Juan De Fuca Trail, Vancouver Island

The Juan De Fuca marine trail is one of the hardest things I've ever done. Scratch that. It's the hardest thing I've ever done! I've never been a particularly fit person and I've never gone out of my way to do anything nearly so physically strenuous. I was also unbelievably unprepared and greatly underestimated how tough hiking can be. I was surprised by the constant ups and downs and massive mud pits but the lush forest and breathtaking views were worth the struggle.

Day One - Mystic Beach:

I hitch hiked straight from the Sooke Potholes to the eastern trail head at China Beach. This was my first time hitching and it went pretty well. I got three rides and made the trail head in no time. After a quick chat with the friendly park staff ,I headed to Mystic Beach only two kilometres away in hopes of finding a travel partner.

The trail to Mystic is easy and the beach is beautiful. It was blazing hot out so I dipped underneath a waterfall at one end of the beach and tucked into a site to make camp. Lack of wood was a bit of a problem for my ghetto fab cook stove. I really should have forked out a couple bucks taken a proper gas stove. That evening I lazed on the beach and watched as the fog rolled in over the setting sun.

As I was about to tuck in for the evening, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. A rat. It scurried right under the driftwood log in front of me. This served as a reminder and I hung my pack in a tree but there were no good branches so it was only about four feet off the ground. The last line in my journal entry that night read, "One thing that I've discovered is that the beach has rats. Legit."

Day 2 - Mystic Beach to Chin Beach

My next journal entry began with, "There are rats on the beach and they chewed through my pack". Yup.  The dirty mothers. They gnawed at it in four places! They only broke through in one spot and ate all but one graham cracker. Lesson learned. Always take extra time and find a good place to string food packs. After a not so lovely rehydrated breakfast I packed up and was off. The goal was Chin Beach, a whopping 18.7km away with a stop at Bear Beach 7km in.

I made it to Bear in what I think was good time. I don't really know though because I didn't bring a watch and my phone was dead. Brilliant. I know. I was really unprepared. I had lunch on the beach and grabbed a quick nap on a log and then made a move. I was already tired at this point. My pack must have been over 60lbs and I was starting to understand how difficult hiking can be. Bear was deserted and beautiful and so tempting but I decided to push on. Another mistake. Know your limits. I didn't. 

The next stretch (Bear Beach to Chin Beach) was labelled most difficult on the trail map. "How hard could it be to walk through the woods?" I thought to myself. I found out quick. After a large climb up, I went straight back down. And then up and down over and over. That was about when the mud pits started. They ranged in length from 5 to about 20 feet. There were logs to step on to avoid the mud but my shoes had absolutely no grip so I slipped every time. Yet another and probably the most important lesson I learned. Wear proper shoes. It will save you from so many unnecessary falls.

Rather than continually slipping off the logs, I decided it would just be easier to walk through the mud. Wrong. The first time I sank right to my waist. The next time my shoes got stuck and I had to scrape out whatever muck I could before continuing. Some of those pits are way deeper than they look. Back to the logs it was. Every time I slipped though I would bash my knee and by km 15 I was hurting.

If that wasn't enough I was starting to worry about being in the woods after dark. Having no way to tell the time was stressing me out. I just kept watching the sun and hoping I would get there before the fog and dark set in. Vancouver Island has the largest concentration of black bears and cougars in the world and dusk is their dinner time. This was making me nervous so I short breaks and pushed myself harder than I should have. There was no enjoyment in it for me. It was hard and I was tired. By the 16th km I wished I had someone with me and I started to lose heart. Every km got harder and I felt more and more beat down. I just wanted to sit down and cry. Finally I reached the 20 km marker. I could smell fire. Almost there. Descending the stairs to the beach, I felt overwhelming relief. I had done it. 

Chin Beach is very rocky but has plenty of wood at the east end. There are camp sites in the bush or at the edge of the beach. I opted for a spot on the beach so I could take in the view but had to deal with a lot of wind in the evening. The fog rolled in thick.It got very cold and I was glad for my large fire.

Day 3: Chin Beach

I woke up at Chin feeling weak and defeated. I was so scraped and bruised from the previous day's hike that I was afraid to continue. I had bit off much more than I could chew. I had fallen so many times. I was in no rush and decided to take a day to recover at Chin Beach.

Good choice. Chin is gorgeous. In periods with no fog, the Olympic Mountains were visible in the distance.  Low tide revealed small rocky tide pools with the occasional star fish. It was serene. I spent much of that day in the shade of my tent looking out on to the water and writing. Every once in a while a set of hikers would pass by  and early that afternoon I saw a pair of people I recognized. They stopped in for lunch, which they were kind enough to share and we traded notes on the trail as they were headed in the opposite direction. They mentioned a suspension bridge with a great view and a reasonably easy stretch of trail for the most part. By the time they left I was in better spirits.  I started to get excited for the next day.

That evening was beautifully clear and mild. I gathered enough wood to keep warm for the night and as I sipped my tea, I relished in the beauty of the beach. I've never beach camped before this trip. I love it more than I can express. It was really worth all the trouble. Every single beach on this trail was stunning.

Day 4: Chin Beach to Sombrio Beach
 
The trail to Sombrio Beach was definitely my favourite. There were only a few climbs on the trail before the path levelled out along the hill tops. A haze hung in the trees with dripping leaves and beams of light peaking through. Thick hanging Spanish moss added a dense feel to the old growth forest. After a while the trail levelled out on what must have been an old logging road. It made for a great leisurely walk. This leg of trail also had a suspension bridge that offered a fantastic view. 

Unfortunately all of my previous falls were catching up on me and I decided I wouldn't make it beyond Sombrio Beach. The last few kilometres were my slowest. I was constantly climbing over massive roots into mud pit after mud pit. I could see the beach but it felt like it took forever to get there. Sombrio was absolutely breathtaking and I regret that I didn't camp there. The beach stretched on and on. There were so many good places to camp. It was magnificent. I was done though and didn't really take the time I should have to appreciate it. I hiked to the highway, stuck out my thumb, and headed back to Victoria for my last few days on the west coast. I regret now that I didn't finish the trail but know that I will go back one day more prepared and will be able to enjoy it all the more.
 
About the Trail:

The Juan de Fuca Marine Trail stretches across 47 kilometres of coast and forest from China Beach to Botanical Beach. Camping is $10/night and follows basic wild camping rules. Pack it in, pack it out and the like. Fires are allowed on beaches but not in forest camp sites.

Special Thanks to Sam for letting me use his pictures!

Have you done the trail? What did you think?