A Moment Of Thought

During my 22 years of guiding I have been privileged to visit some incredible wilderness areas in Canada. People have asked me what my favourite has been. I usually reply that it is the one that I am doing.

It is difficult to express in words the spiritual and revitalizing benefits of spending time in a natural setting. Life is simplified - rewards intangible. Whether spending time in your garden or lost in the wonders of the backcountry, one becomes immersed in the sounds, colours, smells, of nature. You transcend to an awareness that you are more than a visitor, for we are not apart from, but are a part of, nature.

Barb and the Bears - Part II

The nightly bear visits were the topic of conversation at most tables. The waitress offered one or two of her favourite stories. It wasn’t long before Barb announced that she had no intention of spending the evening in a tent. She phoned the only motel in town – no vacancy!

Barb was adamant that she would not spend the night in a tent, to be dragged off and eaten by some hungry bear. Wayne was equally entrenched. Barb decided that she would spend the night in their car, with or without Wayne. She knew she would be safe there. But then, the logger sat down.

High work boots, suspenders, and a madras shirt bore testament to his work. He was well intentioned, but a beer or two too many, did nothing for his selection of calming anecdotes. His mantra was that there was nothing to worry about as the bears had not eaten anyone – yet. Whatever sense of security Barb felt with her plan to spend the evening in the safe confines of her car was dashed, when he recounted how the bear had pushed in the rear window of a pickup truck to reach some tasty morsel. He rose from the table, patted Barb on the head, and reiterated that there was nothing to worry about. I doubt Barb was even aware of his touch. It didn’t take much to guess what scenario was being played out in Barb’s mind.

Wayne made no progress with having Barb abandon her “nonsense” about sleeping in the car. And he would hear nothing of leaving that evening to return home. Any hope that Barb would relent, and sleep in the tent, was lost when we spied one of the bears on the mudflats near our tents. The group did their best to distract Barb from observing the bear, but for naught. We went to bed, we in our tents, and Barb to the car. The die was cast.

Barb remained alert and awake in her car. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, she spotted one of the bears as it unsuspectingly approached her car. She flashed her headlights and blasted her horn. Confused, and no doubt alarmed, the bear quickly ran off into the woods. The rest of us poked our heads from our tents to see what was happening. Barb needed to talk with Wayne but was not going to leave the safety of her car. She started the vehicle and drove up onto the grass and parked alongside Wayne’s protruding head. Considering Barb’s state of mind, Wayne was lucky that she didn’t park atop him. With window only slightly ajar, she pleaded with Wayne to reconsider and spend the remainder of the morning with her in the car. Wayne, male to the end, stuck to his guns.

Car fumes were beginning to affect Wayne. Punctuated with repeated coughs, he insisted that Barb leave him alone as he stood a far greater chance of being asphyxiated as being eaten by bears.

Barb retreated to the road and parked herself directly under the only streetlight in Holberg. Her sound and light attack upon the bear guaranteed no further bear visits. In the morning she collected Wayne and they drove off together, as a film of frost began to develop on the inside of their car windows. We were sure that we would be contacted by one or the other’s divorce lawyer in due course.

Wayne later called to say that all was okay and that Barb was no longer afraid to hike in bear country. He had learned a valuable lesson that morning in Holberg. I asked whether that meant that he was more compassionate and understanding with Barb. He said no, but that he had equipped Barb’s backpack with halogen headlights and a diesel horn.

Barb and the Bears - Part I

My second trip ever as a guide was a hiking trip to Cape Scott, on the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The following is a true account of what actually happened - with the exception of the last paragraph [my cleverness got the better of me].

Our small group returned to the trailhead only to find that one of our vehicles had a flat tire. We could not have guessed the hand that fate had just dealt Wayne and Barb.

Barb and Wayne were husband and wife. They had joined our backpacking trip to Cape Scott at the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Barb had agreed to the hike only after I assured her that our guides had experience handling bear encounters of the third kind. Barb had a fear of bears and, more particularly, being an entree.

