Cape Scott - Part I
With winter being over and the skies beginning to clear, I thought it was time for a little adventure. My buddy Matt suggested going to Cape Scott for three nights, I immediately agreed. Matt told me he went last year around the same time and it was amazing.
The sun came up early on the morning of the 24th, signaling a great day ahead. I was at my parent’s house on Quadra Island where I had some breakfast and packed my bag for the hike to Cape Scott. I called Matt and told him I was ready to go. He pulled into the driveway around 12pm and we headed for the ferry. After a couple stops in Campbell River, for some last minute essentials, we turned north and headed to Port Hardy for the night. Our plan was to get up early and drive from Hardy to the head of the trail, hoping to hit the ground at about 10am.
We have a buddy who’s a pilot for Pacific Coastal, and he invited us to stay in the hangar at the Port Hardy Airport, so we didn’t have to pay for a hostel in Holberg or sleep in the truck. We got going at about 8am and headed for the Cape Scott parking lot. From Port Hardy to the trailhead is about 65km. However, the roads are dirt with active logging trucks, so we only averaged about 60km an hour. We arrived at about are planned time and after some last minute gear checks, we were off.
I have to admit, I’m not really a professional trekker, by any means, and the task ahead had me a little anxious. The first part of the trail is nice and wide, which is a great way to start, but it quickly turns into elevation changes with big cedar tree blow downs as added obstacles. The sweat began to poor and I knew I was in for a bit of a work out. Our plan was to break after every 3 to 4 km, with the ultimate goal being, to get to Nels Bight in less than 6 hours.
Our first break came at Eric Lake. I brought a fishing rod in hopes of finding a place to do some trout fishing, however Eric Lake was blown out and we decided to move on. After a couple more quick breaks, we arrived at Fisherman River and decided this was the place to re-fuel with a lunch break. Fisherman River is a beautiful spot for a break and it also marks about the 10km, meaning we were over halfway through the 17km hike to Nels Bight.
The last 7km are a testament to your body’s endurance: uphill, downhill, swamps and blow downs make you wonder why you came. At about the 14km mark we came to a wide-open field, which is where the pioneers tried to build up a community and it really is a beautiful spot. As we came to a bridge, there was a well-beaten path leading back into the woods, this would be our last surge before making it to the beach. Believe me, it is arguably the worst part of the trail. We were burning out and the old planks laid down on the trail acted more like an evil stair master.
Finally, after 4 and half hours, we could hear the waves washing ashore and there it was. A remote beach, I would compare to a mix of Botanical Beach and Long beach, lay waiting. We checked around and realized, there was no nobody else to be seen. We headed straight for the Ranger Cabin in hopes of having a place to call home for three nights. To be continued….
By Greg Miller
That’s the perfect time to do it! Nice weather and no one is around.
Anxiously awaiting next post….
Next week Ross.
Awesome post, I’ve been thinking about doing this hike for awhile now!