TR - Hiking the Nootka Trail
This page is only meant to help Philipp and Rueben colaboratively write the following article. It will be removed once the article is complete.
Nootka Trail VOC Journal
Rueben Schulz Philipp Winter
I think we have most of the draft together. Time to start editing to make things consistent. - Rueben
So how do we go about this making things consistent? -Phil
Just jump in and start editing from top to bottom. I mentioned the other family in some of my sections, so I need to check that they are introduced on day 1. We probably should also deal with the I's in here (some can be changed to we...) unless you want to keep the section headings with our names? - Rueben
I'd be in favour of getting rid of all the I's. But it seems a few will be harder to get rid of...should we just write it in a bizare third-person style, never using I?. What do you think? I'll make sure to mention the other family in Day 1. In that case you should mention the couple from Washingtonin Day 2. -Phil
Intro - Philipp
At the end of August we hiked the Nootka Trail, a five day, 35 km hike off the west coast of Vancouver Island. The Trail is located on the west coast of Nootka Island, pretty much straight across Vancouver Island from Campbell River. The trailhead is only accessible by float plane or water taxi: float plane being the preferred choice. The preferred choice for getting back to Gold River (the float plane launch) is a tourist ferry/supply boat (MV Uchuck III), which stops at Friendly Cove (the end of the trail) twice weekly. After a while of message board postings and e-mails going back and forth, we were left as the only two willing and able to go on the hike. Originally we had no way of getting to Gold River. I researched taking the bus to Campbell River or Tofino and taking a float plane from there, but those options always came out very expensive. In the end I was able to borrow my parents car. The total cost from Vancouver to the trailhead, and back to Vancouver totalled $350 per person (for 2 people). This included gas, BC ferries to/from Nanaimo, a float plane to the trailhead (Louie Lagoon), the MV Uchuck back to Gold River, and the trail user fee charged by the first nations to cross their land at the end of the trail.
Coastal hiking tidbits - Philipp
Floats mark trails, STICKS GOOD FOR HELPING CROSS STREAMS, WATCH TIDES, Shitput and sea launch
A few tidbits about coastal hiking. Floats on trees: A good thing to watch out for along the beaches is floats hanging from trees, as these will usually be used to mark where the trail re-enters the forest. However, just because there are floats in the trees doesn’t mean you have to take the trail. Often these just mark a trail going over a headland. Depending on tides you can sometimes go around the headland instead, saving yourself a lot of time. The trick is to figure out which ones you can go around and which ones you have to go over.
Stream crossings: It can often be difficult to figure out the best way across a stream or creek. Always be sure to look a bit inland as it can sometimes be easier up there. Some streams can be crossed with hiking boots on (if your hiking boots are waterproof) and some are just too deep for that. A hiking pole (driftwood or proper) can be useful to help maintain your balance if you are rock-hopping to cross a stream.
Tides: All coastal activities require watching the tides and this definitely also applies to coastal hiking. Tides can affect whether a beach is passable, whether a stream is crossable, or whether you can go around a headland or if you have to go over. Having tide-tables with you and planning your days accordingly is advisable.
Marine radio: The Nootka Trail is remote, and you have to be self-sufficient. The only contact possible with the outside is with a marine band VHF radio. We rented one at Ecomarine Kayak in Vancouver. Luckily we never had to use it for anything more then checking the weather forecast.
Changing features: The coastal environment has a nasty habit of never staying the same. I hiked the Nootka Trail a few years ago with my family and hiking it again I noticed quite a few differences along the trail. For starters there were many more streams (I had beautiful weather the first time) and all the streams had more water. When I hiked the Trail for the first time Beano Creek was completely damned up by a sand/pebble dam built by the wave action, so we didn’t have to get our feet wet. This time there was no dam and the water was up past our knees.
Day 1 (Monday) - Philipp
To third beach and our northern excursion (wrecked ship) AND ATTEMPTED FURTHER NORTH. Cool beaver.
We left Vancouver on Sunday morning and drove to Strathcona Park Lodge where we met up with my parents who were camping in the area at the time. We camped with them on Sunday night not too far from the Gold River float plane launch and took the float plane in on Monday morning. My parents decided to join us for the flight which not only made it cheaper for us, but also allowed us to fly in the de Havilland Canada Beaver, a wonderful Canadian bush plane which is over 50 years old (this plane had just celebrated it’s 50th birthday the previous May). We had nice weather on our flight in and got a nice preview of the trail as we flew over it. After landing in Louie Lagoon and getting set, we started out on our 5-day hike. It only took us about 30 min to get out to the coast and our first campsite (Third Beach). The trail we easy to follow (~700 people hike the trail every year) but due to wet weather was rather muddy. We set up our camp, had lunch, and set out for a day-hike north along the coast. We planned to visit an old shipwreck and try to make it to the northern point of Nootka Island (ferrer point). Unfortunately we didn’t make it all the way to Ferrer Point as the trail became a very heavy bushwhack once we passed the old shipwreck.
