Aug. 16th, WCT Day 7: Thrasher Cove to Gorden River

Day 7: Thrasher Cove to Gorden River, 6km

Our last day on the trail. It was foggy. But it felt like normal fog, not this super saturated with water stuff we encountered at Cribbs Creek, Walbran Creek and Camper Creek. After a while the sun burned through the fog and we had a relaxed breakfast. By the time we left for Gordon River most of the groups had left.

Foggy morning at Thrasher Cove

A view of Thrasher Cove campground in the morning mist. Most tents are tightly perched together in the tree trunk area. The campground was full and felt very crowded. Similar to Camper Creek but it does have a nice sand beach.

Group picture after breakfast. The sun is out already

Morning impressions from Thrasher Cove

More morning impressions

On our way up. Yes the path was very steep and 300m elevation up and down but who cares: It was our last day and the distance a lousy 6km

Mini break time further up

One of several bridge and ladder systems we crossed further up. The bridge was a brand new one for a change

More bridge impressions

And yes, the way had its challenges

And more roots.

And roots again. Who actually cares :-)

Sun light impressions when navigating a ladder system

More sun light impressions

And another mini break on the way

The end is close! Hurray!

Toby already made it!

The welcome sign from Parks Canada on the southern trail access

Sending the signal to the far the side of the river that our group is complete and ready for pick-up with the boat.

And another group picture

And yet another group picture. Bertram, you would have fitted nicely into this picture :-) We did think about you when taking this picture and waiting for the ferry.

So many group pictures. So much joy and happiness. Everything went really well.

Dirty Gessler family shoes and gators

Happy that I (and we) made it.

Entering the ferry boat together with the Edmonton folks who arrived with us about the same time.

Ferry boat. We stayed the next 2 nights on the campground in the background of the picture.

Getting ferried across

Final group picture at the Gorden River registration center operated by Parks Canada.

We made it. Yes, there is a bit of hardship on this last section of the trail. But at least to us it didn't feel strenuous at all. For us it was mostly about gaining the 300m or so elevation from Thrasher Cove beach up. And once the elevation is gained it is the usual forest type trail situation with bridges and ladders up and down and some mud and tree root sections. But it all felt business as usual to me and nothing like some of the stories I read in various blogs. Maybe 4 reasons for that: We had today again superb dry and warm weather conditions. And such conditions prevailed probably for much of the prior months. So this section of the trail wasn't as muddy and slippery as it normally is. I imagine that the steepness combined with mud feels more challenging at wetter and colder times. The 2nd reason this felt business as usual was that we were already 6 days on the trail. You get used to tree roots and mud. Your general fitness level improves during that time. Having todo this section on a first day combined with the Thrasher Cove to Owen Point boulders on the 2nd day probably feels a lot harder physically and especially mentally. My 3rd reason why it felt business as usual is that it was the last day. You knew that 6km weren't much and with every step you were getting closer to the end. We were "through" this trail yesterday at Thrasher Cove. Nothing fazed us any more from a trail perspective. The 4th reason I can offer is that Margaret took for this last day the Trangia cook set from me. Together with the small backpack taken by Barbara this was another kilogram less for me. And yes, it is not a lot but it does feel lighter compared to other days ...

The trail access house had another scale like the one in Bamfield. At the end of the tour our respective weights were:

Hansi: About 20kg if I recall correct compared to 24.5 at the start
Martin: 18kg. 4.5kg less compared to Bamfield. My water bottles were empty, I had lost one of my Nalgene bottes between Thrasher Cove and Gorden River, Barbara took the small backpack at day 5 and Margaret took the Trangia on the last day.
Barbara: 18kg compared to 17kg at Bamfield. She took my small backpack at day 5.
Margaret: 14kg versus 15kg at Bamfield. This included the Trangia cooking set at the last day.
Uta: 13kg very 15kg (not 100% sure at all. Uta let me know if I am way off here).
Tobi: 12kg?
Anna: 10kg?

We booked a camp site on the neighbouring campground for 2 nights. The campground had warm showers which had to be paid extra. Taking a shower was a treat all by itself. In the evening we had dinner at the Port Renfrew Hotel: Most of us had a Halibut with fries and coleslaw which was very good. For sure you get fresh fish in Port Renfrew. We also booked for Hansi a seat in the bus shuttle from the Gordon River access point to the Pachena Bay access point. Its departure was scheduled for 9am the next morning (about 80$ or so). We still had to get the other car back from Bamfield to Port Renfrew.