Bear Beach to Chin Beach
This 12km section was billed on the very basic map you find online as being the ‘most difficult’. It certainly made for an interesting day and lets just say i’m glad my mental fortitude/determination is superior to my physical strength. With the weight of my pack causing me to hunker down and tip all funnily I was glad to have my hiking poles. On all the tricky parts involving steep inclines/declines with complicated root systems and loose dirt I felt i had to concentrate very hard and make a plan every few minutes on how i was going to tackle it.
It was a slog of a day with literally just one hill and valley after another. Very steep long climbs and technical descents were killer on the knees and my shoulders were struggling with the pack weight too. It took me about 6 hours and i was incredibly happy to see the beautiful campsite set back from Chin beach. I love getting there early and having the afternoon to relax in camp- look at the ocean, read, write, sort out my gear,cook. The gulls here were fun to watch going about their business.
Curious seals swam by and the wind eventually died down (i’d gone for view over practicality with regards to where i had set up my tent!) before other people joined me. The military guys and the older ladies turned up which was nice. A lovely Israeli guy solo hiking who was with a British girl called Zoe who was also doing it alone (they’d met on the bus) came too and I also met a lovely couple of ladies from mainland BC who were having a great little fire.
The military had a fire later on and we watched the stars and phosphoresence on the crashing waves. The Olympic mountain range on the US mainland can be seen from along the trail until you get closer to Port Renfrew, stunning. Zoe and I realised we are going to the same festival in Patagonia next year! Beautiful evening.
#32 12km Bear Beach to Chin Beach- brutal!
1Year/52Hikes 2019 