WCT: Some Thoughts

• When I booked the WCT in March for all of us I had no clue what the weather would be. But I had to book. The time in August appears to be very popular and when I looked 4 hours later all spots for this time of the trail were booked.
• This blog might give the impression that the trail is readily doable with younger kids and more heavyweight folks like me. I do want to point out that we had exceptionally good weather conditions this year and yes the folks in the 6 to 8w before us had it as well: The weather forecast for the Pacific Rim National Park was a for a while part of my browser tool bar and I recall envying the folks who had these superb conditions in June/July and hoping that the weather would last. It did last and it made a huge huge difference. British Columbia experienced an exceptionally sunny and rain free summer in 2015 (an el ninjo summer I believe). We just had one so so day (yes, I said I experienced a bit misery but in comparison to what could have been this was nothing and we all understood that). A spell of 3 to 5 rainy days would have been a different proposition to cope with. Likely we would have managed it. Maybe we would have given up and returned before Nitinat Narrows to Bamfield. Who knows. All of us have done week long hikes before in our past.
• Some of what is going on hiking the trail is mental. At some points the tree roots definitely felt like getting in the way of making progress to me. My sisters appeared to cope much much better during that day! There is a certain strain of having to watch every step. It is not about stamina alone.There is no updated weather forecast available once you are on the trail. This uncertainty increases until about two thirds into the trail and causes planning uncertainty. During the final third of the trail this lack of information improves because we heard more recent weather forecasts from people hiking the opposite way.
• I think it was a good thing to follow the recommended path from north to south. The north feels a bit easier and is generally a bit flatter. It allows you to get a bit more gradually used to everything. Also the backpack gets a bit lighter and generally the fitness level goes up. I could also imagine cases for the opposite opinion: If someone is already very fit (lets say just coming from the Rocky Mountains) it could be an advantage to get to Thrasher Cove and Camping Creek within the first two nights. You are still well nourished and feeling strong. You know that likely the worst is behind you and you can take your time and enjoy the remainder, even considering an additional break day around Carmanah. We always wondered a bit if the southern portion of the trip was really this more difficult and together with the weather uncertainty it kept us moving forward. At the end of the day the northern section has its challenges as well. It is not all easy-peasy there.
• I could have packed lighter. Did we really need a tarp (my tarp was a normal tarp not a super lightweight thing)? I probably should have taken the teapot out of the Trangia cooking set. We never used the teapot on the trail. I could have done with one or 2 sets of T-shirts and underwear less. There are plenty opportunities to wash the sweat out of a T-shirt with plain water (no detergent needed) and reuse it. My rain poncho was single unit for me and the backpack. What I really needed was a light poncho for my backpack alone since I had a rain coat with me anyway. I could have taken the coins out of my wallet and left them in the car. Also my backpack was a standard travel type backpack which had a low gravity point and the weight wasn't supported by my hips as well as it could be. Furthermore it had a small second outer backpack clipped into the bigger one (think about having a small handy backpack to walk around in towns) that bumbled around at times when navigating the tree roots. Hansi's backpack looked ergonomically much better.
• Shoes are an interesting topic: I had my usual heavy boots I use in the mountains for the last 20 years. I think they served me well. However I saw one person hiking the trail with what looked like a fancy sandal. I have no idea how she avoided clobbering her toes but for sure in that forested section she moved swiftly. Some people used super lightweight hiking shoes and seemed to be happy with them. I have no idea how these shoes perform in muddy and moist conditions and how they avoid the tiny stones without gators. A lot of athletic types seemed to prefer them.
• Buying the gravity filter from MSR in Vancouver was a very good investment. Initially I thought I was going to buy another of the usual hand pumping devices from Katadyn (I have a smaller one from ages ago). However the guy at MEC convinced me that the MSR gravity water filter was the way to go considering the size of our group. I shelled out the bucks. No more hand pumping. And we had plenty of water at all times during the trail. The flow rate of the filter was good. The waiting times to get 4 to 16l of water filtered were no problems. Sometimes we simply filled the water bag and brought it back to the camp site and hanged it up there on a branch and filtered the water as needed. It is probably overkill for a single person or a pair. But for a group of 7 it was ideal. I am not a fan of using chemicals for water treatment. But I do realize that they are a popular alternative.
• I should have read some of the guide books. Somehow I did not come across them. I had a pi times thumb estimate that we would need about 7 to 8 days for the trip and planned for 1 rest day or 2 additional emergency or rainy days for a maximum of 10 days. Actually most people seem to complete the trip in 6 or 7 days. 5 days feels pushy to me. 8 days definitely allows for a break day somewhere in hindsight. The time spent on the trail possibly depends less on the weather. At some point you have to hike regardless of the weather and stand up earlier and hike longer if the way is really muddy and slowing a group down.
• Most groups probably fall into patterns of campground use. There isn't much opportunity to avoid Tsusiat Falls on the way south. Unless someone books the "luxury" tent operated by the First Nation folks halfway into the 17km section or decides to stay at Klanawa (which is nice as well). It is probably possible to get from the north to Klanawa or Tsusiat in one day if a group starts early at Pachena Bay and its fitness levels are good. Conversely I can imagine to hike out to the north access point from Tsusiat in one day to Pachena Bay. A warm shower is waiting there and showing up late is not an issue. Walbran Creek also feels like a natural stopping point before heading in the forest section because of its beauty. It is possible to continue hiking beyond Cribbs Creek and stay at Carmanah when coming north via the 17km. But why rush the beautiful area between Cribbs and Walbran Creeks.
• Logistics: The normal access via car to Bamfield appears to be via Cowan Lake. The logging road junctions do not necessarily have signs. It is possible to get lost. We took a picture of a map in the Parks Canada house at Gordon River before driving the logging roads. I would seriously consider using the 'Lady Rose' ship from Port Alberni the next time (especially since Port Alberni is well serviced by public transportation from Nanaimo or Victoria). Using the WCT bus shuttle from Gordon River access to Pachena Bay access is also a good choice. Yes you have to fork over money for the shuttle. And yes the parking lot for a car has to be paid there as well. But at the trip end you are were your cars are and one can go back to civilization. There is no cell phone service in Bamfield or in the Port Renfrew areas. There are land line phone spots and some spots in Bamfield offered interestingly decent free Wifi.
• At this time of the year (August) there seem to be plenty of people on the trail. This is reassuring and provides safety while at times campgrounds feel crowded especially if they don't offer a lot of space like Thrasher Cove or Camper Creek. I image there are a lot less people after labour day on the trail which adds to its mystique in one way but adds maybe some more risk in case of an emergency. Also I imagine the weather is much cooler in September. Similar considerations probably apply for May and June.
• No or virtually no mosquitos.
• Seeing so much wildlife was an unexpected treat.
• I could have improved my physical preparation in Ottawa: I was perfectly fine in terms of stamina on the trail thanks to regular walks and bicycle rides mostly along the Ottawa River. I should have sprinkled in some longer stairs like going multiple times up and down from the River to Parliament Hill. Even better I could have picked a forest trail around Ottawa that had a suitable longer fallen tree trunk nearby to add walking/balancing forward backward with a backpack on that trunk once or twice a week.

Right now, nothing else comes to mind. It was simply a superb hike for us.

Martin