Wayne, for his part, wanted to break Barb of her ‘unreasonable’ fear of bears. As part of his program of bear fear rehabilitation, he would toss stones, unbeknownst to the guides or Barb, into the surrounding bush, and proclaim, “What was that?” He reasoned that this action would help calm, and assure Barb that there was no basis for her fear. Ah, the wondrous workings of the male mind! For her part, she viewed any movement or noise from the bush as a ravenous bruin that singled her out for his next snack.

Our week at Cape Scott went without any bear encounters. But, that was all about to change.

Driving the logging road back to the main highway, without a spare, would be a foolish. After changing the flat tire, we decided to head for the nearest town, Holberg, to repair the flat. Holberg is a company logging town with very little in the way of any amenities. As evening was fast approaching, we decided that we would camp on a small grassy park adjacent to the town’s only restaurant and pub. No sooner had we begun to erect our tents that a local appeared. She alerted us that three bears had become nightly visitors to the town. The sound of Barb’s pounding heart was easily discernable above our conversation with the local. We decided that a good meal and a little nightcap at the pub would go a long way in calming Barb. Big mistake!

Hiking The West Coast Trail - Helpful Links

Accommodation: Vancouver, Victoria, Port Renfrew, Bamfield

Getting to the trailhead at Port Renfrew
BC Ferries: BC Ferries/Victoria
Travel to Victoria: Pacific Coach Lines Bus
Travel Victoria to Port Renfrew: West Coast Trail Express

Getting to the trailhead at Bamfield
BC Ferries: BC Ferries/Nanaimo
Travel Nanaimo/Port Alberni: Greyhound Busline
Travel Port Alberni/Bamfield: Lady Rose/Frances Barkley

West Coast Tide Tables: Tide Tables

Parks Canada: West Coast Trail

Obtaining a Reservation: Pacific Rim National Park

Map: West Coast Trail Parks Map

Trail Guide: Blisters & Bliss

Equipment
Mountain Equipment Co-op
REI

Guided Tour
Sea to Sky Wilderness Adventures

A Ton Of Goods - Chilkoot Trail

Travel to Dawson City, centre of the Klondike Goldrush of 1897-98, was no easy feat. Thousands of goldrushers, fanned by dreams of incredible wealth for the finding, and without the experience of travel in the wilderness, headed north. The Canadian government realized that there was insufficient food and support to see to the influx of so many people in these northern areas. They made it a requirement, enforced by the Northwest Mounted Police, at the border crossing at the top of the Chilkoot and White Passes, for each goldrusher to carry a year's supply of goods to sustain themselves in this harsh northern environment.

Here is a sample recommendation of a goods list:

150 lbs. bacon
400 lbs. flour
25 lbs. rolled oats
125 lbs. beans
10 lbs. tea
10 lbs. coffee
25 lbs. sugar
25 lbs. dried potatoes
2 lbs. dried onions
15 lbs. salt 1 lb. pepper
75 lbs. dried fruits
8 lbs. baking powder
2 lbs. soda
1/2 lb. evaporated vinegar
12 oz. compressed soup
1 can mustard
1 tin matches (for four men)
Stove for four men
Gold pan for each
Set granite buckets
Large bucket
Knife, fork, spoon, cup, and plate
Frying pan
Coffee and teapot
Scythe stone
Two picks and one shovel
One whipsaw
Pack strap

Two axes for four men and one extra handle
Six 8 inch files and two taper files for the party
Draw knife, brace and bits, jack plane, and hammer for party 200 feet three-eights-inch rope
8 lbs. of pitch and 5 lbs. of oakum for four men
Nails, five lbs. each of 6,8,10 and 12 penny, for four men
Tent, 10 x 12 feet for four men
Canvas for wrapping
Two oil blankets to each boat
5 yards of mosquito netting for each man
3 suits of heavy underwear
1 heavy mackinaw coat
2 pairs heavy machinaw trousers
1 heavy rubber-lined coat
1 dozen heavy wool socks
1/2 dozen heavy wool mittens
2 heavy overshirts
2 pairs heavy snagproof rubber boots
2 pairs shoes
4 pairs blankets (for two men)
4 towels
2 pairs overalls
1 suit oil clothing
Several changes of summer clothing
Small assortment of medicines

