I was always a little ashamed to say that in my 15 years of living in the United States, I had never visited New York City. This all changed in late March when a friend of mine was going for 4 days and invited me to tag along. The main excuse for the trip was to watch the soccer friendly match between Argentina and USA.

I was able to able to get round trip tickets from Los Angeles on short notice using 25k airline miles. Not bad at all even though the first flight had a stopover in Chicago.

I arrived at the airport at 9am and after my flight was delayed twice, the airline was able to switch me to a direct flight departing in 10 minutes. I’m glad I didn’t have any checked baggage. At almost 6 hours, the flight was long and uncomfortable. When we arrived at the New York City, the plane circled over the JFK airport for a while waiting for authorization to land before running low on fuel and heading to Boston to refuel. With all the endless delays on that day, I didn’t get out of the airport until past midnight.

It was 30ºF and I realized that I hadn’t packed enough clothes. After a long cab ride, I arrived and met my friend (who had arrived earlier in the day) at a Brooklyn hotel.

I spent the next 4 days trying to sight see as much as I could since my time was limited. Not my favorite way to travel, as I like to do things in a more leisurely pace.

The next day (Thursday) was spent crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, walking around Manhattan and meeting my friend Cindy for dinner and drinks. Check out her blog on travel and NYC food.

Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge

Manhattan

One of the new World Trade Center towers

Statue of Liberty from Battery Park

Wall Street

The scene of so many movies: Grand Central Station.

Grand Central Station

Super crowded Time Square.

Time Square

Time Square

On Friday, we visited what according to many is the best pizza place in NY: Di Fara in Broolyn. The place is family owned and very small with only about 3 tables. Every pizza is hand tossed by the owner and the wait was over 2 hours during lunch hour. It was worth it though.

Later on, I visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Since there was only 2 hours to go until closing, I had to rush through everything, but I was able to see all the most significant paintings. I saw a lot of the paintings you see in most art history books. Very impressive. I also found a curious set of photographs by Chinese photographer Ai WeiWei. At the time I didn’t know anything about him. Apparently, he is quite controversial and was arrested by the Chinese government a few days later.

Ai WeiWei photographs

Ai WeiWei photographs

Saturday afternoon was spent at Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met). This place can rival the best museums in Europe. I spent 4 hours there and barely scratched the surface. I’ve never seen so many Van Gogh paintings under one roof except at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Van Gogh paintings at The Met

Saturday night was the main event: the soccer match between Argentina and USA. I had to root for Argentina since I grew up and lived 15 years there. It was my first chance to see Lionel Messi, the best player in the world. The match took place at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey. The traffic to the stadium was horrible and we were 10 minutes late. It ended in a 1-1 tie.

Lionel Messi

Argentina vs USA. 1-1 at the New Meadowlands Stadium

The return trip to New York was a terrible experience. We stood in a very long line in the parking lot in 25°F temperature with strong winds waiting to ride the bus.

I was so impressed with The Met that I had to return to the museum on Sunday. I then took a quick stroll through Central Park before heading to the airport.

All in all, I really enjoyed NYC. It’s a place where I’d love to live if it wasn’t for the very cold weather. I liked the fact what you can walk and take public transport to go anywhere. The museums really impressed me. I know that there so many places that I haven’t seen which means that I’ll have to return eventually for a longer trip.

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 5 – Camper Bay to Thrasher Cove

Journal entry for August 17, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 5 miles, 8 km.

West Coast Trail - Day 6

Woke up a little bit after 8am. Monika & Marie were already up, and most campers had already packed up and left. We said good bye to Kirk, who left before us. There is an impressive set of ladders right behind the beach.

Thrasher Cove ladders

The ladders are followed by a steep set of switchbacks. It’s mostly uphill until around km 73. The trail then flattens out, with a few hills mixed in. It is mostly forest with large tree roots. Muddy in some areas but mostly dry. The last 2 km seemed to take forever. Marie was a little grouchy, I think she had gotten tired of the weight of her backpack.

Last few kilometers

We arrived at km 75, the end of the trail, at 1:10pm.

Km 75. The end.

