West Coast Trail | The Hike That Changed Everything

Guest Blog | By Larry MacDonald

Setting out to backpack the West Coast Trail is another challenge that pushed me out of my comfort zone. But it changed my life for the better.

If you ask a teen-age boy “who is the dumbest person you know?” there would only be one answer. I do not want to imply my son and I had a poor relationship, it was good, but I was a “this is my house and my rules” guy and he was a “you are not the boss of me” kid.

The West Coast Trail brought us to a point of mutual respect. I will get into more detail, but the bottom line is neither one of us could have done this trip without the other. Coming to that realization changed our relationship forever.

The preparation for this trip is so crucial. We are going to carry everything we need for 6 days on our backs. But we also must be able to carry what we pack. Our final pack was one 40-pound pack and one 55-pound pack. I am the dad so I will carry the 55-pound pack… let’s see how that plays out when we get into the trip.

Prepping for the trip, a friend of my son’s wants to come with us. No problem, providing your parents agree. This is not an afternoon at the cinema, this is a 6-day trek into an area of rough terrain. After a discussion with his parents, his friend is in and now we are 3.

We set out and travel to the north end of the trail. The north trailhead is close to Banfield and we parked our car at that end. There is a floatplane service that flies us to the south end of the trail. The pilot is able to come close to the shore, I think at Thrasher Cove so we do not need to cross from Port Renfrew.

The pilot helps get our backpacks to the beach. He then paddles his floatplane back out to the inlet starts his engine and taxis out to where he can take off.

I can clearly recall his engine revving up and his floatplane picking up speed so he can lift off the ocean and then he is airborne. At that moment I realize there is no turning back. Whatever is in front of us we need to overcome. Our car is a 6-day hike north and the only option, we have is to travel the West Coast Trail and get to the car. This is intimidating, frightening, and exhilarating all at the same time.

It is getting late when we are dropped off and we set up camp where we were dropped off. The area only supports a few campers, and it is now full. My son and his friend leave to explore the area and I relax by the fire to enjoy some peace and quiet. It is getting dark and a young couple comes into the camp. Seeing it is full they decide to hike to the next camp area just a mile or so up the trail. Not 5 minutes go by and the couple coming running back into the camp. They are out of breath and very frightened, talking about something in the bushes that was going to attack them. So we find room for their tent and they spend the night in our overcrowded camp.

That night my son, his friend, and I are talking about the day. It was long but we are glad to be at the start of the trek. They tell me a funny story (well funny to them) they were hiding in bushes off the trail and a couple of hikers approached. They started rustling bushes and making animal noises. They said the couple turned back and ran as fast as they could to getaway. NOT COOL BOYS.

The next morning, we had a hardy breakfast, the last time we will have eggs and bacon for a while, and we start north. Honestly, I do not remember a lot about the first day. I do know we climbed over fallen trees and traversed slopes that were not stable. About one hour into the first day I lost my footing and slid down the bank. Aside from a few scrapes and a very bruised ego I was OK. But there was my son helping me back up…… “Dad, give me the heavy pack you take mine”. I did but it was one of the most difficult things about this trip…. My son is taking the load I should be carrying.

West Coast Trail Ladders

A little further down the trail we have a choice to make, we can hike on the beach, but we have no trail access for a while so if the tide comes in, we would be trapped. We knew the tide was going out and went for it. When we rejoined the trail, we are into the rainforest and walking on a boardwalk. It was refreshing to get back into the shade.

We did make camp a couple of times along this section of the trail. They were rather uneventful because we were tired from the long hikes. A quick dinner and then we crashed. Only to get up the next morning and move on. I am not complaining I enjoyed this part of the trail and it was just tiring.

There are plenty of creeks along the trail so we did not need to carry extra water and when we camped we found spots close to freshwater for cooking and washing up.

There were a few rivers we needed to cross. A couple had a cable car that could carry two people at a time. You need to pull yourself across hand over hand, the send the cable car back for the next group. Another river had a ferry service, yes way out here. The local tribe provides a service for a small fee… I think it was two dollars a person.

The scariest part of the whole trip occurred at a suspension bridge. When you crossed the river on the bridge it ended into the side of the canyon wall. Then there was a ladder you need to climb, I am guessing 30 to 40 feet high and almost straight up so it was at least 100 feet to the canyon floor. You need to hang on tight as you are climbing because the packs on our backs wanted to pull us off the ladder. I am not very good with heights as it is, and this was my nightmare. But there was no turning back and this was the only way forward.

West Coast Trail Suspension Bridge

On our last night, we found a great spot to camp close to the beach. Beside our campsite was a tidal pool that was filled with warm water. It was fed by a gentle waterfall. Above the waterfall was a shallow pond that was warmed by the sun. We got into the tidal pool and stood under the warm waterfall for our first real bath in days. I am a little embarrassed to say so, but we broke out the soap and shampoo. That night our tent never smelled so good.

Tsusiat Falls

The next morning, we completed the hike and arrived back at our car then headed back to the lower mainland.

As I said at the beginning of this piece this trip changed forever the relationship between my son and me. I now saw him as a man who I could rely on when I need help. I think he saw me differently as well. Thirty-five years later our relationship is as strong as it was on the final day of our hike.