Steve, Marlene, Doug and Philip and myself all meet in the lobby of the Accent Inn before 7:00 am. The taxi driver arrives early and is anxious to go but he is also looking for Joy. After checking in reception and a little confusion, Joy and Martin show up just before 7 having taken a taxi from Joy’s parents house. We need two taxis to take us to the ferry terminal at Tsawwassen and meet again there. We arrive with plenty of time. The ferry journey is lovely especially as we pass through a relatively narrow channel between the islands.
Georgia (Coastal Bliss Adventures) picks us up at Swatz Bay Ferry Terminal in a large white van. There are seven of us and Kelsey plus three women whom Georgia is guiding on a separate hike along the Juan da Fuca trail for five days. After a stop for lunch, we arrive at the Juan da Fuca trailhead and meet Philipp. He had intended to meet us but his baggage had not made his connection in Vancouver the prior evening. Philipp takes over the van for the trip to Port Renfrew. I keep Kelsey company as she drives Philipp’s car to Port Renfrew. It is a standard transmission and she is a little unpracticed but we arrive without any grinding of gears and only a couple of stalls.
Kelsey was originally going to accompany us as a ‘free hike’ while offering some assistance to Philipp. With Steve’s booking, the group number became seven and Kelsey was ‘upgraded’ to assistant guide.
We arrive at Port Renfrew, find our camping spot, sort out equipment, set up tents, distribute food bags etc. We are camped on a sandy beach by the water. I am finally rid of my big red rolley suitcase.
There is a compulsory park briefing for all hikers at 3:30 pm. It is given by Laurie, a tall rangy blond park ranger who briefs on current conditions (bear sightings, wasp nests, new outhouses etc), how to behave with wildlife, tide tables, evacuations and evacuation conditions, tsunami warnings and generally the stages of the hikes. To date, there have been 61 injuries resulting in evacuations. That is approximately one every two days. From what we understood, they were all sprains, knee injuries or bone breaks. More people have been evacuated since often companions go out with the injured. The numbers are sobering. Laurie warns us that they do not take people out because they are tired or cold, only if injured; once one starts, one is committed.
We return to the campsite to sort out and then go to find dinner. However the usual restaurant has been closed for two days for an employee outing. So we end up at the Port Renfrew Hotel. Although we start outside on the veranda, it becomes cold and begins to rain so we move indoors.