hiking through the woods that your thoughts are not occupied by what's for dinner when you make it to the next camp site. And on that first night, boy did we eat good! Chicken, seasoned with pesto sauce, grilled on a stick over a driftwood fire on the beach, with white rice and hot tea. Mmmmmm. We all slept well that night I think. In the morning we broke camp after a fairly leisurely breakfast of oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit. It was back into the forest for another full day, ending up at Camper's Bay where we dined on steak and potatoes. Yes, real beef steak, grilled to perfection on a hot flat rock in our camp fire, complete with rubbing spices and margarine to make sure the meat didn't stick to the rock. It was incredible, and with that meal was the end of our fresh meat. The rest of our menu entailed mostly pastas, soups, and other fairly instant meals.
It wasn't until roughly half way through the 77km that the trail started really following the beach. The terrain was constantly changing, from soft wet sand beaches, to flat tidal shelves covered in slippery sea weed, to narrow winding trails through bushes that bordered the edges of high steep cliffs along the rocky shore where waves crashed with powerful spray and sea lions watched on from distant island rocks. We got into a rhythm, took turns leading the pack, talked about the environmental, political, and social messes the world is in. Every so often we would stop so that Justin could boulder a cliff or Brad and Scott could check the tide tables to make sure we wouldn't be swept out to sea if we took the shore route instead of the forest trail. I myself was constantly taking pictures of course. With my camera strap hooked into the top straps of my backpack there wasn't any weight on my neck and I was always able to catch the unexpected photo ops with the camera ready against my chest.
I could write for hours about the adventures of each day on the trail, but I'll try to summarize. The highlights for me, were the hamburgers we bought from "Chez Monique's", a burger and beer stand set up right on the beach within a native reserve, showering under a fresh water waterfall, washing our sweaty clothes with biodegradable soap in a shallow rocky stream, watching grey whales break the water, watching bald eagles soar high over the tall trees, soaked in the mist of a thick fog, listening to Scottie playin his harmonica, sitting out on the rocky shore while we built a camp fire and started making dinner. Every moment was a highlight, there were no low-lights, oh, except for when on the last day and a half my knee became inflamed and extremely sore. Even the wet rainy nights were a blessing, we didn't get rained on once during the day! We met a native fisherman who fed us huge dungenous crabs on the shore of the Nit Nat Narrows. We saw the skeleton of a whale laid out on the grounds beside an old light house, an original fixture of the ancient life saving trail along this infamous "ship graveyard" coastline. Scott lost his thermarest, on the very last day after he no longer needed it, the one he found at a garage sale in Fort McMurray for $5.00!!
When we finally reached the trail head at the north end, we were all on the verge of collapse. We were met by Justin's friend Matt who drove us back to Victoria along some super sketchy logging roads through the island interior. Justin took the shuttle bus by himself back to Port Renfrew to fetch his fiesta. It was an incredible feeling of accomplishment, physically rewarding as well as emotionally and spiritually.
For almost another entire week after the hike, I continued to hang out with J-Man and his fun room mates in Vic City. We made meals together, built a table for Steph out of Sequoia and Cedar, I took various people for airplane rides, broke my toe surfing, and even squeezed in a tour of my uncle Deg's work where I saw a fully functioning ship deck simulator!
Eventually however, the time came to move on. I wanted to head north to Tofino, but due to the delays of my broken toe and due to some heavy fog and rain around Tofino, it wasn't possible. I flew back to Vancouver instead and stayed the night with Brad one last time before heading back into the BC interior!
It's very difficult to paraphrase into a short blog the incredible events of about 2 weeks on Vancouver Island, but I will do my best to hit the highlights, and leave some of the finer details to be further documented in the film, eventually.
So, after a short visit with B-Rad in Vancouver, Scott took the ferry over to Victoria and Brad and I flew the short 30min flight over the Georgia Strait to the Victoria International Airport. We passed Scott's ferry along the way and the timing was perfect for our friend Justin, who lives in Victoria, to pick up Scott at the ferry terminal and then pick up Brad and I at the airport nearby. So, Justin got full points for timing the pick ups without anyone waiting, however, unlike our host Ben in Calgary and Brad in Vancouver, Justin did NOT greet us with cold beers. But, we were able to make up for it later with some local micro-brewery ales.
We gave ourselves only 1.5 days in Victoria to prepare for the epic West Coast Trail (WCT) hike because we wanted to capitalize on the window of sunny weather that was forecast for the island. Our first stop was at my aunt Mary and uncle Deg's house in Esquimalt where the four of us barged in unannounced for dinner and to pick up some camping supplies of mine that they had taken west for me from Alberta the previous week. Scott and I were particularly greatful for the delicious home cooked meal considering our staple through the BC interior had been peanut butter sandwiches. That same night we met up with some friends of Justin's who are avid backpackers and gave us many useful recommendations of what to bring and what not to bring. We stocked up on high density, high calorie groceries, stopped at the Mountain Equipment Co-op for about $300 worth of gear, stove fuel and energy bars, and then began to assemble everything back at Justin's house. In the back yard we set up tents, checked to make sure all our gear worked, waterproofed boots, etc. Inside we spread groceries all over the living room, repackaging everything for better packing efficiency. When all four packs tipped the scales at about 45lbs each we were ready for bed.