Two more groups arrived on the trail on monday. A family of 5 (two parents, 3 girls) also came in the Beaver and stayed at Third Beach. Another couple arrived a bit latter and continued further on the trail. These were the only other people we encountered on the trail that were heading the same direction as us. We ended up stopping at the same sites the family did for the entire trip, but did not see the couple (until the ferry) after leaving Calvin Falls.
Day 2 (Tues) - Rueben
On the second day, Tuesday, we traveled from Third Beach to Calvin Falls. After getting up rather late, we broke camp and left sometime around 11am. The first business of the day was to climb up a steep, wet rocky section (which had a rope) to get into the forest. The first half of this day was spent climbing through bits of forest and beach, and the second half consisted of mostly walking along beaches and nice flat sections (almost like pavement). The weather was mixed throughout the day, but was mostly good.
Early in the day we encountered the first, and only, bear that we saw on the trip. We heard a loud rustling in the shrubs beside the beach and stopped. Philipp got out the bear spray and we both climbed up onto a nearby rock outcrop. The bear poked its head out through the bushes once and then headed off into the forest rather slowly. Once it had gone far enough, we continued on our way and talked to it as we went by.
Around lunch, we stopped at a small stream and filtered some more water. The water filter did not filter anything, and it was not until it built up enough pressure to blow off a hose that we realized that the filter was completely plugged up from filtering water at Third Beach. Some of the streams had a brown colour to them (from peat I think) that would plug up the filter very quickly. Once it was cleaned, it filtered fine.
We did not get into Calvin Falls until about 6pm. The south side of the creek was covered by a huge amount of drift wood in a pile about 2m high. After a bit of searching, we setup the tent and tarp in a clear spot behind the drift wood, about 20m from the other family. Near the end of the day the weather had improved and it was now sunny. However, our late start meant that we did not have time to take a swim and instead had to get straight to making dinner. The other family got in earlier, and had lots of manpower, so the girls got to go swimming while the parents cooked. At night, we wandered over to the other camp site and shared the fire with them.
Day 3 (Wed) - Philipp
To Beano Creek. ALL beach walk? Rained all day. FUN BOULDER-BOULDER WALKING, CROSSIN BEANO, CAMP BUILT BEHIND LOG
Our third day on the trail, Wednesday, was from Calvin Falls to Beano Creek. This day consisted solely of beach walking and quite a number of stream crossings. Beach walking gets rather monotonous after a while, but fortunately there was variety in the beach. Along one section of the beach we had to step from boulder to boulder. Since it was raining all day, this was rather difficult as the rocks were rather slippery. Once we got to Beano Creek, we had to cross it. Luckily we didn’t have to time our crossing with the tides as Beano Creek isn’t affected by the tides. Beano Creek was a bit more then knee-deep at the point where we crossed it. Rueben nearly fell in after losing his balance while trying to get a rock out of his shoes (mental note: don’t worry about rocks in your shoes while you’re crossing a creek). Once we got up the other side of Beano Creek, we realized we might have a bit of trouble finding a good place to set up camp, as it was rather windy and rainy. The beach was all nicely exposed to the wind and rain except for behind one very big log which is where we set up camp, using the log as a back wall for our tarp. Once our camp was set up we began to hunt for decently dry firewood to make a fire. Luckily we managed to find enough dry wood to get the fire started and then could just dried wood beside the fire. Along the beach here is the only place along the Nootka Trail which has privately owned land. There are a quite a number of cabins just tucked into the woods. There is even a bed and breakfast on the far end of the beach.
Day 4 (Thurs) - Rueben
Thursday was our longest and most tiring day, when we traveled from Beano Creek to the point. After the previous day's rain, it was nice to wake up without it raining. Of course it was not very nice to put on cold, wet boots, and pants. The rain held off while we packed up, but it started sprinkling once we got underway. The father of the family ran over in the morning to get a better view of some whales swimming offshore. He mentioned that he had watched a bear cross the creek upstream in the morning.
We had to get going rather early, because we had to pass a cliff that had no overland route before the tide got too high. This cliff was not very far from Beano, and a short while latter we passed by a whale carcass. I do not have any pictures of it, since by this time the rain had started again and my camera is not waterproof. Then the fun began. The beach walking ended and we started the overland route. The only route up from the beach to the forest went straight up a very wet and slippery rockface that was about 10m high. Fortunately it had a rope attached, that we first tested by both pulling on it from below.
We then spent most of the rest of the day climbing in and out of coves and walking through the forest. After traveling for a while, I looked at my watch to discover that it said we had only been hiking for about an hour. Remarking to Philipp that maybe it stopped, I looked again to see that it had indeed stopped and the knob had broken off. Pushing the knob back in with a twig, we latter found out from the family behind us that my watch was 55 minutes slow once they caught up with us. Latter in the day the sun started to come out and our spirits picked up a bit.
Eventually we caught up with the family that passed us earlier in the day. They had set up camp at a very nice beach that was surrounded by cliffs and had an "island" in the middle. A log went from the island to the surrounding cliff that someone had previously put a rope around (## need to describe this better##). The family suggested we stay with them, but Philipp wanted to stop at the same place where he had stopped previously, so we continued on. However the route off the beach went up a 10m wall, and we were so tired by this time that we took one look at it and turned around. After setting up camp, we gathered some wood and shared a fire with the other family. Since the wood was wet and hard to start, I offered some alcohol to the effort. The bit of alcohol smothered the small flame and put it out, which was not my desired outcome. But a second match ignited the vapors and helped get it going. We used the fire to dry out our socks and boots, though some sparks melted a small hole it the tongue of Rueben's boot. The weather cleared off by the night, and we were able to watch the stars, around the camp fire.
