Running BC's West Coast Trail

Joy, Suffering and a New FKT

Story by Jade Belzberg

Some years ago, my husband and I backpacked the West Coast Trail, a remote, strenuous 75 km (50-mile) route located on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. The biggest problem in attempting the trail isn’t the condition of the trail itself, which can range from dry to Ohmy-God-I’msinking-andmy-shoesare-gone muddy. It’s not the high tides that can entirely stop any forward progress or the 70 ladders, 130 bridges, and four cable cars that must be negotiated along the way. It’s not even the seven-kilometer long deep-sand beach section or the rotting planks, mud pits, and massive root systems that require crouching, ducking, scrambling, and balancing. No, the most challenging part of tackling the West Coast Trail is just getting there in the first place.

From Bellingham, WA, it's an hour’s drive across the border to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, followed by a two-hour ferry trip to Vancouver Island and another three-hour drive to the southern or northern trailheads, depending on where you begin. This isolation is also what gives the trail its eerie, wild feel.

Initially built in 1907 as an emergency rescue route for shipwrecked sailors, the route traces the margin of the Graveyard of the Pacific, where more than two dozen ships have been wrecked on the rocky shores. Hundreds of years before this, various First Nations communities that call this area home, including the Huu-ayaht, the Ditidaht, and the Pacheedaht First Nations, used the trail as a trading path.

The weather fluctuates from mild and dry to wet and cold, and then there are the nine months of the year when it’s so stormy and dangerous that the trail is closed. Low-lying fog hovers over the beaches, and your imagination tricks you into thinking you might just see a wolf or bear emerge from the forest and walk out in front of you. If you’re lucky, you just might. The area is home to the densest population of cougars in North America, and black bears frequent the trail and beach alike. Wolves, although less common, live here too.

We’ve yet to see any of these large mammals, but we’ve lucked out with the weather both times we traversed the trail. The first time we backpacked the route in three and a half days and found out that schlepping 30-40 pounds of gear on our backs and living off of dried lentil soups isn’t nearly as much fun as feeling like you can fly through the forest in running shoes and a tiny vest. And, truth be told, I had my eye on the possibility of establishing a new Fastest Known Time (FKT). So, our question wasn’t if we would be back to run the West Coast Trail, but when?

Across the Narrows

That day turned out to be August 16th, 2018, when we secured a date through the permitting system. We decided that starting at Pachena Bay in the north and finishing at Gordon River in the south made the most sense, both to be in line with previous Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempts and to begin in the early morning.

The southern trailhead can only be accessed by a quick boat ride, but since the ferry doesn’t start running until 9 a.m., that meant we would be running into the night—which, thinking about bears, neither my husband nor I wanted to do. So, in order to make it happen, we drove two vehicles to Vancouver Island, parked one at the southern trailhead (where we also took our mandatory orientation and picked up our permit), then drove the additional three and a half hours to the northern trailhead where we slept in the back of our car overnight.

The first few miles are the easiest, which means taking advantage of relatively smooth, root-free trails. The morning was still cool as we began, and I wore a light windbreaker as soaked ferns brushed against my legs. The one worry that clouded the first few hours of the run was the ferry: Nitinaht Narrows had to be crossed by ferry; there was no way around it. The catch? The ferry didn’t begin operating until 9:30 a.m., so we needed to time our run precisely. Arriving too early would mean wasting precious minutes waiting for the ferry to arrive and just like in a race, when you’re seeking a new FKT, every minute matters.

Running the West Coast Trail sometimes requires taking cable cars, climbing ladders, or scrambling up logs, like this one.

Photo by Nickademus de la Rosa

Just before 11 a.m., I saw a clearing through the forest ahead. We jogged down the steep path and popped out at the edge of the trail where two groups of backpackers were waiting for the ferry. We had missed the first ferry run by more than an hour, but as luck would have it, the backpackers had been there a while and had already whistled for the boat to return, which meant that yes, there was the ferry, headed our way! We stepped on board, and the group of us headed across to the other side to reconnect with the trail. Nitinaht Narrows is home to one of two makeshift restaurants along the trail and this one, casually set up on a long dock, serves fresh crab or wild salmon and baked potatoes thick with butter. My stomach grumbled. It was hard to keep running.

We pushed on, running as quickly as we could up half-rotted cedar planks. Several sections of the trail can be completed either by forest or beach, but we decided to stay in the forest due to the deep sand and rocky shoreline lining most of the coast. Ladders broke up the more difficult sections that occasionally required us to use our hands to lower ourselves off large roots or muddy, oil-slick rocks.

Gnarly Roots and Bear Scat

Forced back on the beach, we struggled to find the easiest route. Was it the hard-packed sand at the edge of the shore that was so off-camber my left hip was several inches higher than my right? Was it the rocks, newly revealed by the ebbing tide and slippery with bright green algae? We decided that neither option was ideal, but the faster we made a decision, the better.

Nitinaht Lake, where you can enjoy fresh salmon or crab if you have time to spare.

Photo by Jade Belzberg

At long last we found ourselves back in the forest, climbing more ladders up to a high point that led us into more treacherous terrain. Clustered in this section are three of the four cable cars on the trail, but we opted to take only two of them as the river was low enough on the first crossing to simply run across the water. The cable cars that we did take, however, were a fun reprieve from the run itself. We threw ourselves and our tiny packs onto the cable car and rejoiced when it felt like we were zip-lining across the river.

At the last cable car, at kilometer 62, the trail cut inland. What in fresh hell, I thought, as we cursed gnarly roots and huge mud pits where the only option was to go straight through. I was tired; we both were. When I stopped to calm my breathing, I found my legs quivering.

As the kilometers ticked slowly by, we noticed the forest growing dim as daylight waned. About this time, we also began observing substantial amounts of blueberry-studded scat all over the trail: bears. The ferry stopped shuttling people over from Gordon River to the south trailhead at 3:30 p.m., which meant that we wouldn’t see anyone else from here on out. The last thing we wanted was to run into a bear at the end of our run, so we talked loudly about anything we could think of to give the bears a warning.

At kilometer-marker 70, a yellow sign indicated 5 km to Gordon River, the finish. But by all accounts, these last three miles were some of the hardest of the run, with long climbs and steep descents that only lead to rocky, root-covered climbs again. When my watch beeped for kilometer 75, I felt despair. Where was the finish?

All of a sudden, the trail dead-ended at a ladder that went straight down to a beach, and, at the bottom of the vertical ladder, the trailhead. 13 hours, 18 minutes, and 21 seconds: we had finished the West Coast Trail, and I had claimed the new female FKT.

Trail Tips

• Think carefully about starting at either end of the trail. Beginning in Pachena Bay (the north) means crossing the Nitinaht ferry earlier in the day and potentially being stranded once you reach Gordon River in the south. Beginning in Gordon River means starting no earlier than 9 a.m. (when the first ferry leaves) and thus finishing at dusk or in the dark, depending on your speed.

• The trail is super remote. Carrying a small first aid kit is necessary as there are plenty of hazards on the trail. Nick and I also brought EpiPens and Benadryl since we’re both allergic to bee stings—we passed four signs warning of hornet nests directly next to the trail.

• Never run this trail alone unless you’re very, very experienced in the backcountry (and even then, you’re taking a risk.)

• Be prepared to spend a night on the trail if something happens—extra food, an emergency space blanket, and layers are vital.

• Check the tides. Many of the beach routes are impassable and extremely hazardous, during high tides which can impede progress.

• This is wildlife country. Know how to avoid an animal encounter and what to do if you see a cougar, bear, or wolf.