Two Adventures on Vancouver Island
Tofino, Hot Springs Cove, and My First Bioluminescence
I first heard about the West Coast Trail during an earlier trip to Vancouver Island, although I did not know anything about the trail when that trip began.
At the time, I was staying near the Nanaimo hostel. Cathy Logan was staying in the main hostel, while I was camping at at tenting section of the hostel about a block away beside the river because it was cheaper. We were both kayaking in the river one afternoon, and the man in charge of the hostel—the warden—had mentioned that a woman at the other hostel was also interested in traveling north on Vancouver Island. I asked her if it was her that had asked. Yep, sure enough!
Cathy and I decided to go up to central Vancouver Island together. We headed first to Tofino, where we hoped to do some sea kayaking. When we arrived, however, a sea-kayaking symposium was underway, and every available kayak had already been rented.
Someone then told us about the mail boat to Hot Springs Cove, and showed us photos. The mailboat traveled through the coastal communities, carrying mail and supplies and also picking up schoolchildren from several of the small villages along the way. We learned that one boat left each day and that, even though we could not kayak, we could still reach the hot springs and experience an unforgettable part of the coast.
Before taking the mail boat, Cathy and I camped for four days around Tofino. One night, while we were camping beside the ocean, we saw bioluminescence for the first time in our lives. The water and breaking surf seemed to glow in the darkness. At the time, I did not really understand what I was seeing. Years later, after a night dive in Honduras, I finally realized that the mysterious light in the waves had been bioluminescence!
After those four days in Tofino, Cathy and I took the mail boat to Hot Springs Cove. We stayed for one night and returned the following day. It was a short trip, but it introduced me to one of the wildest and most beautiful parts of Vancouver Island. While I was there, people told me more about the West Coast Trail. I immediately knew that I wanted to experience it, although I also knew that I did not want to attempt such a demanding trail alone.
When our time together came to an end, Cathy was heading north to Churchill to see the famous polar bears. She already had the trip carefully planned and knew exactly how to get there. I seriously considered going with her, but it was simply too far out of the way, and way too expensive for what I would have seen. It would have meant a very long drive just to see the bears from one of the elevated tourist vehicles used for bear viewing. Instead, I decided to head back toward the San Juan Islands and spend more time exploring the Pacific Northwest, with the possibility of visiting Washington's Olympic Peninsula as well. That decision eventually brought me to a hostel in Victoria, where I met Barbara Anna Grau—and where my West Coast Trail adventure truly began.
Barbara Anna Grau and the West Coast Trail
Several days later, while I was staying at a hostel in Victoria, I saw a note from a German traveler named Barbara Anna Grau. She was looking for someone who wanted to hike the West Coast Trail.
The timing could not have been better. I had just learned about the trail during my trip with Cathy, and I wanted to hike it, but not by myself. Anna and I decided to travel together and headed toward the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island.
We spent several days hiking a substantial part of the West Coast Trail. It was every bit as difficult as people had warned us. The trail was rough, wet, muddy, and physically exhausting. Some sections could only be traveled safely at low tide, and it was easy to become trapped or delayed by the incoming ocean. Every day required careful attention to the tides and to the difficult terrain.
Despite the hardship, the camping was incredibly beautiful. We camped beside the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by wild beaches, sea stacks, forests, tide pools, and the constant sound of the surf. Those campsites were among the most spectacular places I had ever spent a night.
The trail was so demanding that we eventually decided not to force ourselves to complete every mile. After several difficult and memorable days on the West Coast Trail, Anna and I traveled back to Hot Springs Cove and spent several more days there. Soaking in the natural hot springs after the strain of the trail felt like the perfect ending to the adventure.
Looking back, these were really two separate stories that happened close together. The first was my trip with Cathy Logan—four days camping in Tofino, my first experience with bioluminescence, and a one-night visit to Hot Springs Cove. The second was my journey with Barbara Anna Grau—a difficult multi-day hike on the West Coast Trail followed by several more days relaxing at the hot springs.
Together, they became one of the most memorable chapters of my travels on Vancouver Island.