Hiking the Nootka Trail

In June 2022, I hiked the 35km Nootka Trail over 6 days. The route follows the west coast of the island with more than 2/3 of travel on beaches. 

Those beaches however range from the nice sandy ones you are probably thinking about... to pea sized pebbles, large boulders, rock shelves, and steep headlands. Short trails through the forest bypass the impassible headland sections, and the rest of the trail is just yourself with the tide chart figuring out the lay of the land. This trip highlights the surf pounded landscape of coastal BC away from the other crowded trails on Vancouver Island. Let's giddy!

Gold River

Population 1200. And provides easy access to Mount Washington, Buttle Lake and Strathcona. We had a campsite booked in Elk Falls Provincial Park the day prior and opted to watch Top Gun 2 in Campbell River instead. But this zone could easily be a basecamp for many of the peaks around, including one way trips that connect with Mount Washington or the Forbidden Plateau trailheads. 

Waiting for our floatplane with Air Nootka. 

The Cessna aircraft was busy in Vancouver on Sunday morning. I had made a reservation several weeks earlier, booking the earliest time on the Sunday which was 1:30, not really sure what our time parameters were going to be like and wanting a buffer for travel and potential weather. Sunday brought sunshine and clear skies after a series of not so nice early June weather. We definitely got lucky in this regard...

Apparently fog doesn't linger around as much around the Gold River zone compared to the Tofino / Jordan River access points. Therefore less of a concern for visual flight rules and having to reschedule access / exit. We saw ~5 other flights heading northbound through the skies during our time on trail. Air Nootka was saying the hiking season was just picking up this time of year.  When we arrived, the Beaver was already docked; then the Cessna showed up ~1 hour late. After refueling, weighing our packs, and getting briefed from the pilot, we were off over Muchalet Inlet flying northwest for Nootka Island. 

West coast of Nootka Island. 

We had a view of the entire trail from the inbound flight. What took 15 minutes of flying will take us the next 5 days. Hiking pace was inevitably slow due to terrain (~2 kilometers per hour). The rocky shelves at low tide and some forested sections were quick and efficient, while soft sand, boulders, and creek crossings slowed things down exponentially. Note landmarks from the sky then explore the tidal zones, pocket beaches, waterfalls, sea caves, old growth forests, watch for wildlife, and all of the above. 

The Cessna landing at Starfish Lagoon. 

The pilot approached from the north and landed a few meters from shore. It was planned to be a wet landing with us already dressed in water gear. I held a cleat on the skid to prevent the wind from rotating the aircraft while AB retrieved our packs, remembering the bear spray that was packed externally in the landing gear to prevent discharge mid flight. Moments later the remoteness of the island dawned over us as it lifted back to Gold River. 

The first steps on trail.

~2 months ago we were deciding what to do in June (North Coast Trail was a strong consideration). 35 days ago transportation options were made. 1 week ago bags was packed. 48 hours ago I was finishing up my work week. 24 hours ago we were waiting out the rain in the Campbell River library. 

Third Beach.

Louie Bay / Nuchatlitz Inlet

We hung the food bag, pitched the tent, and set off northbound for Tongue Point. Turning around at this water crossing. Baldwin's map showed the water level only passable at tides below 1.6m. There was reminisce of a shipwreck at the far end of Louie Bay. An alternative access for the north end of the trail includes water taxi drop off from Tahsis or Zeballos at Tongue Point. 

There was a whale carcass and several bald eagles at one of the rocky beaches. AB noticed a dark triangle shape on a sea stack near the water and neither of us could figure out what it was. Turned out to be a well camouflaged dome tent and a professional photographer was stealthily camped inside. He was likely waiting for the rare wildlife sightings. It was a strange encounter...

First night on Nootka Island. 

Weather forecasts a few days prior were showing significant winds (30 knots) from the northwest. And we saw whitecaps during the flight in a couple hours earlier which confirms it wasn't a calm day at sea level. Flat ground can often be found further island sheltered from the wind. We were pleasantly surprised the little bay provided a calm evening on the beach. Consider camping here for 2 nights and exploring more of Louie Bay / Nuchatlitz Inlet.

Skuna Bay

Calvin Creek

Calvin Falls

I had a quick glimpse of these falls from the air. Though much more powerful in person when wading through the cold water. This beach was one of my highlights. Another 2 night option would be camping here and following the creek to Crawfish lake. There is a nearby airfield labelled "condition unknown" on Balwin's map. Upon chatting with a local resident of Nootka island (more on this later...) the airfield has not been used in decades and since deteriorated. There is also an extensive logging road network on the island. Unfortunately but not surprisingly the concept of logging has furthered conflicts between the private logging companies, Mowachaht and Muchalaht first nations, the provincial government, and local residents. 

Lol...

Surf shack on north side of Calvin Falls. 

There was also a less developed surf camp on the south side. Story time: We used this surf camp to hang our food bag overnight and while I was using these sketchy old planks of wood that resembled a table to stand on and get more height for the rock/rope throw, the table completely gave out underneath me and I tumbled right over. AB had wiped out earlier in the day on slippery tidal boulders so we were even up until this point. 

Another one of my highlights from the trip. Day 3 brought amazing weather on the way to Bajo Point as we switched from boots into water gear for low tide. 

Kelp / rock shelves / pebble beaches / thousands of crabs

Bajo Point

This took me a while

Beano Creek

Very desirable swimming hole on the pebble beach.

Few residents (28 total if I remember correct) own cabins on the south side of Beano Creek. We started hiking up one of the logging roads and crossed paths with a local. The nice fellow explained an off the beaten path down to a canyon at Beano Creek. We were running out of daylight and not prepared for that kind of bushwack in shorts and running shoes thus turned around. I have the GPS track from our attempt saved for a potential next time...

Orca Pod 

Spotted by 'Haekeye' Brendan

Buoys marking the forest sections of trails to bypass the impassable cliffs and tidal cutoffs

Remains of a whale skeleton that someone tried to piece back together

The navigation was obvious. We only got turned around once on the bypass trail when we missed the turnoff south and instead walked along the forest section we had skipped earlier via the beach route. AB first called out that the ocean should be on our other side (a rather astute observation) while my brain was expecting a switchback to turn us around. There wasn't a switchback. Another hiking party was like"how did you get behind us" when we passed them for the second time this day. 

Unnamed lake

Sea caves 

Viewpoint before Maquinna Point

This short section had a strange subalpine feel that I'm having a hard time explaining how or why while typing this out now. The terrain increased in difficulty as we made our way south. The northern 1/2 of the island was coastline with varying ground underneath. The rock shelves were efficient while the boulders slowed our pace down to 1 kilometer per hour. The southern forested sections were more consistent but still slow with common obstacles. There seemed to be many more points of interests to explore off route in the southern half. Maquinna Point gave a decent view of the Hesquiat Peninsula.

Fishing boats off Maquinna Point

'Hawkeye' Brenden (Congrats guys!)

Black bear on Sunrise Beach

Night 4

Tsa'tsil Lagoon 

Ray is an elderly fellow in his 80s who still lives on Nootka Island at Friendly Cove year round. During the off season, other than himself and some Canada Coast Gurard Lighthouse staff, Yuquot is very seldomly visited. Their season for visitors is picking up.

Yuquot Indian Reservation

Nootka Lighthouse

 

The Uchuck delivers cargo and passengers to select nearby communities. Offers hikers a one way trip back to Gold River from Friendly Cove / Yuquot (Fridays only in 2022 June - Aug)

End of the trail - wahoo!