The West Coast Trail hiking season is confined to just five months due to the dangerously stormy weather during the winter months. In the winter the days are short, tides are high and heavy rain and strong winds are frequent. Hiking the trail in the summer is tough enough without these added challenges. To keep the trail from becoming overcrowded, overnight hikers are limited to 75 per day.
PrologueChapter 1: The West Coast TrailChapter 2: When to Hike & FeesChapter 3: TrailheadsChapter 4: Getting ThereChapter 5: ConsiderationsChapter 6: CampsitesChapter 7: ShipwrecksChapter 8: Routes 
Day 1 Pachena to Darling Day 2 Darling to Tsusiat Day 3 Tsusiat to Carmanah Day 4 Carmanah to Walbran Day 5 Walbran to Cullite Day 6 Cullite to Camper Day 7 Camper to Thrasher 
Michigan Creek at 12k Darling River at 14k Orange Juice Creek at 15k Tsocowis Creek at 16.5k Klanawa River at 23k Tsusiat Falls at 25k Cribs Creek at 42k Carmanah Creek at 46k Bonilla Creek at 48k Walbran Creek at 53k Cullite Cove at 58k Camper Bay at 62k Thrasher Cove at 70k
Reservations must be made far in advance and spaces run out quickly. You can begin reserving through the Parks Canada Reservation System from January for the upcoming summer. Maximum group size is limited to 10. They do allow school groups to exceed this up to 18 hikers but only May 1st to 20th. The West Coast Trail is a 5-7 trek in very difficult terrain. The trail is almost constantly winding through dense British Columbia coastal rainforest.
Boardwalks are in various stages of disintegration due the wet climate and remoteness of the trail. Extensive muddy sections of knee deep mud are commonplace and preparing for this fact will largely impact your enjoyment of the trail. The southern end of the West Coast Trail, the last(or first) 22 kilometres of trail are very challenging. Scrambling over slippery tree roots, through deep mud while the trail zig-zags left, right, up and down. When you are not slogging through these brutal sections, you are climbing or descending precarious wooden ladders through enormous ravines and up steep cliffs.
Trail maintenance is a constant and losing battle for this wonderfully battered jungle trail. Hiking this section is mostly done at a shockingly slow pace of 1 or 2 kilometres an hour(compare that to a normal hiking pace of 5 kilometres an hour on flat ground). Adding to this, you quickly discover, is that the kilometre marking don’t take into account the innumerable contours of the trail. The West Coast Trail gets a staggering 330 centimetres(130 inches) of rain per year. Periods of heavy rain are common even in the summer months. During heavy rain, rivers that could previously be walked through, have to be waded through with great difficulty and danger. It is not unusual for hikers to be stranded on one side of a river waiting hours or even days to cross due to fast moving, waist deep water blocking their way. The average temperature along the West Coast Trail in July and August is 14c(57f). Cool temperatures along with frequent rainfall raise the risk and incidents of hypothermia and accidents resulting in injury. Proper waterproof gear and especially footwear is essential for comfort and safety on the trail. Those with back backs and knees will find them aggravated on the long and tortuous trail. Continued here...