Day 5 (Fri) - Rueben
Friday was one of our shorter days. We got up rather early, since we needed to cross the Tidal Lagoon before high tide. The description of the Lagoon was "wade at low tide, swim at high tide". During his previous trip, Philipp observed some impatient people rig up a rope to pull their gear across at high tide, with disastrous, wet results when the slack in their rope allowed their packs to be submerged.
We left first in the morning, but the family eventually passed us as usual. Since the weather was good, we all stopped to look at some sea caves on the way. Part of the trail went through a bog, that had a partial board walk build out of sticks that other hikers had thrown in the mud to keep from sinking in too deep. We caught up to them eventually at the Lagoon. I think we were able to catch up to them by choosing to go around some headlands (which were barely passable on the beach) while they took the slower, more difficult route through the forest. The lagoon was a bit higher than our knees, but did not prove too much trouble to cross once we took off our shoes and pant legs. I rained again just as we were crossing, but the rain did not last long and the day turned out to be the hottest of the trip.
After hiking a few more minutes, we eventually found a nice pre set-up campsite by the only stream. The site had a very nice table and windbreak constructed by previous people out of driftwood. We could not see Friendly Cove from the site, but could view it from the beach. The tent was up before lunch, allowing us to relax during the afternoon. During the afternoon, I did some laundry in the creek and took a bath in the ocean. We took advantage of the hot weather to dry out some of our wet gear, though my boots did not dry out completely for another week. Philipp entertained himself by damming up the creek with pebbles. My feet were quite sore by this time, and I spent the latter part of the afternoon inspecting them for damage. Dinner consisted of a very elaborate couscous dish with dried chick peas that soaked in my cup over night.
Day 6a (Sat) - Rueben
Our last day on the trail was rather lazy and did not begin until quite late. It rained again during the night, but soon turned sunny and rather nice. Breakfast consisted of some fresh bannok (fired bread) with some jam bought on the BC Ferry trip to Nanimo. Kneading the dough made my hands very sticky, but fortunately there was a nearby stream to wash in.
A little while latter we completed the trail with a leisurely, 30 minute hike to Friendly Cove. Right now, Friendly Cove consists of a few houses, one large church, a dock, a lighthouse and some composting toilets. The permanent population is only around 5 to 8 people. Formerly it was a large village with a fish canning plant. Pictures in the church show houses lining the entire cove: an area now covered by blackberries. This village has a lot of historical importance. This was the site were Captain James Cook became the first European to set foot on British Columbian soil in 1778. The Spanish also established their only fort in Canada and maintained it from 1789 to 1795 (when they gave it up to the British). I think that the first Spanish missionary to the BC coast also landed here. Nookta Island therefore became an important focal point for English, Spanish and American traders and explorers. This history (and more that I have forgotten) is written up in the entrance to the empty church. Because of the importance of this site there are plans to build a larger museum there.
There was also a very cool lighthouse at Friendly Cove. Besides a large tower for the light, it had a large house, a few other buildings, and a helicopter pad. The helicopter pad (which was closer to the community) was separated from the lighthouse by a very deep ravine, so the two were connected by a very impressive 30m bridge.
We got to see Friendly Cove by ourselves, before the flocks of tourists arrived on the ferry. Once they arrived, we had our last lunch on the beach.
Here's a few things I found about Friendly Cove that I found. -Phil Thanks! - Rueben
"In March 1778, Captain James Cook of the Royal Navy became the first European to set foot on British Columbian soil when he visited Friendly Cove"
"A Spanish trading post, Santa Cruz de Nutka, and Fort San Miguel, the only Spanish fort ever established in Canada, was maintained here between 1789 and 1795, with Nootka becoming an important focal point for English, Spanish and American traders and explorers."
Day 6b - Philipp
ferry out, LUNA, crazy drive to Nanimo for late night ferry back to vancouver.
Once we finally boarded the MV Uchuck III our hike was over. We sat on the outer deck of the ship and enjoyed the sun as well as the views. Along the way the Nootka Sound resident orca, Luna, decided to join us and swim in the ship’s wake. He managed to keep up with the ship while swimming upside down in our wake. Luna got separated from his southern resident pod in 2001, turned up in Nootka Sound, and has been staying there ever since. Once we arrived back at Gold River we walked to the car and got ready for a long drive back to Nanaimo. We drove the few hours to Campbell River, took a short break at Tim Hortons, and headed out again for Nanaimo. Overall the drive took us about 5-6 hours to Duke Point ferry terminal where we had to wait for quite a while for the much delayed ferry. We finally arrived back in Vancouver around 1 or 2 am, very tired and glad to be home.
Misc.
Other families traveling with us.
Luna the crazy whale
Note: our wakeup times got earlier as the trip went on, because of consideration for the tides.