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Day
4 Cribs Creek - Tsusiat Falls (17 km)
We woke up at 5 am when our alarm went off. We still could not decide whether
we wanted to make it to Tsusiat Falls or beyond the Falls. If we could make it
to Tsocowis Creek (26 km) today, we could finish the hike in four and a half
days. We could then stay in Vancouver for a day. But there was no light
outside the tent and our bodies were exhausted. We decided that we would
sleep for another couple of hours and make Tsusiat Falls our destination of
the day.
We finished our morning process in just under two hours (we were getting
better at this). John had to cut the rope because neither of us could untie
it from the tree. Now we have two 20-meter ropes instead of one 50-meter
rope! John took down Gordon and Amanda’s food and left it with their rope
next to their tent when we left the campsite. Jeff and Elise just woke up
when we started hiking. We said to each other, “See you at the Falls
tonight!”
It was another beautiful day. It was sunny and warm. I changed to a pair of
long dry socks to protect the blisters around my ankles. John was still
wearing his wet socks. We hiked on the beach, hoping from rock to rock. There
were some pools of water trapped in between the rocks and corals and other
marine life started to grow in the pools. Because the water in the pools was
shallow, we could see the corals and animals clear with naked eyes. It feels
like snorkeling. We even went past a surge channel! I told John that the
first two days of difficult hike was just the price we had to pay to enjoy
the second half of the hike. He said that he did not want to tell me how
beautiful the trail was at the north end so I could be surprised.
We hiked on the beach for 5 km before we had to go back on the trail at
Cheewhat. There were a few ladders that we had to climb in order to get to
the bridge at Cheewhat Creek. There were a lot of boardwalks. There were
boardwalks on logs! But they were quite slippery. There were some roots and
mud puddles. But the trail was easy compared to what we had gone through on
the first two days.
At around 11:30 a.m., we started to run into hikers going the opposite
direction. The first guy we bumped into spoke with a French accent. He was a
solo and was moving swiftly. We then saw four guys, one of them almost wiped
out on the boardwalk and I gave him a hand. The next couple that we bumped
into were not very friendly. The woman had a big orangy hair. She seemed to
belong to Saks Fifth Avenue more than to the trail. We made a turn and we saw
the ferry at Nitinat! It was noon.
The wonderful thing abut Nitinat was not simply it was the half way mark of
today’s hike, but the fact that we would have crabs for lunch. The guy who
ran the ferry service caught crabs from the ocean and served them at the
ferry terminal. The so-called restaurant included several chairs and a couple
of tables that were way to high for eating. Hey, what could I complain if I
could take off my pack and sit down? We took a couple of drinks and ordered
two crabs. The guy cleaned off the crabs on the dock. Whatever part of the
crabs he threw into the lake quickly disappeared instantly among hundreds of
small fish. We sat there watching him and chatting with a couple from Calgary
who were heading the opposite direction.
About half an hour later, our crabs were ready. They tasted SO GOOD! I
skillfully demonstrated how to eat the crab to my prairie boy. I was amazed
that he was not freaked out and he was eating his crab properly. At this
moment, we heard “Howdy” and saw Jeff and Elise appeared. These guys were
moving really fast. It must have taken then less than an hour to get ready in
the morning. They got a couple of drinks and ordered crab. I ordered an extra
one to share. The crabs were just too good!
The guy napped while we were eating. This explained why almost everyone
hiking the opposite direction complained about waiting to cross the river for
half an hour. Our crab guy had absolutely no intention to disturb his
customers’ appetite! Time went by quickly while we were sitting down. Two
hours later, Amanda arrived without Gordon; he was checking out the outhouse
facility just up the hill. We sat in the sun and laughed at the “freshies”
being less friendly than the people who had been on the trail for days. On the tough side of the trail,
you’re pretty happy to see strangers and compare notes on what is ahead, but
the freshies didn’t know this yet. Gordon finally arrived 10 minutes later
finishing his business at the outhouse. He claimed that new leaves are better
than old leaves!
He bought a couple of drinks, including a beer to be chilled at the waterfall
at the end of the day. The crab guy took us across the river. I had to say
that I was totally not prepared for a hard hike after a big and fulfilling
meal. But there was a ladder to climb up immediately after we arrived at the
other side. The six of us hiked together. Jeff and Elise were in the lead and
they were moving fast with their double poles. I slipped on a slippery tilted
boardwalk and strained a muscle in my right thigh. We told Amanda and Gordon
to keep on moving. We rested for a few minutes and made sure there was no
major injury on my side. We continued.
The trail was harder than I anticipated even though it was significantly
easier than the southern end. There were still mud puddles and roots on the
trail. I was very protective of my fresh dry socks today, so I hopped on the
roots and got myself quite exhausted. There were a lot of bear poops on the
boardwalks where I fell again (not into the poop, thankfully). By now, my
right thigh was really in pain. I started complaining to John about the trail
and requested to hike on the beach at the first possible access.
We saw Amanda and Gordon at the beach access at km 29. They chose to continue
on the trail and we decided to hike on the beach. We took a granola bar and
water break. I also took a Tylenol to ease the pain in my legs. John sat down
comfortably whereas I stood without my pack on. I was afraid that I would never
be able to stand up once I sat down. Five minutes later, I said to him, “OK,
enough of these little breaks. They are delaying my eternal pleasure!”
We had to go four more km on the beach to Tsusiat Falls. The sand on this
part of the beach was loosely packed. It was quite hard to hike on. And the
sun was hot. John was exhausted and quiet. His pack was seemed to be heavier
and heavier as time went by. We took another break on a rock two km later,
where we joined by Gordon. The three of us hiked together for a while. I
asked Gordon, “Why are we doing this again?” He replied, “Because we can
brag!” That’s correct. I would have so much bragging power after this hike!
At around 5:30 p.m., we finally arrived at the Falls. John was extremely
exhausted and his feet hurt. I had to hold his hand and hiked together for
the last kilometer. There were a lot of campers at the site. The waterfall
was beautiful, but the beach was far from being spectacular. We settled down
at the far end of the waterfall. We chose the location because it was less
crowded and it was close to the bear locker and outhouse, although we would
have to start tomorrow’s hike by heading back a couple hundred meters. We ate
our Mountain House gourmet dinner and went to sleep at 8:00 p.m.. Most people
were chatting around their camp fires when we fell asleep.
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