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April 11, 2011May 19, 2017

West Coast Trail Day 3: Tsusiat Falls to Carmanah Creek

This post is part of a series called West Coast Trail Journal
Show More Posts
  • West Coast Trail Journal
  • West Coast Trail – Planning
  • West Coast Trail – Packing List
  • West Coast Trail Day 1: Pachena Bay to Darling River
  • West Coast Trail Day 2: Darling River to Tsusiat Falls
  • West Coast Trail Day 3: Tsusiat Falls to Carmanah Creek
  • West Coast Trail Day 4: Carmanah Creek to Camper Bay
  • West Coast Trail Day 5: Camper Bay to Thrasher Cove
  • West Coast Trail Day 6: Thrasher Cove to Gordon River

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
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, West Coast Trail
Seagulls by Tsusiat Falls, West Coast Trail

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, West Coast Trail
Waiting for the Nitinat Narrows ferry, West Coast Trail

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
New boardwalk going around old destroyed sections
Boardwalk in pretty bad shape, West Coast Trail
Boardwalk in pretty bad shape, West Coast Trail
Tree root climbing, West Coast Trail
Tree root climbing, West Coast Trail

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, West Coast Trail
Bear and cougar warning, West Coast Trail

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

Makeshift chair by the beach, West Coast Trail
Makeshift chair by the beach, West Coast Trail

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, West Coast Trail
Looking back at Cribs Creek campsite, West Coast Trail

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

Restroom sign, West Coast Trail
Restroom sign, West Coast Trail
Carmanah Lighthouse, West Coast Trail
Carmanah Lighthouse, West Coast Trail

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.

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.

Steep ladders to the beach, West Coast Trail
Steep ladders to the beach, West Coast Trail
Chez Monique, West Coast Trail
Chez Monique, West Coast Trail
Strange rock on the beach, West Coast Trail
Strange rock on the beach, West Coast Trail

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, West Coast Trail
Carmanah Creek cable car, West Coast Trail
Deer by Carmanah Creek campsite, West Coast Trail
Deer by Carmanah Creek campsite, West Coast Trail
Carmanah Lighthouse from a distance, West Coast Trail
Carmanah Lighthouse from a distance, West Coast Trail

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

Posted in Travel, Hiking, Photography, Americas, West Coast Trail, Canada
4 Comments
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   West Coast Trail Day 2: Darling River to Tsusiat Falls
West Coast Trail Day 4: Carmanah Creek to Camper Bay   

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Comments (4)

  • Martin Schrattenholzer April 13, 2013 at 3:54 pm Reply

    The strange rock is a soft one with many piddock clam holes in it. It broke exposing the length of the holes and then has been extensively eroded since.

    • Kevin April 19, 2013 at 2:32 pm

      Thanks for the information, Martin. That solves the mystery. I thought back then that it could be something man-made.

  • roger burmeister November 24, 2014 at 8:01 pm Reply

    Hi- yes I did the west coast trail 3 times-last time I was already 65 years- old- I remember very well all the ladders- when I started first time in 1984 there were no toilets and everybody used the forest- not nice.later they had bio toilets and it was much more comfortable-I met mostly european germans and they all were very well equipped- I saw many drops from bears and could smell them -also other groups had to fight the cougars with sticks- it is important not to camp in the forest and only along the sea side where you meet other hikers.Many hikers were hurt when they jumped off the fallen trees you had to cross the trail and hit roots on the ground-a good advise- when you are walking concentrate on your trail -easily you step on this routs above the ground and fall-I saw many limping hikers who had to give up.I had too much weight- do not go over 35 pounds and take only dry food in plastic bags and have a good cook stove.-and clothing which dries very fast-no cotton.But is was wonderful- now I am too old for this adventures and went instead north on many rivers and dogsledding in winter. Cheers roger

    • Kevin January 6, 2015 at 5:44 am

      Hi Roger. Thanks for the comment. I can imagine the trail to be very different back then. Nowadays there are comfortable restrooms and established campsites which are good things because they lower the impact of the thousands of backpackers per year.

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kevinstravel

Rough race and not the result I was looking for. W Rough race and not the result I was looking for. Was targeting a sub 2:55 but finished in 3:31. It felt hard from the start and had stomach issues later on. Still proud of the effort and finish.
2 more days 2 more days
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