Another beautiful day. I have been sleeping like a champ every night out here. Could not ask for anything more, except maybe an Orca that swims up onto shore chasing a seal. Then he gets stuck and I push him back into the sea and he looks back every few feet and I keep yelling, “go on get out of here!” Then he wont leave and I have to pretend like I hate him to get him to go as my voice cracks and I turn away to hide my tears. Otherwise a perfect trip so far.
I had decision to make today. I was a day ahead of schedule. The problem being that the shuttle was to pick up on odd days. So I either had to speed up to get more than 2 days ahead to finish and catch shuttle at 11am tomorrow or slow it down and maybe stay at a beach 2 nights. I knew it would be impossible to slow down that much, so it would be a push to the end. There was a campsite at TsusiatFalls at Km 25, where I was intending on camping tomorrow night. I could stay there 2 nights. I figured I would make the call when I got there. It was around 16Kms which is only 9 miles, but the flipside was that to get out to make the shuttle I would have to do about 20 miles on unknown terrain.
I started along beach and ran into this cool tidal pool full of anemones
I had to climb up on this rock shelf to continue on along the beach route and avoid the ladders
I try to bring back mementos from all my travels. It is getting hard to come up with unique things as I have all the pictures and paintings I can handle. Below is a picture of some of my booty.
I brought back one of the green/yellow floats that wash up on the shore cause I thought I could carve something in it and hang on wall. The blue glass sphere is part of a net from Japan. The Japanese fisherman use them and they are highly sought after on the trail. The red glass bulb I also came across but after lugging for a few Kms I saw 3 more and determined it was not unique enough and tossed it back for someone else to have.
I was back on the wooded trail at this point working my way towards the NininatNarrows where I would need to take a boat across to continue my hike
I finally made the ferry stop around noon. It is also another spot to get some fresh caught crab. I did my research so I knew to bring cash for these spots. It was $25, same as the burger yesterday. Kinda steep but they cornered the market.
Here is a picture of the same dock in the summer
I am glad I missed all the crowds.
After I struggled through lunch (could have used some drawn butter – I am so high maintenance) he threw my plate into the lake and you could see all the meat I missed as the fish swarmed
After lunch he took me across where there were some First Nation (indigenous Indians) guys working on the trail in their territory.
The boat driver said I had gone halfway to TsusiantFalls and that I had another 3 hours. I followed the cliffs for a bit with some incredible views
Then I ran into some trouble and lost my bearings. Fortunately someone had done the same and tied a rope to help idiots like me back onto the trail
I then headed back to the beach as soon as possible. With an option between beach and forest I always took beach. Who wouldn’t ?!
I came to a spot where it looked like I would have to turn back, but was able to squeeze through some gaps in the rocks to carry on
I came to Tsuquadra Point where there is an arch you can walk under at low tide
I made it just in time as you can see the water creeping up to the ledge I had to climb up on
I had made it to the falls, where I took off my boots and laid out in the sun for a bit. It was 3pm. I could easily have stopped here for the night, but there was a family camping here and they did not seem too quiet. After enjoying the cool water I pressed on and committed to complete the trail in the morning.
Here are shots climbing up from the falls where you had to continue on the forest route. The second shot is kinda cool. It is a view from above the falls and if you can look close and see where the river drops off and the ocean starts. Kinda like those infinity pools at fancy resorts
I spent the majority of the time on the beach and it was tough going as it was loose and was sinking with each step and walking directly into the wind.
I finally made MichiganBeach. A fitting spot to end for the night. I set up camp and cooked 2 dehydrated meals. It was the last of my food, but I only had 12km inland to hike in the morning.
I was camped next to a group of school kids who had studied outdoor survival for a semester and this was their final class trip. They were all impressed that I had just cranked out 30kms today, but really that was nothing compared to some of my more grueling hikes of days past. My boots made this a relatively easy day. It was my last look out into the ocean as the whole morning would be through the forest.
Until Tomorrow
Darren
« “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?”: Vancouver BC (Part 4 of 7) | Main | “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?”: Vancouver BC (Part 6 of 7) »