Km 75. Nice bed hair.

Km 75. The end.

We laid down for a few minutes, waiting for the ferry to pick us up. The road back to civilization is on the other side of Gordon River, which can only be crossed by ferry. By the way, the fee for the two ferries on the trail were already included in the price of the WCT permit.

Gordon River ferry

Since I had finished the hike 1 day early, I could have stayed until 4:30pm to see if the West Coast Trail Express bus had a free spot for me, but since girls had a car and were driving to Vancouver that day, they were nice enough to offer to drop me off at Victoria.

Once back in Victoria, I checked back into the the same hostel I had stayed prior to the hike. I really didn’t want to spend any more time in that town though. I had already spent 2 days there before the hike, and I still had two more days to go until my flight. I had a couple of friends from Argentina who were visiting the United States at the time. They were going to stay with me in California once I got flew back from Canada, but they were in Las Vegas at that moment. I decided to change my plane ticket and fly there the next morning. It was a huge contrast to go from camping at Thrasher Cove one day, to the totally artificial world that is Las Vegas the next day.

In conclusion, I had a lot of fun hiking the West Coast Trail. The first 2 days were a little underwhelming, but the last 4 days were very enjoyable. I certainly spoiled it a little bit by doing the Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike the previous week. Even though the Shi Shi Beach hike doesn’t have the amazing WCT ladders and bridges, the landscapes are very similar to each other.

I also found the hike much easier than I anticipated it to be, especially after having watched this documentary during my planning stages. I’m sure that having 6 sunny days helped a lot on the difficulty level, to the point that I almost feel I didn’t get the full WCT experience since I didn’t get any rain. Monika & Marie’s struggles with their heavy backpacks despite being excellent athletes makes me believe that my light backpack was also a big factor. After spending over a month of total decadence in Argentina prior to the hike, I started it in pretty bad physical shape, but the only day in which I felt really tired was Day 3 after a 21 km day. I wished the trail was longer, maybe twice as long. When it ended, I wasn’t even missing civilization that much, like it did towards the end of the John Muir Trail.

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 4 – Carmanah Creek to Camper Bay

Journal entry for August 16, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 5 miles, 8 km.

West Coast Trail - Day 5

I had set up the alarm for 7:30am, but woke up a half hour earlier instead to the noise everybody else was making in camp. I packed up quickly and hiked together with Monika and Marie. I switched my 15 lb (6-7 kg) with Marie’s 50-60 lb (23-27 kg) backpack for the first mile or so. What a difference it made. I had to focus on every step I took just to keep my balance.

Hiking through forest

In order to get to the last campsite at Thrasher Cove, one can go inland or take the beach instead. The beach route goes through Owen Point, which can’t be passed during high tide. We had timed it so that we would get there during low tide. There are two spots where one can access the beach from the trail. We took Beach Access “B” at km 66. Apparently there is a very dangerous slope between Beach Access “A” and “B”, so it’s safer to take the later one.

Beach around km 66

The beach section was a lot of fun. The hiking is mostly over rocks instead of sand. There was one surge channel about 1 meter wide that we had to jump over. We soon run into another hiking group in front of us.

Jumping over surge channel

We run into another hiking group

We then arrived at another much wider surge channel. This one looked like it would require an Olympic long jumper to handle it, but luckily there was a way around it.

Wide surge channel

West Coast Trail

West Coast Trail

West Coast Trail

We arrived at Owen Point around 11:30am during low tide. The views were great and there was a little island about 100 meters into the ocean with lots of sea lions on it. We stayed there for a while and ate lunch.

Owen Point

Owen Point

Owen Point

The last section before Thrasher Cove involves a lot of hopping over large boulders and walking over logs. I had a lot of fun despite the hot relentless sun. My gloves were very useful in helping me handle the boulders.

Marie, boulder hopping

We got stuck behind a very slow group with no easy way to go around them. We almost didn’t beat the rising tide in one section.

Walking behind a very slow group

Thrasher Cove is a very nice beach, but it doesn’t really have enough spots for tents for the large amount of people that camp there. We arrived early around 2pm and had the whole afternoon and evening to sit around and enjoy.

