The West Coast Trail is a 75 km (47 mi) long backpacking trail following the southwestern edge of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It was built in 1907 to facilitate the rescue of survivors of shipwrecks along the coast, part of the treacherous Graveyard of the Pacific. It is now part of Pacific Rim National Park (Parks Canada and Wikipedia) and is often rated by hiking guides as one of the world’s top hiking trails.

The West Coast Trail is open from May 1 until September 30. It is accessible to hikers outside of this period but Parks Canada does not guarantee the accessibility of services (such as search and rescue) in the off season. It was originally known as the Dominion Lifesaving Trail (sometimes misidentified as the West Coast Lifesaving Trail).-Wikipedia

*************************

Video courtesy of Parks Canada website

*************************

My daughter and her friend just finished hiking the West Coast Trail this Summer 2013 and thoroughly enjoyed it. (photos on Facebook) It is rough, it is challenging, but it is an adventure, and it is fun! The trail passes by two manned lighthouses (Pachena -photo above, and Carmanah – photo below) which date back to the time when the trail was created. The trail passes through the ghost town of Clo-ose where my daughter’s great grandfather David Logan used to live. David Logan was a name well known on the coast and he was instrumental in rescuing shipwreck survivors even before the institution of the trail.

Here is a fascinating page of landmarks on the West Coast Trail including a mention of  my daughter’s great, great grandfather David Logan, whose memorial stone is shown in the photo below taken this Summer on the trip.

PS Did anyone notice the signpost in the photo of Pachena Point (above) showing the figure 6580 (kilometers or miles?) to the Philippines where I am living right now!

One of the people that my daughter met on the trail was Daniel Salo who also posted some photos online.