Saturday, 1 August, 2015. Camper Bay to Gordon River. 13km or 8 miles.

We woke in the dark — 5am — the earliest we had gotten up on the trail. Others began stirring as well. But although we were probably the first ones up, we were among the later ones out of camp, as we wanted a hot, hearty breakfast prior to heading out. Other groups who left before us indicated that they had a “no cook” policy that morning. DD tried as much as possible to get intelligence from whoever he could, chatting with some folks who had arrived at 10pm the night before (they had started from Gordon River, and it took them some 8 hours[!] to reach Camper). Another pair of hikers told us to expect more log crossings and boardwalks.  

We finally left camp around 7:12am. As we made our way through the inland section, we took care to ensure that we were fueling constantly. DD calculated that we need to eat something like 100-250 calories every hour, which I think I was somewhat successful at. And unlike Rae Lakes, where I (thought I) craved savoury snacks, this time it was sugar that my body most clearly wanted. I scarfed down Honey Stinger Waffles, Clif Bar shot bloks (Mmm…salty margarita flavour!), half of a jumbo Snicker’s bar, and Gu gel. As I was a little low on my sugary snacks, I was the lucky recipient of DD’s extras.

More roots, mud and boardwalks characterized the first segment of the trail up until we reached the marker to access to Thrasher Cove.

When we reached Thrasher Cove DD determined we were making fine time at around 2km per hour. We only had 5km to go at that point. After that junction the trail became quite hilly, and very similar in nature to the Bay Area trails from home. We made good time on the uphills, since that is what we were trained for. We passed a couple of other groups hiking in the same direction. But as there were ups, there were as many downs, and more rocks and mud and roots. My quads and knees began to complain.

We also began to encounter more and more folks who were just starting out, having come from the ferry at Gordon River, our ultimate destination. We hailed them cheerily, hopped up on sugar, delirious with adrenalin and tiredness. “My, you guys smell so good! Still so clean!” It surprised us when the seemingly foreign scents of shampoo and soap, deodorant and laundry detergent hit our nostrils.

And suddenly, after a particularly precarious and slippery downhill section of trickling water, and slippery rock (yes, I fell), and yes, more mud, we crested a final small hill, and there – there it was – the 75km marker, signalling the end of our trek!

Never had I been so happy to hoist that buoy to signal that there were folks who wanted a ferry ride back!

Shortly after us came a German couple who we had sort of leapfrogged during the last 3km of the trail. And then about 1/2 hour later Will and Nathan, who we had passed earlier on an uphill segment, came rolling in! All told, it had taken DD and I nearly 6 hours to complete the last 8 miles of the WCT. All of us seemed happy to have finished the trek.

The National Parks Canada Gordon River offices are just a short 4-minute walk from the Pacheedaht Campgrounds, so after milling about a bit, and calling Trail Bus to ensure there would be room for some of us to return to Victoria a day early, we headed to the campgrounds, which promised showers and perhaps a bit of food. Yes, there were showers, you provide your own towel ($4 CAD), Wifi ($2 per passcode), and hotel-sized shampoo and soap ($1 for one of each).

After the showers (dark, somewhat sandy shower floors, but fairly clean, and OH! the glorious warm/hot water!) and saying goodbye to Will and Nathan (Will’s wife and daughter had arrived to pick them up), we headed off in search of the restaurant “Don’t Panic, We’ve Got Bannock!” We had seen menus posted near the camp offices where we paid for our showers and Wifi. The Pacheedaht camp folks were nice enough to call over to them to make sure they were still open. The “restaurant” turned out to be an enterprising sole proprietor who lived next to the campgrounds, and who had set up a small eating area in his front yard, selling a variety of foods to hungry WCT hikers, campers and visitors from all over.

Mmmm…. fried food is the best food after a long hike… and for the uninitiated — Bannock is fried bread — pictured in the lower right corner of the photo.

We scarfed down our hot foods as if we hadn’t eaten for days, and headed back to the National Parks Canada offices to wait for our bus. Though originally scheduled for 5:45pm, it was running late. The drive back to Victoria took about 3 hours, and we snoozed for a bit in the rather warm vehicle. When we arrived, we immediately headed off to the Gap to buy some clean clothing, and chose a Chinese restaurant in Victoria’s little chinatown for dinner.  Finally, we booked ourselves a hotel room at the Best Western Plus Carlton Victoria, where the evening front desk staff on a Saturday night of a holiday weekend were definitely some the nicest people we had dealt with in a while. I recall sleeping quite soundly that evening.

West Coast Trail Posts

• WCT Trip Planning
• WCT Day Zero + Flickr Photos
• WCT Day One + Flickr Photos
• WCT Day Two + Flickr Photos
• WCT Day Three + Flickr Photos
• WCT Day Four + Flickr Photos
• WCT Day Five + Flickr Photos
• WCT Post Mortem and Hiking Reflections