Both Monika and Marie lived in Alberta at the time, but Marie is originally from Quebec. According to her, French Canadians are generally loud and like to joke around a lot. So she was indeed giving me an introduction to French Canadians, since she was the first one I’ve ever met.

Once the sun stopped hitting the beach directly around 4pm, it started to get a little bit foggy and chilly. We run into Kirk again and ended up sharing a campfire. It was very foggy during sunset, so I wasn’t able to take any decent pictures.

Camping at Thrasher Cove

Marie, Kurk, Monika and me at Thrasher Cove

Next entry: Day 6 – Thrasher Cove to Gordon River
West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 3 – Tsusiat Falls to Carmanah Creek

Journal entry for August 15, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 10 miles, 16 km.

West Cost Trail - Day 4

I woke up around 8am to the scorching sun hitting my tent.

Carmanah Creek campsite

Just for fun, I decided to take the cable car that goes over the Carmanah Creek campsite. I could have easily crossed the creek by jumping over it on the beach. This particular cable car required a lot more pulling than the previous one I rode.

Carmanah Creek cable car

I didn’t enjoy much the next 7 km on the beach. My pace on the sand was slow, and the sun was killing me. I run into Kristin and her two friends, who I had met on the bus out of Victoria. They were all having a great time. After a brief chat, we went our separate ways.

Crab on the beach

Mussels

Lots of whale watching boats

According to both my guidebook and map, the beach section after Walbran Creek is very dangerous. It is highly recommended to take the inland trail instead, so I did. Once again, lots of boardwalk sections on the trail, with some minor root climbing mixed in.

Root climbing

Hiking over logs

There is a huge set of ladders going down to the amazing Logan Creek Bridge. On the other side there’s another huge set of ladders going up.

Logan Creek Bridge

Logan Creek Bridge

Logan Creek Bridge

The trail after Logan Creek became very muddy and full of huge tree roots. I loved this section because it was fun to figure out how to deal with the terrain without getting mud into my shoes. I crossed Cullite Creek by cable car. I think this was the shortest cable car on the whole trail.

The next 4 km to Camper Bay was even more muddy, which I enjoyed even more. I much preferred this type of terrain to beach hiking. There was also one section that was different from anywhere else on the trail. It was wide open with no trees.

Wide open section

I arrived at Camper Bay around 6pm. The campsite is strange in that it is about 100 meters from the ocean, but you can’t really see it because the view is blocked. There were already a huge number of tents set up. While looking for a spot to set up mine, a gentleman asked me “Are you Kevin?”. It turned out that he had read this blog while planning for the WCT. He had googled “West Coast Trail” and “Ultralight” and had found my WTC Packing List post. Our dates coincided and we were going in opposite directions, so he knew he would probably run into an Asian hiker with a light backpack. Him and his wife were the only ultralight hikers I run into on the trail.

I shared a campfire with Kurk, a guy from the area. Later on, Monika and Marie arrived at the campsite and joined us.

Before this day, I had enjoyed the trail but was not overly impressed by it. I had a lot of fun this day, and it changed my opinion completely.

The plan for the next day was to get up early at 7:30am (early for me, normal for most people) so that I could arrive at Owen Point during low tide. A lot of people coming from the opposite direction told me that it was a must see.

Next entry: Day 5 – Camper Bay to Thrasher Cove
West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 2 – Darling River to Tsusiat Falls

Journal entry for August 14, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 13 miles, 21 km.

West Coast Trail - Day 3

While looking at the map the previous night, I decided I was going to finish the trail in 6 days instead of the originally planned 7 days. The weather was good and I had so far found the trail relatively easy. The plan for the day was to hike 21 km to Carmanah Creek.

Seagulls by Tsusiat Falls

I left Tsusiat Falls and started hiking around 10:20am. I chose to hike on the beach instead of the trail. My pace was slowed by the loose dry sand and the wind blowing into me. I joined the trail around km 29. The next 2 km has a little bit of elevation change, and in some sections, the boardwalk was in pretty bad shape.

