I’m hobbling around my house this morning after this steep foray. This one felt like an achievement as it had been on my list since I arrived in Tofino. I had a busy couple of days at work finishing at 9pm Tuesday night then back in at 6.30am Wednesday morning. Straight after finishing on Wednesday at 3pm I went and met my friend to get the boat to Meares Island to camp at the Lone Cone Campground. This can be organised from the campground office down some steps along main street and costs $55 for a tent site for two and a round trip water taxi to get there and back from Tofino. The boat ride was so quick, probably less than ten minutes, and we were at the dock with a couple of other campers before we knew it.
We got picked up by the friendly young First Nations lady who worked at the site and had ourselves and our belongings driven up the gravel drive to the site. The wild cows of Opitsat were wandering the grounds which was amusing. They’ve lived on the island for a long time and generally do their own thing, they’ve also developed a penchant for eating seaweed. We set up camp and relaxed before heading down to the beautiful secluded beach to play frisbee, watch the dainty little shorebirds and explore. We had a beautiful steak and shrimp dinner with a good bottle of wine and sat briefly with some people at a fire before playing cards with a lovely couple from San Fransisco.
We turned in fairly early but still got up slowly in the morning to the sound of cows munching grass by the tent. We packed down and had coffee and a yummy breakfast before setting off at about 10.45am. We signed in at the reception to say we were heading out on the trail and we’d be getting a water taxi back to Tofino afterwards. Shortly after starting out on the trail, when it was still flat, i realised i had packed way too much stuff and my day pack was ridiculously heavy. I was already sweaty and we had barely started going uphill. Luckily Lucas was an absolute legend and we decided to carry the pack in turns going between each 100 metres sign- eg i carry it to 200 metres, then him to the 300 metres sign etc.
The climb was undeniably gruelling and steep as people had said, with some slippier bits and a couple of ropes to help in certain spots. A few big tree trunks to climb over and lots of roots to watch out for, so much so that we had to have designated ‘look up’ breaks to admire the area. We had some good views about half way up before we hit the mist/cloud line and became shrouded in fog. Even though we knew we wouldn’t see much at the top I was glad for how much cooler i felt whilst going uphill through the fog. I’d read that the top part of this hike was the hardest, steepest part and I was surprised when we got to the top as I hadn’t noticed the last few metres being any trickier than some of the earlier parts. I felt very smug at the summit as it had been pretty tough at some moments (it was also my time of the month…) but not unbeatable, and i was expecting worse as i’d heard the word ‘torture’ used in relation to this hike.
We sat at the top for 20 minutes but with no sign of the fog clearing and limited time to make it back for the water taxi we left after eating some of the numerous snacks i’d made us haul up there. The way back down was probably just as challenging, especially on the knees, and required a lot of concentration- though i personally am happy on any walk where my heart isn’t constantly hammering going uphill. The last, flatter bit was surprisingly mentally difficult as it was a lot longer than i had previously remembered and my legs were ready to quit. Luckily we made it out just in time for a quick hot tub soak before getting the water taxi back to town. We made it in about 4.5 hours and it’s generally meant to take 4-6. A challenging, interesting mountain walk which i am glad i have done but most likely will not tackle it again this summer! I took just two photos (one posted here!); one at the bottom and a summit selfie- I didn’t have enough breath or will power to get my phone out along the hike itself!!
#25- Most consistently steep walk so far this year!
1Year/52Hikes 2019 