JethroT
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2022
- Messages
- 3
A refresh on this amazing trail...... I just completed a 6 day South - North trek of the West Coast Trail this past July. Looking at the pictures from the original post and the trail has deteriorated SIGNIFICANTLY in the past 7 years. It was VERY muddy (at times to just below the knee), the boardwalks almost don't exist anymore (the shells of the remains do) and some of the bridges have been upgraded (only actual upgrade). That being said, it was an amazing experience that I would highly recommend to any seasoned backpacker.
"West Coast kilometers" do NOT equal ACTUAL kilometers! The WCT was marked using an overhead "as the crow flies" system. By all accounts, it is much closer to 100 Km and not the advertised 75 Km. Keep this and the trail conditions in mind when trying to calculate how far to travel on a given day. You will NOT be travelling at the same rate!
Also, the beach part after Thrasher Cove is no joke! The rocks were unbelievably slick and it was extremely time consuming. There were 14 evacuations in the 5 days leading up to my journey across the quartide rocks.
"West Coast kilometers" do NOT equal ACTUAL kilometers! The WCT was marked using an overhead "as the crow flies" system. By all accounts, it is much closer to 100 Km and not the advertised 75 Km. Keep this and the trail conditions in mind when trying to calculate how far to travel on a given day. You will NOT be travelling at the same rate!
Also, the beach part after Thrasher Cove is no joke! The rocks were unbelievably slick and it was extremely time consuming. There were 14 evacuations in the 5 days leading up to my journey across the quartide rocks.