I arrived at Nitinat Narrows which is only passable by ferry. After a 5 minute wait, the ferry came and picked me up.

Waiting for the Nitinat Narrows ferry

On the other side, I found Nick and Lorna, along with Steve and his group of 6 hikers. There’s a little stall where they sell soft drinks and serve cooked fresh crab. I didn’t feel like eating crab so I only grab a can of Coke. I wanted to save my appetite for later in the day at Chez Monique, a burger place by the beach.

I stayed at Nininat Narrows for a while before saying goodbye to Nick and Lorna, who were ending their hike there, and were waiting for a ferry that would take them back to civilization later in the day.

The next section of the trail has a lot of boardwalk, which means fast hiking. Some sections were completely destroyed and new boardwalk had been installed.

New boardwalk going around old destroyed sections

Boardwalk in pretty bad shape

Tree root climbing

I saw some bear and cougar warning signs which got me a little paranoid, but fortunately I didn’t run into any.

Bear and cougar warning

I decided to take the beach access at km 36. After 1 km, I rejoined the inland trail.

Makeshift chair by the beach

A bit after km 41, I arrived at Cribs Creek campsite. A good number people were camping here but I moved on.

Looking back at Cribs Creek campsite

More beach walking until a little after km 43, where I rejoin the trail. Shortly after, I arrive at Carmanah Lighthouse.

Restroom sign

Carmanah Lighthouse

Access back to the beach is through a steep set of ladders. While climbing down these ladders, I could see the cooking smoke coming out of Chez Monique from a distance. I started to fantasize about the cheeseburger I was about to eat.

Steep ladders to the beach

Chez Monique

Chez Monique is the only restaurant on the trail. They are famous for their cheeseburgers. They have a little farm on the back of the restaurant where they grow their own vegetables. They also had about 5-6 WWOOFers who were helping out on the farm and restaurant.  A buffet dinner was available for $30, but I ordered the $20 burger instead. I didn’t want to stay long since it was already almost 6pm and I still had another 2 km to hike. The burger was very very good. It was huge but I must have finished it in less than 2 minutes.

Strange rock on the beach

I arrived at Carmanah Creek campsite a little bit before Monika and Marie got there. I had briefly run into them at Carmanah Lighthouse early in the day. Both of them run marathons and triathlons, so they were in pretty good physical shape. But both them said that they had packed too much stuff and were struggling with their heavy backpacks. They invited me to join their campfire later in the night. I would end up hiking the last 2 days with them.

Carmanah Creek cable car

Deer by Carmanah Creek campsite

Carmanah Lighthouse from a distance

Next entry: Day 4 – Carmanah Creek to Camper Bay
West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 1 – Pachena Bay to Darling River

Journal entry for August 13, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 6.8 miles, 11 km.

West Coast Trail - Day 2 Map

After sleeping very well, I woke up a little bit after 9am. The fog had cleared and the weather was great. I was able to see a couple of whales deep in the sea. They were hard to spot from a distance though. Looking south, I could see the Olympic Peninsula.

Darling River campsite

Darling River campsite

The tide was low so I tried to walk a little bit closer to the sea to get a better look of the whales. While going there, I found a bunch of tide pools with lots of starfish in them.

Starfish

The first 2 1/2 km out of Darling River campsite is all beach hiking. At the end of this section there was what looked like a ranger station,  and right by it, part of a shipwreck.

Shipwreck

I joined the trail inland and crossed Tsocowis Creek by bridge.

Tsocowis Creek

The terrain became more rugged than the previous day.

Where's the trail?

I stayed for a  while at the Valencia Bluffs lookout, looking for the remains of a shipwreck, but I found nothing. Maybe it was due to the high tide at the moment. Moving on, I found a “grader” next to the trail.

Grader by the trail

I rejoined the beach around km 20. The temperature was high and the sun was punishing with the absence of shade. The following 3 km to Klanawa River is all beach hiking, with one section that is only passable at tides below 2.7m. Since the tide was quickly rising, I wondered for a moment if I was going to get caught by it, but ended up managing just fine.

Klanawa River could have been easily forded through the beach, but this one my first chance to use one of the cable cars.

