Juan de Fuca trail
Last Tuesday, Drew gave me a phone call to invite me along on a hike of the Juan de Fuca trail. The plan was to do the whole thing. The catch...was the plan to do the whole thing in 1 day. 47 Kilometers, starting early morning in Port Renfrew, ending at China Beach. The hope was it would be between 12-14 hours. We started as a group of 8. Drew's roommate Kyle was supposed to come along. He is how Drew got invited; Kyle knew one of the other guys in the hiking group, whose name is also Kyle. Roommate Kyle ended up not coming. Kyle who did come, along with 5 of his church friends, and Drew and myself, all started our hike in Port Renfrew at 5:20 AM. We were slightly delayed when we discovered the parking lot at China Beach, where I was to leave my car at 4 AM, had been brutally rampaged by burglars. They demolished any parts of the cars there which stood in their way. Windows, trunk locks and tailights, back seats, dash's. Whatever. I didn't want to leave my car there, in case they were still there hiding in the bush. We took my car up to Sombrio. Two people in the group were only intending to hike to Sombrio, so their car was there already. I parked mine by theirs, and when they arrived at their car mid-day, they drove my car back to China Beach and parked it there so we had a vehicle waiting for us at the end of the trail. Luckily, I had 2 keys with me.
When we began our hike, I don't know that I have seen so many stars in the sky in years. It was a beautiful morning. We hiked with headlamps lighting the way for the first 1.5 hours or so. We got minimally side-tracked on the beach until I noticed a sign up in the bushes, indicating a trail was nearby. We bushwhacked for about 30 feet and found the trail, continuing on our way. The morning portion of the hike was easy and fun. We talked, we joked, took some pictures...we had a good time. Some of us were faster than others. We often split in to two or even 3 groups, but would wait at a particular point, usually with a nice view of the ocean, for the others to catch up. When we arrived at Sombrio, we were somewhat ahead of schedule, or so we thought.
The two who were planning to leave us at Sombrio did so. A third, Aaron, who we called 'Everest' because with all the gear he had, he looked like he was ready to climb Mt. Everest, decided to leave at that point as well. He said he was sore, and didn't want to be limping the last several hours of the hike, slowing us down. It was smart of him, I must admit.
Like I said, the hike had been easy until this point. We sat on the beach for about 20 minutes. We ate some food, dried our feet and changed our socks, then as soon as we were able, continued on our way. We stopped to refill our water bottles in a creek, and hit the trail. This is where things got interesting. The afternoon portion of the hike was far more difficult than the morning. It was also far more difficult than we expected. Drew's strength started to give out quite quickly. The hills, the switch-back trails of the river valleys, were grueling. My strength lasted, but I could start to feel the strain in my knees from the pressure of the downhills. The 3 remaining others: Richard, Mason, and Kyle, were able to keep a pretty strong pace ahead of us. I hung back with Drew. It's not like anybody was going to leave one person behind. We arrived at a point where we were supposed to get there before a certain time in order to beat the tide. I'm under the impression that we arrived on time, but Aaron, who was in charge of figuring that stuff out, was wrong. We got to a point on the rocks where there was a 6' drop down to the beach, which was covered in water. We had to wait for just the right moment, between the waves, when the water was most shallow, to jump down and then run up further on the beach where the waves weren't reaching. I landed in ankle-deep water, soaking my feet. Drew thinks he did worse, as his shorts got wet. We took a short break at that point to try to dry out our shoes and socks.
It got really difficult after that, even more-so than just before. Drew's strength continued to fade, and my knees continued to worsen. By this point it was probably about 2PM. We knew we had to maintain a steady pace of at least 3 km/h to reach the car by 8. That was a goal which we would not make. When it got to the point where we only saw the other 3 every 20 minutes or so when they waited up, we decided it was best that they keep going without waiting for us. I gave them my car key. That way, they could drive down to Renfrew and pick up their cars, and come back to China beach to wait for us. This would eliminate the need for them to wait at China beach for possibly an hour or more, then still need to drive the hour round-trip to get their cars with us.
