North Coast Trail: Nels Bight to San Josef

The hike out from Nels Bight was the longest route we had to cover in all our hiking days, but also the easiest. With our packs free of all food weight, our legs just a little stronger, our minds able to better read the forest floor on which we walked, we were able to cover significant ground in a short time. For most of the trip, I refered to myself as the tortoise and the others as the hares, since I was often the one who lagged behind at a somewhat slower pace than the pack, but on the last day, with my long legs and the easy ground, it was joked that the hare in me had kicked into gear. It was fun to push forward at a quicker pace.

The scenery was beautiful. We crossed through a gorgeous field, learned some of the agricultural and settlement history of the land, and even saw the artifacts that remain from some of the original inhabitants.

It took us just under six hours to do the trail before arriving at the parking lot where fresh clothes and a bottle of wine I had packed awaited our arrival. It was very rewarding to drop our bags in the trunks of the cars and pass around the bottle of wine.

One last piece of advice for future hikers - make the effort and take the time to plan your meals. We were extremely spoiled that Christine took such an interest in one of her new cook books that has recipes for dehydrated meals. We ate three meals and at least three snacks a day every day which included a lot of protein, carbs and vegetables too! Your body will need the energy and it will allow you to be at your best every step of the way. That being said, a good portion of our weight that could have been off loaded was our food. I would have said before we left that we packed too much food, yet none of it remained at the end of the trip (other than our emergency food). So, unless you are willing to go to bed hungry, carry the extra weight. (Below is the food carried by Adam and I for the group for the trip.)

As we drove out the San Josef road, we had to make one last stop to conclude our trip. Adam's boots, which had been held together by his hand-crafted 'boot-net', had finally come to their end. Boots who did not survive the trail all share a similar fate in a large boot tree that flanks the road back to Port Hardy. It is here that Adam's boots have been left to die, and a piece of our trip will in a way, forever be a part of that place.