Cape Scott/North Coast Trail - Day 1
These are my trail journals, written for myself while on trail. They’re not meant to guide you along the hike, although maybe they’ll give an idea of what the trail is like. Mostly, it’s my initial thoughts and feelings as I hike through each day. Enjoy!
Day 1: San Josef Bay Trailhead to Nel’s Bight
4.5 hours of hiking.
I wake up at 6:45am in Mal, after the first night on my new bed platform. I’m excited to start hiking but mostly I want more sleep. When I finally get out of bed and get dressed in my hiking clothes, I’m focused on chores: putting everything away and making sure I have everything packed in my 40 litre backpack.
My first stop in Port Hardy is Carrot Park, when I snap a picture of the carrot statue and a few pictures of the foggy harbour. I pop into Guido’s Cafe, order a latte and a lemon raspberry scone, send messages on my phone, and savour my last bit of civilization for the week.
Pulling into the Cape Scott Water Taxi parking lot, I see the shuttle van ready to go. I send one last message, pay my fees, and hop in the van. The driver is friendly, pointing out little landmarks and sharing neat stories along the hour and a half drive. Towards the end, I start falling asleep, which I take as both a sign that my rushed adventure lifestyle lately is catching up to me and that I don’t have a lot of nerves about this trail. Doing the Sunshine Coast Trail solo last year has made me comfortable with the idea that I can tackle any trail one step at a time.
The Cape Scott parking lot is a zoo. Dirty thruhikers returning, clean thruhikers leaving, and then a whole mess of day users with picnic supplies and wagons full of beach stuff. The first few kilometers are packed with hikers and I’m surprised at how busy it is. This is when I start to realize that the Cape Scott Trail must be a lot more approachable than the North Coast Trail.
I make my way through mostly easy kilometers, occasionally chatting with other hikers. I stop for lunch at Fisherman River, setting up my chair, not regretting the extra pound at all. I eat two peanut butter wraps with dried fruit and it doesn’t feel like all that long since I was on the Sunshine Coast Trail.
I hit the junction for Nel’s and Nessen’s Bights, then accidentally tag along near a father son duo the rest of the way to Nel’s. Once we arrive at Nel’s, I’m incredibly happy to see the ocean.
As I start trying to find a camp spot, I realize there’s a sea otter in the ocean. I’m delighted and this thruhike already feels well worth it.
I take my time choosing a camp spot along the massive beach, having no idea where the closest bear cache and pit toilet are. It all feels like a bit of a gamble and I wish there was more info available online about the trail.
Once I have camp set up, I make the trek for fresh water - that’s tainted brown with all the tanins. I spend the afternoon sitting in my chair, reading, and colouring.
A park operator comes by and asks how my hike in was. We talk about the weather, how it’s always pretty foggy in August (I had no idea), and he tells me that I could take the coastline instead of the trail from Guise Bay to the lighthouse tomorrow. He reckons I’ve got to check the tides and that I’ve got quite a bit of mileage already, but he plants the seed in my head.
By 9pm, I’ve eaten dinner and done my camp chores and am feeling ready for bed. I watch the Webb-Macdonald video again, read a little more, and then put my phone away for bed.
