We are living in a special window of time in Canada. There are still vast areas of wilderness and that wilderness is accessible like never before. There are plenty of backcountry activities that take advantage of this; rock climbing, mountain biking, BASE jumping and backcountry skiing for starters. But none are as accessible as backpacking and if you’d like to begin this is where I’d start.
While it sounds tough to carry 30-40 pounds through the backcountry in reality it’s well within the limits of most people. You walk slowly and steadily and you’d be surprised how much ground you cover. And in Canada there is much beautiful ground to see.
Fundy Footpath: Zaak Robichaud and Glen Leavitt. Photo credit Ty Reidenbaugh.
Two of my recent backpacking trips offer a lesson in contrast, the West Coast Trail on idyllic Vancouver Island and the Fundy Footpath along the wild shore of the Bay of Fundy. These two trails are rated among the most beautiful hikes you can take in Canada. Two trails running along opposing shores with a massive country in between.
I did the West Coast Trail with a group of friends in the summer of 2011 and it was as beautiful as I’d heard. Lush forests, campsites on the beach, the ocean always present. Backpacking trails are created to facilitate self-propelled traffic and so there are long wooden ladders to traverse cliffs, manually operated cable cars to ford rivers, and boardwalks to protect fragile boggy ground (which have the added benefit of keeping your feet dry). These types of features built by trail builders help backpackers cross tough terrain and are key to the accessibility of the wild.
The West Coast Trail runs for 75 kilometers from Bamfield to Port Renfrew and through Pacific Rim National Park. When the tide goes out you can walk along the flat rock shelves at the edge. Each shelf pockmarked with potholes carved by the sea. Each little tidal pool full of crystal clear water, a water plant, a sea anemone, a fish or crab–anything that happened to be caught as the tide went out. Each a perfect little aquarium.
In terms of physical exertion the Fundy Footpath is less fun. Hiked this past summer, it is one of the toughest trails I’ve done. Nothing but steep ups and downs with endless switchbacks. Coming, finally, to our first campsite we could see the rugged coast of New Brunswick behind and ahead of us. The northern coast of the Bay of Fundy is intimidating. Giant jagged teeth rise out of the water like vigilant sentinels protecting the land–a fortress. It felt utterly wild in contrast to the usual pastoral image of New Brunswick. Then again the Bay of Fundy is not an ordinary bay. We carried tidal charts that warned us not to be caught in its famously dramatic tides–the highest in the world.
Fundy Footpath. Photo credit: Ty Reidenbaugh
The 41 km Fundy Footpath is as rewarding as it is challenging. At the bottom of each steep descent is a creek running clear and fast. At our final campsite we met a group of 20 people some as young as 11. After spending nine hours coming from the opposite direction we were shocked that any kid could make that hike. But these were locals who knew the tides so well they hiked along the shore at low tide skipping the brutal up and down of the inland trail. We took their advice and hiked the last day along the shore in direct violation of our ever-cautious guidebook. What a treat, a beautiful cakewalk to end our trip.
We’ve got six months until summer and now’s the time to start planning. Come talk to me at the library or Mike at Valhalla Outfitters downtown and we’ll get you started. Mike will sell you a backpacking stove that’s a marvel of modern engineering. I’d recommend the classic MSR Whisperlite stove. On the other hand, I can teach you how to make a backpacking stove (like the one I’ve cooked on for going on 2,700 backpacking kms) from two pop cans. There are many ways to get out there.
Medicine Hat News. December 14, 2016.
Fundy Footpath. Photo credit: Glen Leavitt