In the morning we hurried out the door after a quick breakfast and a quick excel spreedsheet to figure out the cost sharing of all the food and supplies. We somehow crammed all our packs into the back of Justin's tiny little Ford Festiva, and drove about 2 hrs up to Port Renfrew for our WCT orientation session. After we'd been adequately informed and warned of the perils that lie ahead, mostly bears, cougars, wolves, slippery rocks and ladders, broken and tipsy boardwalks and the threat of hypothermia, we took a ferry across a short inlet to where the actual trail begins.
We tightened up our shiny clean hiking boots, donned our new goretex gators, and struck off into the rainforest. All of us were immediately in awe. I couldn't believe the imensity of the trees and the intricate canopy formed by their giant moss covered branches. The forest floor was a profusion of lush ferns and colorful, wet flowers.
At a moderate pace we were right on track to make the first camp site well before dark, but we didn't want to push it too hard and rush to the second camp site to arrive late in the evening. The first 22km at the south end of the trail are the most technically challenging and slowest to cover. We averaged close to only 1km/hr while climbing ladder after ladder after ladder, and often had to slow down to find ways around giant mud holes or walk carefully balanced along slippery logs suspended in the air. This was our first day, we wanted to be safe and we certainly didn't want to hike such long days that we wouldn't have any time to enjoy the beaches along the way. We had scheduled and planned our food for a 6 day hike, with enough extra for a 7th day if necessary.
The first camp site "Thrasher Cove" was incredible. Imagine a pristine deserted beach on the Pacific Ocean, with soft warm sand, blue skies, an abundance of dry drift wood for camp fires, and a nearby stream of all natural, crystal clear drinking water. And imagine having all that, all to yourself. We did. We tore off our packs and smelly socks and ran laughing into the freezing cold sea. We rested against massive logs of drift wood on the warm sand, completely exhausted after only covering the first 6km of the 77km trail. Every tool, every piece of clothing and rain gear, every ounce of food that we would require to hike through that 77km of trail, was all in our 4 backpacks. We were self sufficient, independant, all of a sudden cut off completely from the world of civilization and the conveniences of plumbing, electricity and effortless transportation.
Above all else, we were told, the most important thing to pack on a hiking trip, is really really really good food. And it's so true. There are few minutes in the day while hiking through the woods that your thoughts are not occupied by what's for dinner when you make it to the next camp site. And on that first night, boy did we eat good! Chicken, seasoned with pesto sauce, grilled on a stick over a driftwood fire on the beach, with white rice and hot tea. Mmmmmm. We all slept well that night I think. In the morning we broke camp after a fairly leisurely breakfast of oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit. It was back into the forest for another full day, ending up at Camper's Bay where we dined on steak and potatoes. Yes, real beef steak, grilled to perfection on a hot flat rock in our camp fire, complete with rubbing spices and margarine to make sure the meat didn't stick to the rock. It was incredible, and with that meal was the end of our fresh meat. The rest of our menu entailed mostly pastas, soups, and other fairly instant meals.
It wasn't until roughly half way through the 77km that the trail started really following the beach. The terrain was constantly changing, from soft wet sand beaches, to flat tidal shelves covered in slippery sea weed, to narrow winding trails through bushes that bordered the edges of high steep cliffs along the rocky shore where waves crashed with powerful spray and sea lions watched on from distant island rocks. We got into a rhythm, took turns leading the pack, talked about the environmental, political, and social messes the world is in. Every so often we would stop so that Justin could boulder a cliff or Brad and Scott could check the tide tables to make sure we wouldn't be swept out to sea if we took the shore route instead of the forest trail. I myself was constantly taking pictures of course. With my camera strap hooked into the top straps of my backpack there wasn't any weight on my neck and I was always able to catch the unexpected photo ops with the camera ready against my chest.
I could write for hours about the adventures of each day on the trail, but I'll try to summarize. The highlights for me, were the hamburgers we bought from "Chez Monique's", a burger and beer stand set up right on the beach within a native reserve, showering under a fresh water waterfall, washing our sweaty clothes with biodegradable soap in a shallow rocky stream, watching grey whales break the water, watching bald eagles soar high over the tall trees, soaked in the mist of a thick fog, listening to Scottie playin his harmonica, sitting out on the rocky shore while we built a camp fire and started making dinner. Every moment was a highlight, there were no low-lights, oh, except for when on the last day and a half my knee became inflamed and extremely sore. Even the wet rainy nights were a blessing, we didn't get rained on once during the day! We met a native fisherman who fed us huge dungenous crabs on the shore of the Nit Nat Narrows. We saw the skeleton of a whale laid out on the grounds beside an old light house, an original fixture of the ancient life saving trail along this infamous "ship graveyard" coastline. Scott lost his thermarest, on the very last day after he no longer needed it, the one he found at a garage sale in Fort McMurray for $5.00!!
When we finally reached the trail head at the north end, we were all on the verge of collapse. We were met by Justin's friend Matt who drove us back to Victoria along some super sketchy logging roads through the island interior. Justin took the shuttle bus by himself back to Port Renfrew to fetch his fiesta. It was an incredible feeling of accomplishment, physically rewarding as well as emotionally and spiritually.
For almost another entire week after the hike, I continued to hang out with J-Man and his fun room mates in Vic City. We made meals together, built a table for Steph out of Sequoia and Cedar, I took various people for airplane rides, broke my toe surfing, and even squeezed in a tour of my uncle Deg's work where I saw a fully functioning ship deck simulator!
Eventually however, the time came to move on. I wanted to head north to Tofino, but due to the delays of my broken toe and due to some heavy fog and rain around Tofino, it wasn't possible. I flew back to Vancouver instead and stayed the night with Brad one last time before heading back into the BC interior!
posted by Ben at
12:29 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home