Walking the Wild Pacific Trail, Vancouver Island

The Wild Pacific Trail is a series of footpaths exploring the untamed natural beauty of the wild and rugged coastline near Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Originally the vision of ‘Oyster’ Jim Martin, the Wild Pacific Trail Society was formed in 1999 and over the decades this community project has created a series of footpaths through the rainforests along the coast with interpretive signage, benches and viewing platforms. Having already walked the Tonquin Trail further north on the island I was keen to experience more of the ancient, atmospheric rainforests that stand on the edge of a continent watching over an ocean spanning half way across the world before it meets land again.

I manage to squeeze into the last spot at Browns Beach car park, quite chuffed with my reversing skills in a vehicle with a steering wheel on the wrong side of it.

The trail starts at the car park and it isn’t long before I’m immersed into the calm stillness of the rain forest. Although a road is never far away on this walk, the denseness of the forest brings a sense of remoteness and intimacy to the walking.

Signs warning of bears, cougars and wolves also bring a sense of heightened awareness. The hardy Herdwick’s of the Lake District, my usual stomping ground are more likely to have a nervous wee and run a mile than to eat me, in fact I’m more likely to eat them, but Canada is not Cumbria and I’m developing a healthy wariness in my walking here.

The well made path winds through the forest, intersecting regularly with rocky, wave washed coves and inlets where the shadowy confinement of green pines is replaced by light and space and the boundless blue ocean, stretching to the horizon to meet the blue sky where they unite as one on nature’s vast canvas.

I’m struck by the amount of driftwood in the coves, not driftwood, but drift trees, bleached and stripped bare of their bark and worn smooth by years of tidal battering against the rocks. They seem to congregate in the coves like giant’s cocktail sticks.

There are a number of benches and viewing platforms, called ‘Painter’s Perches’ along the trail where storms can be watched or indeed pictures painted. One of them has a plaque dedicated to Jim Martin with a quote I’m tempted to pinch and use for my blog tagline , ‘In pursuit of trail perfection‘.

Beyond the Oyster Jim Deck the trail is named Artists Loops and it does indeed loop in and out of the forest connecting with viewing platforms where long stretches of coastline can be seen, innumerable trees taking up every available spot of land and crowding down to the high water mark.

The Artists Loops section leads to Ancient Cedars Loop. Here I enter a section of old growth forest where the trees are gnarled and weathered by centuries of storms and wind, their bark wizened and moss covered. Twisted branches hang low, weighed down by old mans beard and decaying trunks lie on the forest floor.

There are some fine examples of Western Red Cedars and Sitka Spruces in this section, some reckoned to be eight hundred years old or more. Red Cedars are resilient creatures and although there are many fallen ones, new branches can sprout up from them and with time eventually grow into new trees.

Cedars were integral to the life of the First Nations people that lived here long before any white man appeared. As well as providing a means of transport in sturdy canoes to travel and fish, they also provided building materials, clothing, hats, waterproof baskets and even medicine.

After circling around the Ancient Cedars I arrive back at Artists Loops and head back to the start using the alternate inland forest trail. At Browns Beach I walk down the steps to the rocky bay with its small coarse sand beach and join Mish. We sit in the sunshine on a driftwood redwood, ‘taking in the ozone’, as my granddad liked to say and listen to the calming rhythm of the waves as they roll a million pebbles into smoothness.

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To see a route map of this walk with stats, geolocated pictures and downloadable GPX of the route click ‘Learn more’ below