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 trailhe...