Meeting The Challenge On The North Coast Trail
The North Coast Trail in Cape Scott Provincial Park on Vancouver Island is a hiking destination for those who are up to challenge, as well as wanting to see some of the most incredible ecosystems in Canada. It is challenging. Considering the attempts to settle the area, and the utter failures, we get an idea of how difficult living in the area can be. As a hiker, anyone who has bush-wacked through coastal forest knows how extremely difficult and dangerous it is. When the rain, hail, snow, and wind come, the weather becomes a new obstacle. Then, every corner around a tree could mean an encounter with a black bear, a cougar, or a wolf. But this is life in BC, and those who know it, love it and would not miss these challenges for anything. But it takes something to get out there and meet the challenge. I don’t want to scare you away. I want to excite you and pique your curiosity. The challenges are well worth the rewards along the trail, and at the end.
What do you need to make it through this incredible hike? The first thing is a sense for adventure. The first time out on the trail means everything is unknown, even with a good guidebook. The overland trails are really only foot tracks through the hidden, fallen jumble of deadfall trees. The level areas are bog. On dry days, the boardwalks over the bogs can make for fast hiking, but on wet days, they are just like a kid’s Slip-N-Slide. Any false step and down you go. Then there is the mud and puddles lined with spongy moss, calf deep. Mind you, the bogs are one of the most striking habitats on the hike. It is a very fragile environment and well worth the slower hiking to really look at the incredible plants beside the
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