Friday, July 13, 2012

North Coast Trail: Shuttleworth Bight to Laura Creek; Laura Creek to Nels Bight; Cape Scott Lighthouse

Shuttleworth Bight to Laura Creek

After the rain must come the sun. We were delighted that after one soggy day on the trail, the sun appeared and made everything much more enjoyable. Our gear dried out very quickly (I highly recommend making sure that your clothing is mainly quick dry), and the trail was less muddy as well. The route on day three of hiking was extremely scenic with a lot of time spent on beaches. It is a requirement to have a tide chart with you on your hike, and we found it much easier to hike on the beaches when the tide was low, since the sand was much softer on the feet than the rocks, and it was also more stable. Unfortunately we hadn’t planned our beach hikes based on the tides, so we did spend a lot of time walking along uneven rocks or at the best of times skipping rocks. I will admit that skipping rocks, something we’ve all done as children, is much more challenging with a 40 lbs pack on your back. Add in the uncertainty with each step of which rock is slippery and which is not, and you definitely have to be turned on mentally to be a successful rock skipper. I say this though, being one of the slower ones in our group, and perhaps the trick is not to think at all and just to keep moving.


The sun allowed us to take a great number more breaks and to enjoy the views and the beauty of the places that we were. Along the ocean side too, we were able to explore tidal pools filled with marine life and even treasures! One of the activities many of us were very much looking forward to on the trip was beach combing. Since the Japanese tsunami over a year ago, there has been great speculation about what and how much debris will make it across the ocean to the BC shores. We found a couple treasures including a collection of industrial sized light bulbs each on a different beach in our trek and on day three a partially filled can of kerosene – all from Japan.


Some items were left behind, but others were carried along for a short while, usually to our next campsite. The kerosene came in very handy and had the boys dreaming of elaborate beach fires which were quickly dubbed bomb-fires instead of the usual bonfires. As the girls set up camp and prepared dinner, the boys combed the beach for sticks, branches and logs. By the time we went down to check on their progress, we were impressed to find that they had constructed a log cabin fire covered by a tee-pee style fire construction. Long story short, the fire was an impressive human feat and enjoyable to watch burn after a long day’s hike.



Laura Creek to Nels Bight

Though we wouldn’t be ‘out of the woods’ after reaching Nels Bight, our fourth hiking day was our last day officially on the North Coast Trail – the North Coast Trail connects to the Cape Scott Trail, which is a much more developed and travelled route. After the first two days of hiking, which were deemed difficult and very difficult on the trail map, the route got progressively easier. We were happy to enjoy a couple days of moderate hiking terrain.

One of the more fun aspects of the North Coast Trail, at least in my opinion are river crossings. Sometimes this happens by crossing by foot, other times with the aid of constructed bridges from fallen trees and the deepest rivers, of which there are two, are crossed by cable car. Zip lining across the rivers in pairs is a nice change from hiking and reinvigorates you with positive energy.


As we sat to have lunch at Nissen Bight, the last beach on the North Coast Trail, we were eagerly watching the ocean, since this beach commonly has whale sightings. We ate a delicious meal of rehydrated hummus, tabouli and sundried tomatoes topped with nutritional yeast in wraps.  As we were packing up to go, Christine says, “Look a whale!” The four of us who lagged behind on the beach turned to see a massive hump back jumping into the air and come crashing down to the ocean about four times. You could hear the bang of its body hitting the water after every jump.

After going four days with only seeing three strangers, one lone hiker and the two Ministry of Environment woodsmen, it felt strange to arrive to Nels Bight to discover a beautiful white sandy beach with crystal blue water covered in tents from other camping groups. It was my first experience beach camping, and knowing the tides go rise and fall so significantly, it was a bit nerve racking placing our tent at low tide not really knowing how high it would rise that night. As we slept, I heard the waves getting closer and closer to where I was resting, and was convinced for a time, that they would continue to approach until they swept into our tent. Luckily for Adam and I, the waves didn’t quite make it to our tent and we were able to have a restful sleep once I put my worries out of my mind.  


Cape Scott Light House

Having chosen to finish the North Coast Trail in four days instead of five, we were able to spend two nights at Nels Bight which meant we could sleep in after our first night, have a leisurely breakfast in the sun, explore the beach and the tide pools from the low tide and then still have time to do a 12 km return trip hike to the Cape Scott Lighthouse, one of the few lighthouses in Canada that is still manned.

During the hike we were able to take our time and gather additional washed-up debris, visit a sand dune that appears to have once separated the lighthouse land from the rest of the area, and really enjoy the sun.

We lunched at the lighthouse, where we met the two lighthouse keepers, a gay couple who were filled with stories. One of the highlights for most hikers to the lighthouse is that the keepers sell chocolate bars, chips and coffee of which we took full advantage. They keep a guest log of all visitors, and since Kelly was the 2000 person to sign the guestbook this year, she received a Canada themed prize pack! When we asked about life at a lighthouse, the two men didn’t make it seem too bad. They live in a beautiful place (though it does rain quite a bit) and though they do not have any neighbours per se, they do get five weeks off per year to vacation and visit the real world. When we asked if they have to hike in all their possessions, they shared that they in fact get bi-monthly drops by helicopter with all the food and supplies they require, and should they want to leave the lighthouse property, for vacation, they are helicoptered out and do not need to walk. The reason that the government goes to such an extreme for the two men is that should something happen to them on the walk in or out, they would be liable. So the two are under coast guard authority until they are off-duty and off-site.


That night, back at the beach, we feasted on whatever food we still had left. It was particularly sad knowing that it was our last night in the outdoors. I think most of us still had about three more days in us, but unfortunately work and other responsibilities called. We agreed that our last day was going to be a long one, so we would have to get up especially early and be very efficient with our time in order to keep the subsequent day a reasonable length.

As we sat around the campfire, we summarized our experience together and how much better we had been able to get to know one another. It was said that it is rare today to get to spend so much quality time with other people without the distractions of everyday life taking away from the personal interactions. In the wilderness, all we had was quality time  with one another. Also, I think the fact that we strongly depended on one another for food, shelter, directions, entertainment, and in my case, often a helping had to get over an uneven stump, greatly improved our bonding with one another.

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