My ex Girlfriend and I walked this trail in the pouring rain alone and LOVED IT!! Not a soul around. This is all second growth so don't expect ant huge trees because logging has taken almost every one. Fun for beach and forest lovers alike. Rushing streams and even the occasional pensive glimpse of wildlife. Not The west coast trail but worth it none the less. Camping allowed but bring your raingear. We always went in the late winter or early spring. No crowds. Be aware that on Vancouver Island at high season you will not be alone. We travelled all over Vancouver Island and The Queen Charlotte Islands. This is a great start if you want to see what remains of the wilderness in BC. You will see nature and be very safe.

Hiked this a the end of October, the trail maintenance leaves quite a lot to be desires, it's falling to bits, non existent (or lying upside down at bottom of a cliff), bridges broken in half and sometimes really hard to find! This all adds to the fun and adventure...clambering up tree roots and waist deep in mud in the torrential rain which actually flooded out my sleeping area on multiple occasions, testing the waterproof level of the gear I borrowed (not water proof AT ALL! EEP!!).

I actually 'woke up' one morning bright and early having done my best to stay centered in tent andnot touch the sides all night to discover that the tent was literally floating like a water bed and everything touching the boom of tent was soaking up water, I instantly regretted my choice to overpack with clothing (which is something I do a LOT) my pack literally weighing 100 or so kilos, not fun when climbing up and down the rollercoaster mudslide trail.

That said I doid love it and have amazing photos of this amaazzzzing trail, I enjoyed the fact that there weren't many people as it was off season, however there is a reason his is off season!

The tides made things tricky and cut short a few days.

There was tonnes of wildlife to view and could hear the whales singing and watch the sea otters and seals playing and observing our movements on the shore.

The little cabin was pretty cute, a welcome find when absolutely everything was soaked and covered in mud, and some of the stories on the walls were entertaining.

I plan to do this again as well as the other hikes I intended to do at a better time of year.

Getting to the trail via hitch hiking was surprisingly easy, there is no public transport in the off season. I can see how on a bad day the hitch hiking might not be so easy going especially if the weather is bad.

The surfers that frequent the local beaches are really awesome and helpful to hikers.