‘I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.’ Henry David Thoreau, Walden
‘I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.’ Henry David Thoreau
If someone were to ask me what was my favourite trek ever, I wouldn’t miss a beat in replying it was my six-day trek along the West Coast Trail of Canada’s Vancouver Island. The trail was originally built in 1907 to give access to rescue crews as there were many shipwrecks on that part of the coast. It runs for 75 km and winds through old growth forests, waterfalls, mud, bogs, tidal pools and beaches. The coastline and forests are simply stunningly beautiful.
In May of 1980 I arrived in the Pacific Northwest and was eager for some outdoor adventure. Mount St Helens blew her top while I was on my way out on train and the ash fallout was causing havoc throughout the region. Vancouver Island’s West Coast Trail was unaffected by the ash but I was a bit reluctant to take on such a demanding trek alone. Regardless, I didn’t have a companion and really wanted to do the trek so I travelled to Vancouver, took a ferry to Victoria and spent two days struggling to hitchhike to the trailhead near Bamfield.
On my last ride I jumped into a pickup truck driven by a local Native American and found another hitchhiker who was a log cabin builder and lived up the coast. Jim was planning to hike a portion of the trail and joined me for the first two nights.
Jim and I hit it off well and tackled the start of the trail with gusto. The trail wove in between the beach and forest and involved lots of climbing ladders, pulling ourselves on cable cars across rivers or slogging through mud. On the first night we camped on the beach and as we were heating up our dinner we watched a pod of whales pass by in front of our camp as the sun set. It was magical and I was incredibly happy.
On the third day I said goodbye to Jim and set off to do the southern part of the trail – the hard part – on my own. I reached the Nitinat Narrows and what appeared to be the trail’s end. It was mid-afternoon and I shouted and shouted hoping to find someone with a boat to ferry me across. I walked up the river and down desperately looking for anyone but soon I determined that I was all alone and was forced to camp there that night.
Whereas I do enjoy travelling by myself, that night I felt very lonely and isolated. I was frustrated about the river crossing, physically exhausted and covered with mud. I missed Jim as I enjoyed sharing the experience with him and having someone to talk to. I was starting to realise that travel seemed pointless if you could not share it with someone.
As a teenager I had thought that I would follow Henry David Thoreau’s footsteps and find my own Walden Pond and live the life of solitude. But that night I discovered that solitude brings loneliness. My constant companion, however, on my solo trips had always been my camera and that would allow me to eventually share travels with others.
By early evening I walked out to the rocks along the river as dusk was approaching and set up my tripod and took this photo which I can now finally share after 35 years. I took comfort in the tranquillity of the river and the trees along the coast and the mountains in the background. Nature always had a way of cheering me up and I passed the twilight hours at the riverbank singing and playing my harmonica and having a one-person party.
Just after dawn I heard shouts from across the narrows and discovered that some other hikers coming up from the south were in the same predicament as I was. Eventually after a couple of hours a man with a boat came by to ferry us across.
I continued my hike and made it out after six days. The trail lived up to its reputation and did challenge me mentally and physically but the rewards of spending those days in one of the most pristine and beautiful reserves in North America was well worth the pain and discomfort I felt.
As Thoreau said you can learn a lot when spending time alone in the woods and I did learn what my physical and mental limits were while on that trek. I learned that I really didn’t want to do another trek like that by myself … but within a few weeks I had forgotten what I had learned and was back doing solo treks.