I ended up carrying Drew's water for him, minus 1 bottle so he could drink when he wanted to. He was slowing down more and more. I could fly past him on the uphills, but he was able to overtake me on the downhills. My knees slowed me down. At about 5 or 6 kilometers left, we needed our headlamps on again. It was just Drew and I in the dark woods. No other hikers were foolish enough to be attempting the trail at this hour. At about 3kms left, I took Drew's bag and carried it for him. He was succumbing to such extreme exhaustion, to a degree that I have never witnessed in any person. He began passing in and out of consciousness while walking, almost sleep-walking. He collapsed once or twice, and took much encouragement/yelling to get up. We passed by some campers on a beach at the 2km mark. They knew us by name, as the other 3 had told them about us and asked to pass along the message that they will be there waiting at the parking lot. These people were kind enough to allow us a seat by their campfire, and give us some water as we were running low and did not want to stop to purify more. They were impressed by what we had accomplished, and encouraged us along our way. The next 2 kilometers probably took us more than an hour. They were easier than the previous bit, but still difficult in their own sense. I kept Drew ahead of me so I could keep an eye on him and encourage him along. Many times we had to pause to make sure we were still on the trail. In the woods at night with only LED floodlight headlights, it was difficult to tell what was trail and what was just bare forest. I had a more powerful flashlight I would bring out occasionally to have a look around and make sure we were still on course. The last kilometer was the longest single kilometer either of us had ever walked. Drew started to question me about whether or not we were going the right way. There were obvious signs that it was the proper trail, but I too began to question it simply because it seemed to go on forever. We eventually saw a sign, facing the other way, reminding campers to pay their camp fees before embarking on the trail. This was a sure sign we were near the parking lot. We then saw another, warning people that they would be ticketed or towed if they did not pay for parking. Then there was the trail map, which was typically located at the beginning of any trail. Sure enough, just behind it, were the boulders preventing people from driving from the parking lot on to the trail, and then the parking lot itself. Several broken-into vehicles still remained.
My car wasn't at the parking lot when we arrived. None of the cars were. In the message passed along to us by the campers on the beach, they had mentioned a second trail option, one that would take us out to the highway faster. I was not about to go hunting for a different trail in the woods at night, nor was I going to skip out on the last measly kilometer of a 47 km hike. We were going for the whole meal deal, and we did. At 10:05 PM, 16 hours and 45 minutes after departing Port Renfrew, we had finally arrived at our destination. Drew and I pulled out our warmer layers and put them on. I swapped Drew's hat for a toque, as he had collapsed against a boulder and almost immediately fallen asleep. I purified a water bottle which I had filled in a creek at the 2km mark, just in case. 40 minutes after arriving at the parking lot, a convoy of 3 cars pulled in. It was an awesome sight.
After dropping Drew off at home around 11:30pm, I came home and immediately hopped in the shower to scrub myself down. That transitioned in to a hot bath, in which I managed to pass out pretty quickly, but only for a few minutes. Went to bed, and woke up the next morning barely able to walk. My right knee is still bothering me, but I was hobbling pretty severely yesterday. Today is a significant improvement.
It was one hell of a hike, and as I said before the hike "even if we don't make it...it will be a hell of an adventure". It definitely was. It's something I never intend to attempt again, but am very glad I did it this one time. And as Drew and I agree..."we gots some braggin rights now"!
Cheers
When we began our hike, I don't know that I have seen so many stars in the sky in years. It was a beautiful morning. We hiked with headlamps lighting the way for the first 1.5 hours or so. We got minimally side-tracked on the beach until I noticed a sign up in the bushes, indicating a trail was nearby. We bushwhacked for about 30 feet and found the trail, continuing on our way. The morning portion of the hike was easy and fun. We talked, we joked, took some pictures...we had a good time. Some of us were faster than others. We often split in to two or even 3 groups, but would wait at a particular point, usually with a nice view of the ocean, for the others to catch up. When we arrived at Sombrio, we were somewhat ahead of schedule, or so we thought.
The two who were planning to leave us at Sombrio did so. A third, Aaron, who we called 'Everest' because with all the gear he had, he looked like he was ready to climb Mt. Everest, decided to leave at that point as well. He said he was sore, and didn't want to be limping the last several hours of the hike, slowing us down. It was smart of him, I must admit.
Like I said, the hike had been easy until this point. We sat on the beach for about 20 minutes. We ate some food, dried our feet and changed our socks, then as soon as we were able, continued on our way. We stopped to refill our water bottles in a creek, and hit the trail. This is where things got interesting. The afternoon portion of the hike was far more difficult than the morning. It was also far more difficult than we expected. Drew's strength started to give out quite quickly. The hills, the switch-back trails of the river valleys, were grueling. My strength lasted, but I could start to feel the strain in my knees from the pressure of the downhills. The 3 remaining others: Richard, Mason, and Kyle, were able to keep a pretty strong pace ahead of us. I hung back with Drew. It's not like anybody was going to leave one person behind. We arrived at a point where we were supposed to get there before a certain time in order to beat the tide. I'm under the impression that we arrived on time, but Aaron, who was in charge of figuring that stuff out, was wrong. We got to a point on the rocks where there was a 6' drop down to the beach, which was covered in water. We had to wait for just the right moment, between the waves, when the water was most shallow, to jump down and then run up further on the beach where the waves weren't reaching. I landed in ankle-deep water, soaking my feet. Drew thinks he did worse, as his shorts got wet. We took a short break at that point to try to dry out our shoes and socks.
