31–40 of 79 posts
6 days for 75km? I suppose this guy must've really been enjoying himself along the way. Don't think you need to precook stuff like quinoa. Can just cook it on an ethanol hobo oven pretty quick.
I was just about to comment about my dear of bumping into a grizzly bear while hiking there, but apparently “only” black bears live on Vancouver Island. That would still keep me away and I always wonder if I’m just way too cautious or if the likelihood of running into a bear is so low that it’s worth it?
Personally, I worry more about cougars and wolves.
6 days for 75km? I suppose this guy must've really been enjoying himself along the way. Don't think you need to precook stuff like quinoa. Can just cook it on an ethanol hobo oven pretty quick.
6 days for 75km? I suppose this guy must've really been enjoying himself along the way. Don't think you need to precook stuff like quinoa. Can just cook it on an ethanol hobo oven pretty quick.
5-6 days is a reasonable amount if you are not insane. The second time I did it, there was a couple that ran it in two days. Only saw them at the start, but presumably they made. The reason they did 2 days is because you can pay to rent a tent + food about half way through. So they were running with just a two litter bottle of water and presumably some snacks.
But if you want to actually enjoy the views … even 7 days is not too slow
When I did this trail long ago I got to meet Monique (since passed) who ran a very tasty burger joint at the mid point. She had quite the operation going with a sizable garden and food boated in regularly. Exchange students ran much of the kitchen. I must admit, I had not been prepared to find myself arguing over esoteric details of Python with her. Monique was a very interesting person who was still going to school…
> You would think sleeping by the beach is relaxing, but really that is far from the case. I didn’t sleep that well as the ocean was thundering in the middle of the night.
I agree sleeping on the beach is nowhere near as pleasant as it sounds. I remember one night I set up camp near the shore, and kept waking up throughout the night to the sound of lapping waves in a panic that the tide was rising and would inundate my tent... except on this occasion I was camped next to a lake!
> You would be surprised but there are so many debates in the hiking community. This debate is to bring hiking poles or not.
I definitely recommend using hiking poles. They are lightweight and easy to stow when not in use (many backpacking packs will have dedicated loops/straps for them). They have saved me from falling on numerous occasions when I have lost my footing on a slippery trail, and they also help to redistribute weight off of your legs which helps tremendously with fatigue on long hikes with heavy packs. I avoided hiking poles for many years because I thought they looked dorky, but eventually gave them a try when I was suffering from knee pain on descents - and have used them on just about every hike since. For me they making hiking so much more enjoyable.
> For the thru-hike there were two options, south to north or north to south. We opted to go south to north as it starts off super difficult, then slowly gets easier.
I can't comment on this trail specifically as I have never done it, but it might make more sense to start with the easy part and end with the difficult part. Reason being your pack will be lighter by the end of the trip, and also after a couple days I tend to settle into a rythm whereas the start of a trip can be a bit of a shock. On other trails where I have the choice I tend to prefer ascending on the steeper route and descending on the gentler route.
Good write up, and I'm impressed by his preparations for a first-time backpacker - especially his food dehydration. Most people, especially newbies, will just buy prepackaged meals. Although I had to laugh at his "green sand"[1] — beach glass? [1]: https://static-images-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/blog-21...
"I have done a lot of hiking, and cool trips, but never thru-hiking." and "upgrading all of my gear" indicate previous experience backpacking.
The line "I remember buying cascade hiking poles from Costco, and it breaking in the middle of hiking of Peru" may been an event which occurred after this hike, but a search of the site finds https://www.dquach.com/2023/04/05/personal-newsletter-2023-q... with "Back in 2015 we were eating at Astrid y Gaston in Lima, Peru ... I was going to hike the W, which was a 5 day hike in Patagonia Chile about 4 days later", further confirming previous backpacking experience.
Good write up, and I'm impressed by his preparations for a first-time backpacker - especially his food dehydration. Most people, especially newbies, will just buy prepackaged meals. Although I had to laugh at his "green sand"[1] — beach glass? [1]: https://static-images-cdn.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/blog-21...
This green specimen is Olivine, which is indeed quite common, but not ubiquitously everywhere.
A few random reactions: > You would think sleeping by the beach is relaxing, but really that is far from the case. I didn’t sleep that well as the ocean was thundering in the middle of the night. I agree sleeping on the beach is nowhere near as pleasant as it sounds. I remember one night I set up camp near the shore, and kept waking up throughout the night to the sound of lapping waves in a panic that the tide was ri…
I fully agree with you:
- start slow to get the body to find itself (and keep 2 days at the end of the hike to book a nice hotel with a pool for the kids).
- hiking poles are a must. It also saves the hike if you have ankle/knee pain as you can put the weight on your arms to release the pressure from the bad leg. Our kids prefer walking without.