July 9 – 15, 2019
~ submitted by Carmen Zitek
A lifetime objective for a group of five hopeful hikers.
We set off from Port Hardy hostel on the morning of July 10th. Babe the NCT shuttle operator had us leaving for Shushartie Bay at 0700hrs via water taxi.
The weather was not very promising but we decided to forge ahead anyways, us and three German men; Marco, Robert and Uwe.
We arrived after a really lovely boat ride at 0800 hrs….our hearts light and our packs heavy!
The boat slinked away and we were left alone looking forward to a day of hiking thru the infamous bog of the NCT. Many choose to bypass the bog by taking the boat further on but not us. The German men had been planning this trip for two years.
Words cannot explain the bog! We were left speechless…huffing and puffing thru knee deep mud, ferocious mosquitos, unbelievable scenery of dwarfed trees, old boardwalk that was barely there at times, wolf and black bear tracks in the mud. It was my favourite scenery of the whole hike. And the humidity of the bog had us soaked and dripping .
We made our camps at Skinner creek, Cape Sutil, Irony Creek, Laura Creek and Nissan Bight.
We were perhaps not the fastest hikers on the trail but what is the rush when there is so much beauty!
Our days were filled with steep rugged sections of forest , rope climbs up and down slippery slopes, pocket beaches galore…each one more beautiful than the last! The hike included 2 cable cars for your enjoyment, yippeeeeeee!
Ok did I forget to mention late afternoon entertainment of whales frolicking in the distant glimmering ocean ?
Amazing sunset and sunrises?
But especially the company of 8 enthusiastic hikers sharing our awe and wonder at the beauty of Vancouver Island North!
The clouds shed a little rain each day but the afternoons were warm and we swam everyday whether river or ocean.
Thank you to the NCT builders! What an excellent job they have done opening up this area for the adventure of a lifetime.
We picked up our taxi shuttle on time at the Cape Scott parking lot at 1 pm with only a few scrapes and bruises.
