Hiking The West Coast Trail

A few summers back (2010) I went on the hike of a lifetime on the West Coast Trail. The trail is a 75 km (47 mi) long backpacking trail following the southwestern edge of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It was built in 1907 to facilitate the rescue of survivors of shipwrecks along the coast. It is considered one of the top hikes in the world and my buddy and I took the recommended 7 days to enjoy the journey.

75 km, 7 days & 6 nights of hikers bliss… eagles, bears, whales, sea-lions, ladders, bridges, cable cars, beaches, forest, ocean, sun, rain, mist and lots of great people! The story is too long to tell here but here is a compilation of some of my photos followed by my all important packing list. (for the story behind the photos, check out my Facebook photos)

CLOTHES
___ Hiking Boots (water resistant)
___ Jogging shoes (for camp)
___ Water shoes
___ 3 pairs hiking Socks
___ Hiking Gators
___ 5 Briefs (underwear)
___ Gloves
___ Toque
___ Sports cap
___ 3 T-Shirts (poly)
___ Pullover
___ Hiking Jacket w/hood
___ 2 pairs Hiking Pants with zippers to convert to shorts
___ belt
___ rain poncho

PACKING
___Good quality internal frame backpack with hip belt (60-Liter)
___Bag for bear-box food storage
___MEC Daypack Rain Cover
___dry bag for clothes

NAVIGATION
___ maps (supplied at trailhead)
___ paper, pencil
___ LED headlamp
___ cell phone
___ USB battery pack-solar

ESSENTIALS & OTHER ITEMS
___ first aid kit (moleskin)
___ swiss army classic knife
___ waterproof matches and/or lighter
___ duct tape
___ sun glasses in hard case
___ bug repellant
___ towel MicroFibre-small
___ toilet paper
___ moist wipes
___ hiking poles
___ 50 ft of nylon rope
___ digital camera
___ antihistamine (optional)
___ tarp
___ small umbrella (optional)

WATER
___ 2 1-liter water bottles with belt holder
___ Water
___ Iodine tablets or trail purification system

SLEEPING
___ Lightweight backpackers tent
___ Lightweight 3 season sleeping bag (optional liner)
___ Backpackers Pillow
___ Lightweight sleeping pad
___ Ear plugs

COOKING

___ Trail Stove (Canister Stove)
___ Gas
___ Backpackers pot w/cover
___ Backpackers dish
___ Backpackers cup
___ Spork

FOOD
___ Food 2000+ calories per day

BREAKFAST – x 6
___ Instant Porridge (2 packs/day)
___ Dried Fruit (Blueberries)
___ Instant coffee mix (sweetened)

SNACK (morning)- x 6
___ Power bars (Power & Vector)

LUNCH – x 6
___ Pita Bread
___ Individual Cheese packets
___ Beef Jerky
___ granola bars
___ packaged tuna (no cans) or peanut butter

SNACK (afternoon)
___ Toblerone chocolate (1 piece/day)
___ deluxe nuts & cranberry & M&M candies
___ 6 bags of dried fruit (raisins, dried bananas, apples & apricots)

DINNER – x 6
___ Freeze dried dinners (MEC)
___ packs of hot chocolate & tea