Klanawa River cable car

Klanawa River cable car

The cable car was a lot of fun. It stops halfway, and you have to pull the cable the rest of the way to reach the other side. I would recommend using gloves for this.

The next 2 km or so are to Tsusiat Falls are inland and mostly on boardwalks. In some sections, the boardwalks were either slippery, and/or in pretty bad shape. There is a nice lookout point with a bench to sit on. I was told to look for whales there, but couldn’t find any during my 20 minute break.

Bench with nice views

There is a nice set of ladders right before Tsusiat Falls.

Ladders going down to Tsusiat Falls

Tsusiat Falls

Tsusiat Falls campsite

There were already a good number of people at the campsite when I got there around 5pm. It is a huge campsite though, with plenty of space for lots of tents. I pick a spot right next to Nick and Lorna, who I had met the previous day. Since it was late in the summer, the water stream coming down the falls was somewhat weak. It was still perfect for the nice shower I took underneath it.

I met Stephan from Germany, who was also doing the hike solo, although going the opposite direction. He was one of the very few solo hikers I met on the WCT. I’d later run into him again at the hostel in Victoria.

The weather was beautiful. I ate dinner with Nick and Lorna. I learned that Nick is a writer and Lorna is an actress. They were visiting the area and decided in the last minute to do the WCT, although they only had enough time to do half of it. Their hike was ending the next day at Nitinah Lake. We shared a campfire and stayed outside well after it got dark.

Sunset by Tsusiat Falls

Sunset by Tsusiat Falls

Next Entry: Day 3 – Tsusiat Falls to Carmanah Creek
West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Victoria, Canada

Journal entry for August 12, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 8.7 miles, 14 km.

With great anticipation, I woke up at 5:20am to catch the 6:15am bus that would take me from Victoria to the West Coast Trail Pachena Bay trail head. I tried to make as little noise as possible to not wake up my other hostel roommates. I took one last shower, knowing that I was not going to be taking another one for a long while. While checking out of the hostel at the front of desk, I see two sisters getting ready to leave too. As expected, they were also doing the WCT, but unlike me, they were going northbound, from Gordon River to Pachena Bay.

Weather forecasts predicted a whole week of sunny days with almost zero chance of rain. It looked like I had gotten very lucky.

For a moment I thought I was going to be late to the bus stop, but I ended up making it there 10 minutes early. There were already about 20 people there. They all looked happy and excited.

West Coast Trail Express

Once on the bus, I sat next to Kristin, who along with two friends, was doing the northbound hike. The drive to Gordon River takes about 2 hours and it’s pretty smooth. About 70% of the people got off the bus there. I said goodbye to the 3 girls and we estimated to run into each other on day 3 or 4 of our hikes. From there to the northern trail head is another 2 hours, but the terrain becomes much rougher. Many sections are not paved and it’s only wide enough for one vehicle at the time. When huge logging trucks came from the opposite direction, our bus had to move over to allow them to pass. We arrived at Pachena Bay at 12:35pm.

During the 40 minute orientation, they told us which restrooms on the trail were out of commission, how to identify animal tracks, which areas had no water, etc. They gave me a waterproof map and and tide table, and taught me how to use it. On my way out of the Information Center, I met an older lady who had just finished the hike, she was very happy but a little delirious because of how exhausted she was.

Backpack, hiking pokes and hat

West Coast Trail - Day 1 Map

At exactly 2:12pm, I started my West Coast Trail adventure. Right away, I saw signs warning about tsunamis.

Pachena Bay trail head

Tsunami warning

Being only about 30 miles away from the location where I did the Shi Shi Beach Hike, the landscape is almost identical: green moist forest and sharp cliffs. The first section was very easy on excellent boardwalks. Shortly after the start, I see the first set of the famous WCT ladders. I was very excited to try my hands on them.

Wooden boardwalks

West Coast Trail

Two kilometers down, 73 to go

Slugs

Despite the dry weather, some sections were still very muddy from previous rainfall. Since I was wearing non-waterproof trail runners, I tried to go around the mud.

