Hiking The West Coast Trail

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This past September Amanda hiked The West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island with her 2 friends, Steph & Yvette. On this episode of the podcast, they take you on their 7 day, 6 night adventure through the challenging 75km trek that is the West Coast Trail.

The WCT is probably the most popular multi-day hiking trip to do in Canada, and you have to book your permits well in advance because the trail is only open from June-September, so Amanda’s trip was planned way back in January. Amanda, Steph and Yvette decided to hike the trail south to north, starting at the Gordon River entrance of the trail and finishing at Pachena Bay, before spending 3 days in Tofino for some much needed R&R afterwards.

On this episode, we share why we decided to hike the WCT, what the trail was like, some of our biggest learnings, what we did that we recommend others do, what we would do differently, as well as some of our high moments and low moments.  We share what it was like to deal with getting our gear soaked in the rain, having a mouse in our tent, and the challenges of spending 24/7 together, as well as the waking up to beach sunrises, and even seeing a bear!

Enjoy! 

What We Talk About in This Episode: 

  • What is the WCT and why did we want to do it?
  • Recapping our first day at Thrasher’s Bay – figuring out hiking with a large pack and the dynamics of hiking with hiking poles
  • What the landscape is like on the WCT
  • What we imagined the WCT to be like vs. what it’s actually like
  • What it was like to sleep in a tent for 6 nights, not shower for 7 days, and be tired the entire time!
  • The time on the trail was less relaxing than anticipated – it’s a lot of work to set up where you’re going to sleep, collect and treat your water, and cook your water
  • Always pack a warm sleeping bag!
  • Always make sure that you have extra batteries for your head lamp when there is no electricity
  • Chocolate is worth the extra weight… always! 😉
  • Pushing on even when you’re tired, dirty, and muddy!
  • Hiking 13km in the first 2 days, and then hiking 16 days to Carmannah Creek on day 3
  • Getting a mouse in the tent
  • Dealing with rain and having a scary, humbling moment of not knowing what to do
  • The seafood at Nihinat Narrows was a highlight of the whole trip + hitting the half way mark in km’s felt SO good!
  • Don’t mess with the tides and don’t mess with mother nature!
  • Feeling relief on our last day of the WCT
  • Doing something like the WCT makes you appreciate the simple things in life, like running water, a bed, and real food
  • The trail will allow you to see how strong and capable you truly are
  • Our biggest learnings:
    • Be adaptable
    • It’s hard to plan when you don’t know what’s ahead and how something is going to challenge you mentally & physically
    • Have open communication in your party
    • Don’t dwell on the challenges or the things that aren’t going well
    • The challenges are completely worth it
    • Trust in the kindness of strangers

Want to know more about the WCT, including what gear, food, and clothing to pack? Get a free copy of Amanda’s “A Beginner’s Guide to the West Coast Trail” here!


You can also check out our new travel community on Facebook where you can ask questions, get travel recommendations, and find community members in your area!


Photos from the WCT:


Music Credits:

www.bensound.com

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