This past summer I backpacked a segment of the Juan De Fuca trail, located on the western coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This trail was the most unique trail I have backpacked so far. I typically lean towards mountain hiking, but this trail entailed forest hiking, beach walking, and crossing of many bridges, some ladders, and even rappelling with rope.
Day 1: We parked our car at the Juan De Fuca trailhead – China beach terminus, and began our trip. The terrain was mainly in the forest, with continuous ups and downs, and frequent views to the ocean. The total distanced hiked on the first day was just over 10km. We stopped briefly at Mystic beach to view the famous waterfall, and watch the waves lap on the beach. Continuing our trek, we hiked for a few more hours to eventually arrive at our first campsite at Bear Beach. There were many small flat areas to camp, and we found a small sheltered area in the trees. Having some tree shelter was a MUST, since the dew and mist from the ocean made the fly on the tent very wet. I had the brilliant idea to hammock the whole trip, so I had set up my hammock under some trees, and built a makeshift tarp over me using plastic drop sheets. This worked extremely well, as I stayed bone dry all night, however, the wind from the ocean did make for a chilly night. I was bundled up in many layers, with just my mouth exposed to breath. It was stunning to fall asleep listening to the waves crash on the shore just meters from where I hung.
Day 2: We hiked from Bear Beach to Chin beach, which was a 8.7km trek, and again had many ups and downs. Due to the heavy dew and mist from the night before, the trail was quite muddy, and in parts rather slippery. We would hike up a hill for 20 minutes or so, and then hike down the other side, and this pattern continued for most of the day. We crossed the occasional bridge, and staircase, which were in great condition and felt very safe. 100% waterproof boots were an absolute MUST for this day, and would even recommend wearing gators for when your foot sinks into a mud pit!! We arrived at Chin beach in the late afternoon, and enjoyed a warm meal, played some card games, and watched a beautiful sunset. We even saw some humpback whales in the far distance! The wind really was strong on this beach though, and so the second the sun set we immediately went to bed to warm up in our sleeping bags. There were multiple wooden tent pads at this site, and some great trees for hanging my hammock.
Day 3: We started the day early, and got moving at around 7:30am. We hiked a total of 7km this day, but it felt much longer. It started to pour rain at around km 5, which made the final 2km push a wet and very cold stretch. However, this was in my opinion the most beautiful segment of the trail, as it was a lot of hiking along cliffs and bluffs right above the ocean below. There were some ladders and wooden staircases built to add safety and support to some of the steep sections where it would otherwise be muddy and incredibly slippery. We finished our hike at West Sombrio beach, and of course had to check out the hidden waterfall in the canyon. The waterfall is just a short couple hundred meters off the beach, and a very unique gem tucked away.
Some things to consider if you are thinking about doing this trail: 1.) It is very wet terrain, and so fully waterproof gear (jacket, pants, books, large rain hat) is an absolute must. 2). It is continuous up and down, so although you rarely have high lookouts (compared to mountain hiking), your legs will be very sore as it works both your quads and your calves each day. 3.) We had to hitchhike a ride with strangers from Sombrio Beach back to the trailhead at China beach. Thankfully some nice tourists were willing to drive us back, as the bus is very expensive (~40$ a person), and only comes every few hours.
