Shipwreck Icon West Coast TrailGreat Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast by Robert C. Belyk is a wonderful book highlighting many of the most interesting shipwrecks along the Pacific Coast. The book is divided into 10 chapters, each about one remarkable shipwreck. The Valencia appears in the sixth chapter titled: "Valencia: Appointment with Death". Belyk has great, descriptive titles for each chapter, such as "Yankee Blade: Wreck of a Gold Ship".

West Coast Trail Shipwrecks

 Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailAlaskan at 4k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailSoquel at 5k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailSarah at 7k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailBecherdass-Ambiadass at 8k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailMichigan at 12k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailUzbekistan at 13.8k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailVarsity at 17.6k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailValencia at 18.3k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailJanet Cowan at 19k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailRobert Lewers at 20k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailWoodside at 20.2k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailUncle John at 26.2k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailVesta at 29k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailRaita at 33k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailSkagit at 34.2k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailSanta Rita at 37k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailDare at 39k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailLizzie Marshall at 47k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailPuritan at 48.5k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailWempe Brothers at 49.4k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailDuchess of Argyle at 58k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailJohn Marshall at 62.3k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailWilliam Tell at 64.2 Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailRevere at 69k Shipwreck on the West Coast TrailCyrus at 75k

West Coast Trail Campsites

Pachena Bay Campground West Coast Trail CampsitesMichigan Creek at 12k West Coast Trail CampsitesDarling River at 14k West Coast Trail CampsitesOrange Juice Creek at 15k West Coast Trail CampsitesTsocowis Creek at 16.5k West Coast Trail CampsitesKlanawa River at 23k West Coast Trail CampsitesTsusiat Falls at 25k West Coast Trail CampsitesCribs Creek at 42k West Coast Trail CampsitesCarmanah Creek at 46k West Coast Trail CampsitesBonilla Creek at 48k West Coast Trail CampsitesWalbran Creek at 53k West Coast Trail CampsitesCullite Cove at 58k West Coast Trail CampsitesCamper Bay at 62k Thrasher Cove - West Coast Trail CampsitesThrasher Cove at 70k Pacheedaht Campground

Another chapter is called, "Brother Jonathan: In the Teeth of the Dragon". Every chapter is a fantastic, exciting account of the brutal events of these historic shipwrecks. Other ships covered in the book are the Pacific, City of Rio de Janeiro, Classam, Columbia, Francis H. Leggett, Princess Sophia and San Juan. The chapter on the Valencia starts off with a paragraph that perfectly outlines the horrors to come in the following pages. It starts "In the history of marine disasters on the Pacific Coast," the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote in 1906, "the wreck of the steamer Valencia on Walla Walla reef on the night of January 21[sic] offers no parallel." While the ship actually struck the rocks a few minutes before midnight on Monday, January 22, the extent of the tragedy was no exaggeration. More people died when other Pacific Coast steamers went, but they sank relatively quickly and the passengers and crew did not endure terrible days and nights of suffering. The end of the Valencia was a theater of horror. Before dozens of dazed onlookers, disaster seemed to happen in slow motion. This is how the chapter starts and every page is gripping and beautifully written. Definitely a shipwreck book worth getting. Though the Valencia is the only West Coast Trail shipwreck, the other shipwrecks are incredibly interesting. Great Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast can be found on Amazon.ca here...

January 26 1906 The Call

SS Valencia: The Ghost Ship that Haunts the Graveyard of the Pacific

This is a documentary of the Valencia from the Youtube channel Big Old Boats. The events are narrated over photos and videos similar to what the Valencia faced. Though the photos and videos are mostly quite different, they still give a sense of how things actually were. For example, the coastline videos appear to be the Oregon coast, not the west coast of Vancouver Island. An excellent video and retelling of this incredible story. One criticism of the video appears to be the result of basing it entirely on the book The The Final Voyage of the Valencia and getting the Daykin, Logan, Martin shore party details wrong as the book did. The poorly chosen video clip shows three people casually walking a flat trail in the summertime with walking sticks. That clip supposedly portrays Daykin, Logan and Martin starting their first 15 hour leg of their trek through the brutal rainforest, mostly in the dark, in freezing rain, through deep mud, up and down steep ravines on the same trail that currently doesn't allow hikers in the winter because it is far too dangerous and difficult.

More Books About West Coast Trail Shipwrecks

West Coast Trail Shipwreck Books

Of the many shipwrecks along the West Coast Trail the Valencia stands out as shockingly horrific in almost every detail. First the ship wrecked just a few metres from the West Coast of Vancouver Island. She was intentionally driven up on the reef after an initial ...
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SOS North Pacific by Gordon R. Newell, published in 1955 is a well written account of many of the most interesting shipwrecks that happened in the North Pacific from Grays Harbor in the United States up to Alaska. The only shipwreck along the West Coast Trail he ...
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The Wreck of the Steamer Valencia, written in 1906 is the result of the intense investigation by US government as directed by President Theodore Roosevelt. The result of the thorough investigation was made into a book widely distributed at the time. It lays out ...
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West Coast Trail A to Z

Juan de Fuca Strait is the 154km long and 16km to 32km wide stretch of ocean that separates Vancouver Island from the northwest corner of Washington State. The international boundary between Canada and the United State runs down the centre of the strait. It was named ...
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Owen Point, at about the 67km mark on the West Coast Trail is home to a stunningly colourful and well hidden area of sandstone caves carved out by the ocean. Centuries of crashing waves have gouged out huge, circular openings in the cliffs jutting out into the ...
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The Pachena Point Lighthouse is an interesting bit of west coast history that you can visit. You can only see the grounds outside and not in the lighthouse itself. The view down from the 100 foot cliffs surrounding the lighthouse are beautiful and a vivid look at how ...
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Best West Coast Trail Sights

The West Coast Trail by Day

Amazing Whistler Hiking Trails

Explore BC Hiking Destinations!

The West Coast Trail

The West Coast Trail was created after decades of brutal and costly shipwrecks occurred along the West Coast of Vancouver Island.  One shipwreck in particular was so horrific, tragic and unbelievable that it forced the creation of a trail along the coast, which ...
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Victoria Hiking Trails

Victoria has a seemingly endless number of amazing hiking trails.  Most take you to wild and beautiful Pacific Ocean views and others take you to tranquil lakes in beautiful BC Coastal Rainforest wilderness.  Regional Parks and Provincial Parks are everywhere you turn ...
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Whistler Hiking Trails

Whistler is an amazing place to hike. Looking at a map of Whistler you see an extraordinary spider web of hiking trails. Easy trails, moderate trails and challenging hiking trails are all available. Another marvellous thing about Whistler is that Garibaldi Provincial Park ...
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