Here are some quick tips if you are thinking of doing the West Coast Trail with Lightweight gear and/or a hammock in no particular order.
- I had Telus phone coverage for the entire length of the WCT. A PLB or a SPOT Personal Messanger is probably not necessary unless it makes you or your partner feel better.
- Even early in the season you can do the WCT with a lightweight gear. My suggestion would be to go from Bamfield to Port Renfrew as the trail is pretty good all the way up to KM51. I'm not a fast hiker and I don't get out and do much hiking but I still managed to do this stage in three days.
- Take a pair of lightweight shoes that you can use for wading through Michigan, Darling and Crib Creek. I left my New Balance 908s and socks on and my socks never really dried out completely even after leaving them out in the sun for an hour.
- I made the mistake of washing two pairs of my socks on day 2 which left me with only one pair of dry socks for the remainder of the trip. Merino socks are still warm and wearable when damp but it can cause blistering.
- You can easily hang a hammock at Michigan and Darling Creek. If you got creative you could probably hang off of the driftwood at TSusiat Falls. I carried on to KM29 on the beach and hung off some driftwood there. Make sure you have plenty of water as even in May there was nowhere to fill up until I got to Cribs.
- Bonilla Point has a couple of good spots for hanging a hammock and plenty of water.
- Make sure you bring a variety of food, including some fresh stuff. The highlight of my days foodwise were stopping for lunch and having some fresh hungarian salami, cheese and dried apple rings.
- Don't wash your base layer unless you are sure you can dry it completely before you need to wear it again. I made the mistake of doing this at Bonilla Point and then the fog rolled in. This meant I had to hike in my other baselayer shirt all day to Camper and then sleep in it while it was still damp. I'm sure this contributed to my cold night there.
- I only found one good spot to hang at Camper. Firewood is nonexistant here as well unless you are prepared to wade across the creek.
- If you are going to try and go around Owen point don't underestimate how long it will take you to get to the Beach Access points on the trail. On the map it looked like it was right at Camper but it took about 90 minutes to get to the first BA and onther 30 to get to the second. Make sure you factor this into your timings for the low tide.
- KM51 to KM75 are very challenging if you are wearing lightweight nonwaterproof shoes and spats. I found that I could pick my way around all of the mud holes and stay dry. However, on day 5 it rained the whole day and my feet were soaked for the whole time even without going in any of the mud. This was the worst day for my feet and it was the only time I got any significant blisters. KM70 to KM75 the trail was particularly bad. The trail has its largest elevation change and then the last 2 KM was in very bad repair. By the time I got to the end I was wiped out.
I will add more as I think of them. Good Luck!
4 comments:
Good Stuff. How did the rain gear hold up for you in the downpours?
The GoLite Virga top held up fine. I had no leaks and and didn't feel like I was overheating or in a sauna at all with just the MEC Microweight Merino Crew on underneath. I didn't bother putting the GoLite Reed pants on as it didn't seem worth it. If it had been colder out I would have put them on.
Kris, I'm getting ready to do the WCT in two weeks. I'm going in a group of 4. Two of us have hammocks and two have tents. Is it going to be more trouble than it's worth to try an find hammock anchor points for 2 hammocks? Thank you.
Tsusiat Falls would probably be difficult to find two spots to hang hammocks but between KM 27 and 29 the tree line is accessible from the beach and you could all find spots along here. Just bring water as there was no nearby source.
The camp site at Bonilla Point had plenty of spots.
Camper would be the most difficult to find places for two hammocks, I think.
It also depends on the time of year that you are going. If you are going in July or August that is peak season so the camp sites will probably be busier and that could cause problems for the hammock hikers.
Something else to bear in mind. The spring and summer of 2011 has been very wet so the trail conditions probably aren't great. If you are going light weight make sure your rain gear is good and that you have a good fly for the tent or hammock.
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