15 Signs You Chose the Wrong West Coast Trail Company Guide

15. His interpretive skills are limited to, “That green thing is a tree.”

14. Says it’s OK to leave the group’s tin cans behind, as tin is biodegradable.

13. Announces a special dinner surprise while seated beside a mountain of seagull feathers.

12. Wakes up in the middle of the night to yell at the lighthouse to close that annoying light so that he can get some sleep.

11. You find him reading, “Eight Different Dinners You Can Make With Oatmeal.”

10. Every morning greets the group with, "Wonder who'll die today?"

9. Announces that if anything serious happens it’s best you don’t ask him for assistance as he’s given to panic attacks.

8. First day's preparation devoted entirely to a workshop on making out your last will and testament.

7. Every 10 minutes, stops, puts his hands to his head, and yells, " The voices! The voices! Someone stop the voices!"

6. Has the group search for firewood in the rain while directing the operation from under the tarp.

5. When asked to show the group where they are on the map, proclaims "Map, schmap – besides who can read one!!"

4. Asks if anyone can take on his food share, sleeping bag, clothes, and guide equipment as he only brought his daypack.

3. Uses the emergency radio to try and contact the UFOs he knows are following the group.

2. Every so often, turns and screams, "Stop following me!"

1. Squeezes your ass then yells, "Hey, if we get stranded for a few days we can live off Tubby here!"

West Coast Trail - A Brief History

The West Coast Trail has built a reputation as one of the top hiking trails in the world. Its origin, however, dates back to the 1800s. Sailing vessels, facing fierce coastal storms and equipped with rudimentary navigational equipment, were thrown onto shallow rock shelves and against steep sandstone cliffs along the west coast of Vancouver Island. Some 250 vessels suffered this fate thus earning the coast the title, "Graveyard of the Pacific".

Several efforts were made to alleviate the situation including a lighthouse at Cape Beale in 1874, a telegraph line between Victoria and Cape Beale in 1890, and a second lighthouse at Carmanah Point in 1891.

In 1906 the passenger steamer, Valencia, was destroyed in a storm with a loss of many lives. This tragedy was the impetus that forced the government of the day to act. The telegraph line built in 1890 was to be up-graded to become the "Lifesaving Trail". However, high costs eventually resulted it only being pushed through from Bamfield to Carmanah Point. In 1907 the lighthouse at Pachena was constructed. Beyond Carmanah the trail remained the original primitive telegraph line. Regardless of it not being completed as planned, the "Lifesaving Trail" did help to save many shipwrecked persons.

After the 1940s, improved navigational and communication equipment resulted in the trail becoming redundant and maintenance was discontinued. But, as more and more backpackers began to hike the "Lifesaving Trail", Parks Canada undertook a major redevelopment in the 1970s. And thus was born the West Coast Trail.

Biting Off More Than One Can Chew

It's important when considering a physically demanding activity that one does not take on more than is reasonable. Age, in itself, does not disqualify a person from doing a strenuous trip. We have had people in their 60s and 70s who have managed some of our more difficult trips. If you are in sound physical shape and health, and are not limited by problem joints, then only your mindset can deter you from enjoying some of Canada's best natural wonders.

Sometimes the fear does not originate with the person considering the activity. Family or friends can worry, properly so, for the welfare of the person. We do our best to assure them that their family member/friend will be given the best information on which to make a decision as to whether he/she has bitten off more than can be chewed.

We do get a number of interesting requests, comments, and concerns in regards to this matter. This is an example of one:

"My sister is interested in one of your trips. However, she is NOT FIT. She cannot hike 5k in the local park nor could she carry a canoe. Her fitness includes walking her dog ...that's it. Can I assume that you do not want this level of fitness on your trips? I think this kind of person would put a stress on the other members of the trip. She would not be able to perform her share of the duties required."