The newly opened North Coast Trail on
Vancouver Island’s northern tip proved to be a challenging and
rewarding 6-day hike for local adventurers Kip Hoy, Jeff Hoy, Brock
Snobelen, and Bill Rickson. The foursome has been exploring the
Island’s recreation areas for years and news of the trail’s
opening initiated a flurry of emails and phone calls which lead to
the hike.
The trail connects a previously
inaccessible stretch of coastline to Cape Scott Provincial Park and
runs from Shushartie Bay in the east to Nissen Bight in the west. If
hiked together with the Cape Scott Trail, the total distance is about
60km. Construction of the stairs, boardwalks, and campsites is of
good quality and ropes installed on steep sections of the trail
provide necessary assistance. The trail is not a quick one and the
group averaged 1-2km per hour.
As with anywhere on the BC coast
weather can be a dangerous foe or a valuable ally. On this
particular trip the hikers got lucky and for the most part
experienced cool, overcast days, good weather for doing strenuous
exercise outdoors. Evenings were brought to a close with a fabulous
sunset on five of the six nights, while sitting around a fire on a
sandy beach. The one night it did rain, the group camped at an
established campsite in the forest with tent pads, bear cache and
outhouse. The trees made it easy to set up tarps and stay dry.
On the last night camp was made at
Nissen Bight, a familiar spot visited regularly by the hikers since
their teen years. This was the first point since setting out on the
trail that other hikers were met and it proved to be an exciting
location to finish the hike. A dramatic rescue was unfolding on the
beach which their tired minds could only be thankful they were not
the cause of. The previous night a hiker burnt his foot and was not
able to hike out on his own. A coast guard vessel was now circling
the beach looking for a place to get ashore however the surf was to
much. Eventually, a small skiff was able to get a technician ashore
and meet the patient. An evacuation was deemed necessary and since a
water landing was not safe, a helicopter was brought in to extract
the injured hiker off the beach. All this happened about 50ft from
camp.
The group returned to Comox the next
day feeling tired and satisfied. They would now part and resume
their everyday lives, letting the energy slowly rebuild until the day
of their next adventure; the natural world once again the perfect
setting for reconnecting with friends not seen enough.
