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Valencia Shipwreck Fatalities

West Coast Trail Guide

When shipping in and out of Juan de Fuca Strait rapidly increased in the mid 1800's and an alarming and costly number of ships were lost, the need for a inland trail was realized. It would take decades, and many more brutal and costly shipwrecks in the waters leading to

There are lots of options to getting to the West Coast Trail. The trail is linear so you have to arrange to get to the trailhead as well as from your exit trailhead. Most West Coast Trail hikers drive to one trailhead then bus to the other and hike back to their car. ...

There are 13 established campsites along the West Coast Trail. They are fairly well spaced out and all are located near fresh water creeks and rivers. Amenities are kept to a minimum to keep the trail wild and beautiful, so you rarely see any signs or markers to ...

There are three entry/exit points for the West Coast Trail, however the midway entry/exit point at Nitinaht Narrows is for hikers only hiking part of the trail. The two main entry points are at Pachena Bay in the north(Bamfield) and Gordon River in the south(Port ...

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West Coast Trail Shipwrecks

Near KM47 along the West Coast Trail you will pass the final resting place of the Lizzie Marshall. On ...

The Janet Cowan was a steel sailing vessel, four-masted, bark rigged, of 2498 tons built at ...

The Varsity was a fishing boat of 90 tons, returning to Puget Sound from California on February ...

Near the 37 kilometre mark on the West Coast Trail you will pass the Santa Rita, a 100 year old ...

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The Valencia Disaster

The Valencia wrecked just before midnight on Monday, January 22nd, 1906. Nearly 34 hours later, at 9am Wednesday morning the situation on the Valencia was horrific. Battered by waves, the ship was ...

When the survivors on the second raft were rescued by the Topeka just three hours into their ordeal and so close to death that they could barely stand, one of them asked about the first raft. It was ...

The Valencia was equipped with six lifeboats and a smaller working boat. These seven boats could hold up to 181 people. Just enough to accommodate the estimated 178 crew and passengers aboard. There ...

A week after the wreck of the Valencia, The Daily Colonist of Victoria ran a cover story about the aftermath of the disaster and the horrific scenes that continued to be found. Sydney Van Wyck of ...

The Valencia Disaster

West Coast Trail Campsites

One of the most popular and beautiful campsites along the West Coast Trail is Tsusiat Falls. Tsusiat Falls is one of the main highlights on the trail with its dramatically wide and beautifully picturesque appearance. You will find Tsusiat Falls at the base of an ...

The Pacheedaht Campground is a beautiful, and often bustling campground, quite close to the Gordon River trailhead for the West Coast Trail. Pacheedaht Beach is exactly what you would hope for in a Vancouver Island, west coast beach. It is a two kilometres long, ...

The campsite at Michigan Creek is the first or last campsite you will encounter on the West Coast Trail. First if you begin your hike at the Pachena trailhead(hiking south) and last if you begin in Port Renfrew(hiking north). The 12.1 kilometres(7.5 miles) between ...

The Tsocowis Creek campsite at 16.5k has a decent beach with an excellent water source. Most hikers pass through the beach here on their way to Michigan if heading north or Tsusiat Falls if hiking south. The beach at Tsocowis is fairly decent and there is plenty ...

All West Coast Trail Campsites

Day 1 on the West Coast Trail hiking south from the Pachena trailhead is a fairly relaxing first day. Your first beach, Pachena Beach is a lovely, wide, sandy arch that stretches to a thick wall of ...

Day 6 on the West Coast Trail is another short, yet brutally challenging day hiking between Cullite Cove and Camper Bay. The ladders and mud sections are numerous as you snake your way through the ...

The gap between official West Coast Trail campsites is quite large after Tsusiat Falls at 25km. The next campsite heading south is the crowded and ugly one at Cribs Creek at 41.5km, followed by Carmanah ...

Day 7 on the West Coast Trail from Camper Bay to Thrasher Cove or further along to the Gordon River trailhead gives you two route options. After three kilometres of very challenging rainforest hiking ...

Valencia Survivors

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Valencia Fatalities

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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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