I was up at 5am. I had to make the trailhead by noon and had 12Km in between. I was not too concerned as the grade was supposed to be flat with a well maintained path.
I stopped of at a lighthouse to look for passing humpback whales but no luck
Further on I was gifted with a close shot of sea lions on a rock
The last 12Km were torturous. Nothing really to look at and I was itching to get the trail done. I finally came to single digit Km markers
Followed by single digit bridge markers
At 1 Km left I emerged on the beach and saw an eagle come within 3 feet of me with dinner in its talons. These are the final shots of the West Coast Trail before heading up to the shack where I would sign off the trail for safety reasons.
It was an amazing experience. I was glad I came all this way to hike it. I don’t know if it rained everyday if I would say the same but fortunately I did not have to think about that.
I was actually 2 hours early for the bus. I met another solo hiker and we split a cab into Bamfield to stop at restaurant for some food and a beer. The trail bus swung by and drove us back through to the Port Renfrew where we started. The logging roads were so rough there was no way to catch any sleep let alone think. At that point I still had 2 hours to get back to Victoria. The solo hiker I met was from Victoria and had his jeep parked at the trailhead. He offered me a ride back into town and I gladly accepted.
He dropped me off on a corner and I found a hotel room for $100. I was gunna stay at the Hi Hostel Victoria but after 4 nights on the trail I wanted my own room to get all the dirt off and relax.
After getting all the dirt off, I decided to try and shave. I say try because halfway through the shave I broke the razor at the blade attachment. I tried taping it onto the handle but that did not work, so I took the next 30 minutes shaving my head and face with just the blade. It was a blood bath. After using the hotel laundry I went out to get a beer at the Canoe Brewery that was a couple blocks from the hotel. It was an awesome setup with all natural wood interiors and various canoes hanging from the rafters.
The next day I did not take the ferry back to Vancouver but choose to hang around Victoria for a couple days because I was technically a couple days ahead of schedule. Here is the tap logo of my favorite beer
And other picture of a shell I found along the trail
I had breakfast at John’s Place It was good, lots of memorabilia all over the walls. There was a big painting of the inside of a baseball stadium covering one whole wall. It looked familiar, but it was not till I talked to the waitress a bit that she told me it was the old Detroit Tigers Stadium. It turns out the owner had many fond memories of games there when he grew up in the area. Small world.
That night I went to watch a band with a friend called Pink Mountaintops It was a good show
The next day my friend and I hiked to the top of Mount Douglas
It was a beautiful view and a great way to close the book on Victoria
The following day I laid on the grass and read a book before heading out on the ferry for Vancouver
Until Tomorrow
Darren
« “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?”: Vancouver BC (Part 5 of 7) | Main | “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?”: Vancouver BC (Part 7 of 7) »
