West Coast Trail

I hiked the West Coast trail. It was 7 days of beautiful sunshine, guitar, beach walking, and outstanding food. I can't believe I forgot to take pictures of the feasts; tofu tetrazzini, beef stew with couscous, Thai peanut chicken stir fry, lasagna, stew with mashed potatoes, and spicy chicken pasta. The one pot meals were so tasty and convenient that I'm sure the dehydrator will be getting a workout for the next trip.

The team: Christian, Shauna, Mark, Kathryn, and me (not pictured).

Rather than slip your way up eroding coastal bush, the west coast trail offers you ladders. Sweet.

My first ever glimpse of an American Marten.






The mud could be intense, but was generally avoidable by careful probing with the hiking poles.



The short section of bog was one of my favourite parts of the trail. Endless easy boardwalks, abundant hummingbirds, and plenty of beautiful bog species.
Bog laurel
Labrador tea
Northern starflower
Hungry carnivorous sundews





Our only injury on the trail. An overzealous Christian gave Mark a boost up a tall step, which resulted in Mark pitching head first into the sandstone shelf. Luckily Mark's head absorbed the brunt of the fall, so there were only minor cuts on his knees from the mussels.

Those reflective blobs are sea-lions. What was I saying earlier about a proper telephoto lens?

And in the blink of an eye it was over. If I were to do it again I'd plan to take enough food to continue on to the Juan de Fuca trail. Good times were had by all.