A Trail Through Time

Morning fog hangs over the Gordon River, occasionally shifting to reveal the distant peaks up valley as the morning light permeates the sleepy inlets and coves of Port Renfrew, British Columbia. My brothers Sam and Isaac take up their sixty-pound packs with startled groans at the burdens we’ve committed to carry on the journey ahead. With six other hikers, we’ve just finished the required safety talk, a procedural ritual required by Parks Canada of all hikers before stepping into the forty-seven rugged miles of Vancouver Island’s West Coast Trail, an overland route as legendary as it is unforgiving.

We walk with a spring of anticipation as the ranger leads us toward Butch’s Wharf, the first of two ferry crossings that mark the start of our journey. Butch, member of the Pacheedaht First Nation, operator of the ferry, and apparent curator of every odd tool and artifact imaginable judging by his cavernous, cluttered workshop, watches us with laughing eyes as we load into