_JFR_:
0518 Vicki with our backpacks at the West Coast Trail Express bus stop in downtown Victoria, BC Canada
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0519 It's five thirty AM and we're already boarding the West Coast Trail Express bus in downtown Victoria, BC
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0559 Video of the noisy, bumpy, 8-hour ride on the dirt roads of Vancouver Island on the West Coast Trail Express bus
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0587 View from the West Coast Trail Express bus; lots of logging going on in the backwoods of Vancouver Island
_JFR_:
0640 We started our West Coast Trail (WCT) hike at the Northern end, at the Pachena Bay Ranger Station
_JFR_:
0653 Since the bus ride was 8 hours (plus an orientation class), we spent the night at the Pachena Campground
_JFR_:
0655 We spent the extra bucks on a platform tent at the Pachena Campground, so we didn't have to unpack ours
_JFR_:
0658 I stitched together photos of the Platform Tent but the top of Vicki's head disappeared and the pipes look odd
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0669 Video of the beach and small surf in Pachena Bay at the Pachena Campground - it was low tide
_JFR_:
0684 We decided to check out the first ladders on the WCT as a day-hike - very sturdy but also very tall - hold tight!
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0699 We climbed on several ladders for over 200 feet in height on this first section of the WCT near Pachena Bay
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0709 Once we were up high, the West Coast Trail became a pleasant stroll through some beautiful forest
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0712 Within a half mile, the trail descended another series of ladders, back to sea level - this became a WCT theme
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0747 The tide was below 8 feet, so we could return to camp at Pachena Bay via the Beach Route
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0818 View from the Pachena Bay beach at midnight under full moon shining through high clouds
_JFR_:
0846 We began our West Coast Trail hike on the beach at Pachena Bay, at 7am, with low tide and sunny skies
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0855 Blue Sky reflecting on the wavy wet sand at low tide on Pachena Bay as we begin our West Coast Trail hike
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0906 Looking back at the beach and campground on Pachena Bay where we camped the first night
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0935 Log pieces sawn flat with grooves - one of many methods to make walkways and combat the mud on the WCT
_JFR_:
0993 Bridge 9 of 130 total bridges on the West Coast Trail - some are wood, some are logs, and others are suspension
_JFR_:
0998 Old abandoned motorcycle that some crazy person left on the West Coast Trail - it's a landmark now
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1053 Some of the wooden walkways are older and are deteriorating under the endless rainy weather on the WCT
