Cape Scott/North Coast Trail - Day 5
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 5: Skinner Creek to Shushartie Bay
4.25 hours of hiking.
With only 5-6 hours of hiking ahead of me today, and an uneventful campsite for my last evening, I eagerly sleep in at Skinner Creek. I finally open up my vestibule around 830am, taking a peek outside to see some sunshine and far less fog than usual. I see some of my neighbours walking down the beach to the ocean.
Finally, I drag myself out of bed at 9am since I don’t want to miss any of the sunshine peeking through the trees. I say hello to my neighbours, who are almost all packed up and ready to start hiking. I take photos for them again and wish them a great trip together.
With the beach to myself, it’s quiet and peaceful. The sun starts to come out in full force and the tide is low. I eat breakfast, lay my things out to dry, stretch, colour, read, and catch up on my trail journal. It’s a wonderfully relaxing morning and I’m dreading leaving this beautiful beach.
After eating lunch and packing up, I head up Skinner Creek to get three litres of water - enough to last me until I’m picked up by the boat at Shushartie Bay the next morning. Finding a spot with good flow, I thank the father-son duo for the water beta they gave me the day before.
I hit the trail by 1:20pm, and in the first half hour, pass group after group of hikers that got dropped off at Shushartie. They’re all planning on staying at Nahwitti, and all seemed to take about 5-6 hours to get to Skinner. I’m optimistic that I’ll come in at less than five hours.
The sun keeps shining and it’s hot in the boggy sections, but the mud sections pretty much never go past my boot. It’s technical and I have to watch my footing, but it’s not as terrible as you’d be led to believe online. I’m thankful for the dry conditions that have made this whole hike quite doable.
At the halfway point, I meet a pair taking a break on the boardwalk. I’m surprised at their pace, since it’s already 3:30pm. Turns out, they’ve been going slow with the other pair in their group, who show up a few minutes later and are clearly struggling. The group talks about shifting pack weight, the speedy two going ahead to camp and doubling back to help, and I give them some tips on water and what the next few sections are like. They’re going to struggle overall, but they all seemed to communicate well and will be okay.
Somehow after the halfway point, my spirits tank. I play music, but it’s mostly melancholy. I’m thinking about how no one has been consistent in my life and how much I don’t want to return to the real world and other deep things. I feel like my pace drops considerably but I keep plodding along, knowing that the end of the trail, the achievement of a big goal, is just in front of me.
Finally, I see the bear cache and then three tent pads set into the hill, just as the Kiwi park operator described. The forest is indeed a little dark and closed in, but there’s a peekaboo view of Shushartie Bay through the trees. I pick one tent pad for my tent and then another for eating on, letting the fact that I’ll be alone for the night sink in.
Once I’ve set up my tent, I head down the hill to the official start of the trail and my spirits lift. There’s a gorgeous view and lots of rocks to sit on. So I sit for almost an hour, watching the water. I see sea otters and a seal and sea lions and I feel better.
At 8pm, I make dinner, devouring the Backpacker’s lasagna I saved for last. By 9pm, I’m in bed and I fall asleep decently quickly considering I’m by myself. It doesn’t last though; I wake up at 1:30am and my brain never lets me get fully back to sleep. By the time my alarm goes off at 6:30am, I’m delighted to get up and get ready for the boat that will take me back to my car.