West Coast Trail

After hiking inland for a while with no views of the ocean, I finally got a first peek of it in an area with lots of sea lions.

West Coast Trail

Sea lions

Sea lions

At km 10 I reach the Pachena Lighthouse. The fog was heavy so visibility was very low.

Pachena Lighthouse

Pachena Lighthouse

Pachena Lighthouse

Pachena Lighthouse

The first campsite is at Michigan Creek at km 12, I got there a bit before 6pm. There were already about 7 tents set up there.

Michigan Creek campsite

I decided to go to the next campsite which was 2 km further down. On the way there, I run into at least 20 hikers going the opposite way, they were all finishing the hike the following day and were going to camp at Michigan Creek that night. I run into two young American guys and we chatted for a bit. They turned out to be the only Americans I met on the trail.

I arrived at Darling River campsite around 6:15pm. There was no one around. It is very close to a creek (i.e. fresh water) and there was plenty of firewood around. Nick and Lorna, two young Canadians who rode the same bus that morning, got there a little bit later. They were followed by a group of 6 hikers who were also on the bus.

There is a bear locker by the campsite and an ultra deluxe compost toilet.

Bear locker

Amazing compost toilet

Because of my repeated failures in starting fires in the past (latest incident was on the Shi Shi Beach Hike), I spent a little time on google a few days before trying to learn how to do it property. I was able to start one right away. I stayed by the fire until around 10pm before retiring to my tent.

Day 1 was in the books. It had been a easy and pleasant start.

Darling River campsite

Next Entry: Day 2 – Darling River to Tsusiat Falls
West Coast Trail Journal Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail

Planning
Packing List
Day 1 – Pachena Bay to Darling River
Day 2 – Darling River to Tsusiat Falls
Day 3 – Tsusiat Falls to Carmanah Creek
Day 4 – Carmanah Point to Camper Bay
Day 5 – Camper Bay to Thrasher Cove
Day 6 – Thrasher Cove to Gordon River

Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

West Coast Trail

Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike Day 3 – Shi Shi Beach and Hitchhiking to Port Angeles

Journal entry for August 8-11, 2010.

After finishing the Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach hike and hitchhiking back to Port Angeles, I spent the rest of the day there waiting for next day’s ferry to Victoria, Canada.

Victoria Express ferry

Victoria Express ferry

Victoria Express ferry

I took the Victoria Express ferry, which was cheaper than the Black Ball ferry. Apparently, the Victoria Express was later acquired by Black Ball, and it is not in service anymore.

The ferry ride was enjoyable. The weather was cold and windy in Port Angeles in the morning, but when I arrived at Victoria, it was sunny and very warm. Going through customs was quick and easy. I then walked the 15 blocks from the ferry terminal to the Ocean Island Hostel.

I checked into my room and found out that it was way too small to fit 3 bunk beds and a large refrigerator. They were fitting 6 people into a small bedroom. Three of the people in there were staying long term, which meant that they had a lot of stuff scattered around the room. All in all, I wasn’t impressed, especially since I was paying $22/night. I was glad to be relocated to a different room the following night, with mostly tourists backpackers instead of long term residents.

Over the next few days, I met a lot of interesting people in the hostel. One 19-year old girl had hitchhiked across Canada by herself. There was an English girl who had been backpacking around the world for 2 years, and was soon going home. An German guy was traveling across Canada and made money by picking fruit in farms from time to time.

Some of the sites I visited included the Parliament building, the Royal BC Museum (very impressive), and Fisherman’s Wharf.

Victoria Harbour

Victoria Harbour

Parliament

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf

I had a good time in Victoria, even though I found everything to be very expensive. I do think I spent too many days here. Maybe 2 days instead of 4 would have been perfect.

Next entry: West Coast Trail Day 1 – Pachena Bay to Darling River
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal

Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal
Previous entry: Day 2 – Ozette River Crossing to Shi Shi Beach

Journal entry for August 7, 2010.
Approximate distance hiked: 3 miles, 4.8 km.

It started raining in the middle of the night. Not a strong rain, but a constant one. I packed up quickly and walked the 0.5 mile to the northern end of Shi Shi Beach, where the trail head is. On the way there, I spotted lots of starfish stuck on the rocks.

