Originally Posted by
davesailer
I haven't been on this trail, but I did see a presentation from a couple of local people who hiked it. (They spent weeks at the gym trying to get in shape so they could carry their 50 - 60 pound packs, and then took a lot of stuff so they would be comfortable. Insert howl here.)
Anyway, I've hiked a whole bunch on the Washington coast, mostly in winter, and overall it's pretty mellow. I understand that the West Coast Trail has designated camp sites, and from what I saw at the presentation, these are ALL on the beach (which totally creeped me out, tides, rogue waves and tsunamis being possible). So anyway, you may have to stealth it if you take a hammock.
One big thing to be aware of is what is over you. Many of the trees are huge. It's normal here to see threes that are three to five feet in diameter, and hundreds of feet tall. Besides that, many other trees have been half blown over, and are leaning on each other. Winter can bring incredible wind storms, but summer should be less dangerous. Keep this in mind though.
If you look around you can often find nice areas to hang, but you need to be willing to look. Often, back in the forest you can find shadier areas where there is little or no undergrowth, though basically wherever there is a slope there is brush. Most of that is salal and ferns that are bushy but clean and free of things like ticks. Given a little spare cordage you can tie things back if you need to, or let them rub against the bottom of your hammock if you can handle it. There is lots of moss everywhere.
There are always good places to overnight if you are not under direct surveillance by the camping police, or you can sort of sidle around and just disappear into the forest whenever you have a chance. Getting away from designated sites will/can do one great thing for you, and that is to get you away from areas where the critters are habituated to hiker food.
In 30 years I have NEVER had an animal problem, but there are lots of bears, and bizarre numbers of raccoons, many of which can even open bear canisters, let alone pull down a bear bag. If you are even 100 yards away from a heavily used camp area you can reduce your risk, especially if you are clean and careful.
Don't eat where you camp, and always keep your food hung when not preparing a meal. Do not even leave food out for five minutes if you are not there. I know that in Olympic National Park in WA that people in the campground have had their food and utensils confiscated, and have been fined for leaving them out on picnic tables. The alternative is euthanizing bears who innocently come by for a snack.
So basically, don't worry. Be cool, be respectful of the area, be circumspect, be flexible.
Bookmarks