It got really difficult after that, even more-so than just before. Drew's strength continued to fade, and my knees continued to worsen. By this point it was probably about 2PM. We knew we had to maintain a steady pace of at least 3 km/h to reach the car by 8. That was a goal which we would not make. When it got to the point where we only saw the other 3 every 20 minutes or so when they waited up, we decided it was best that they keep going without waiting for us. I gave them my car key. That way, they could drive down to Renfrew and pick up their cars, and come back to China beach to wait for us. This would eliminate the need for them to wait at China beach for possibly an hour or more, then still need to drive the hour round-trip to get their cars with us.
I ended up carrying Drew's water for him, minus 1 bottle so he could drink when he wanted to. He was slowing down more and more. I could fly past him on the uphills, but he was able to overtake me on the downhills. My knees slowed me down. At about 5 or 6 kilometers left, we needed our headlamps on again. It was just Drew and I in the dark woods. No other hikers were foolish enough to be attempting the trail at this hour. At about 3kms left, I took Drew's bag and carried it for him. He was succumbing to such extreme exhaustion, to a degree that I have never witnessed in any person. He began passing in and out of consciousness while walking, almost sleep-walking. He collapsed once or twice, and took much encouragement/yelling to get up. We passed by some campers on a beach at the 2km mark. They knew us by name, as the other 3 had told them about us and asked to pass along the message that they will be there waiting at the parking lot. These people were kind enough to allow us a seat by their campfire, and give us some water as we were running low and did not want to stop to purify more. They were impressed by what we had accomplished, and encouraged us along our way. The next 2 kilometers probably took us more than an hour. They were easier than the previous bit, but still difficult in their own sense. I kept Drew ahead of me so I could keep an eye on him and encourage him along. Many times we had to pause to make sure we were still on the trail. In the woods at night with only LED floodlight headlights, it was difficult to tell what was trail and what was just bare forest. I had a more powerful flashlight I would bring out occasionally to have a look around and make sure we were still on course. The last kilometer was the longest single kilometer either of us had ever walked. Drew started to question me about whether or not we were going the right way. There were obvious signs that it was the proper trail, but I too began to question it simply because it seemed to go on forever. We eventually saw a sign, facing the other way, reminding campers to pay their camp fees before embarking on the trail. This was a sure sign we were near the parking lot. We then saw another, warning people that they would be ticketed or towed if they did not pay for parking. Then there was the trail map, which was typically located at the beginning of any trail. Sure enough, just behind it, were the boulders preventing people from driving from the parking lot on to the trail, and then the parking lot itself. Several broken-into vehicles still remained.
My car wasn't at the parking lot when we arrived. None of the cars were. In the message passed along to us by the campers on the beach, they had mentioned a second trail option, one that would take us out to the highway faster. I was not about to go hunting for a different trail in the woods at night, nor was I going to skip out on the last measly kilometer of a 47 km hike. We were going for the whole meal deal, and we did. At 10:05 PM, 16 hours and 45 minutes after departing Port Renfrew, we had finally arrived at our destination. Drew and I pulled out our warmer layers and put them on. I swapped Drew's hat for a toque, as he had collapsed against a boulder and almost immediately fallen asleep. I purified a water bottle which I had filled in a creek at the 2km mark, just in case. 40 minutes after arriving at the parking lot, a convoy of 3 cars pulled in. It was an awesome sight.
After dropping Drew off at home around 11:30pm, I came home and immediately hopped in the shower to scrub myself down. That transitioned in to a hot bath, in which I managed to pass out pretty quickly, but only for a few minutes. Went to bed, and woke up the next morning barely able to walk. My right knee is still bothering me, but I was hobbling pretty severely yesterday. Today is a significant improvement.
It was one hell of a hike, and as I said before the hike "even if we don't make it...it will be a hell of an adventure". It definitely was. It's something I never intend to attempt again, but am very glad I did it this one time. And as Drew and I agree..."we gots some braggin rights now"!
Cheers