Starfish on Shi Shi Beach

Starfish on Shi Shi Beach

Starfish on Shi Shi Beach

Shi Shi Beach

One last look at Shi Shi Beach

There is a recently constructed 2.5 mile trail to a parking lot by Hatchery Rd, which is the only road that goes to Shi Shi beach. The trail starts with a very steep climb, before flattening out. In many parts it was extremely muddy, but I still enjoyed hiking it. I made sure to look around and enjoy the green forest scenery. I didn’t take pictures though because I didn’t want my camera to get wet.

Unlike from Port Angeles to the start of my hike, I wasn’t able to organize a shuttle to pick me up and return to Port Angeles. No buses came to this area. The closest they go to is to Neah Bay, which is about 12 miles north, so I was hoping to hitch a ride there. When I reached the small parking lot, I only saw 3 cars. I was expecting a lot of activity with people arriving and leaving, but that was not the case. Time was very tight, since the only Saturday morning bus leaves Neah Bay at 9:50am, and it was already 9:15am. 10 minutes later I see 3 people finishing the hike and arriving at the parking lot, but they told me that they had no space in their car. I stand there in the rain for about 30 minutes, there was no traffic whatsoever, so I decided to started walking the road.

Hatchery Road

I had never hitchhiked before, except for when I finished the John Muir Trail one year before. I wouldn’t really call that one instance real hitchhiking, since it was under different circumstances (everybody at Whitney Portal were hikers leaving for Lone Pine) and I was able to get a ride within 1 minute. This day was very different. It was still raining, but the rain gear kept me dry, except for my feet. I was having fun walking through the countryside, I could see the ocean from time to time, and there were a few small houses and farms on the side of the road. I felt a real sense of adventure, walking into the unknown. I walked about 3 miles, with about 10 cars passing and ignoring me. I started to wonder if I was going to be able to get a ride at all. Finally, a gentleman named Justin picked me up in his pickup truck. He was on his way to Neah Bay. He was very nice, and told me he had lived the area his entire life. I got to Neah Bay around 10am, way too late to catch the bus.

Port Angeles was still 80 miles away. Neah Bay is a very small town, but the road that goes through it had a fair amount of traffic. I walked to the edge of the town and stuck my thumb out again. Within a minute Paul picked me up on his new-looking Range Rover. I felt bad getting his leather seats wet, but he told me he didn’t mind. Paul is originally from England, but is now living in Neah Bay working as the captain of a cruise ship that goes all the way to Alaska. He was driving to Clallam Bay, 20 miles away, to rent a couple of DVDs. There was no other closer place for him to do this, and he had no cable or TV signal where he lived. He also had hiked the previous week the same hike I had just finished.

Paul left me at Clallam Bay, where I resumed my hitchhiking adventures. I got picked up again within a minute, this time by Robert in an old pickup truck. I was starting to see the pattern: if you a single guy, only single male drivers will pick you up. Families and single female drivers will look at you with distrust, understandably. Paul is a fisherman who had just spent the previous 4 days on a fishing boat. He was nice enough to do a little detour to show me a small waterfall, the Elwha Dam, and spectacular Lake Crescent with its crystal clear water.

Waterfall

Lake Crescent

Lake Crescent

Robert dropped me off at the Wilderness Information Center in Port Angeles, where I returned my bear canister. I thanked him for the huge favor he had done for me, and said good bye. I then walked the 20 blocks or so back to The Downtown Hotel, and spent the night watching TV.

I really enjoyed the Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach hike. It was completely different from anything I had done before, and it was more challenging and fun than I had expected. The hitchhiking was a lot of fun too, and I was lucky to meet three very nice and interesting people. I enjoyed learning about their way of life that is very different than the one I see everyday in Los Angeles.

The whole area of the Olympic Peninsula is just gorgeous. I feel that I barely scratched its surface, so I hope I’ll get another chance to return in the future.

Next entry: Victoria, Canada
Lake Ozette to Shi Shi Beach Hike Index
Part of the Pacific Northwest Trip Journal.