The trolley cars were a blast although we could have walked around some of them… it was a nice break to be off our feet. The trail was in great shape with little rain this year we were lucky to have a dry trail. Chez Moniques was on our radar from the beginning the plan was to have dinner there although will last minute warnings from other hikers that the food was questionable we found ourselves only buying chocolate bars and pop. This was a great pick me up. This kind of threw a wrench in to the meal planning so we stocked up on chocolate bars, as that may be all that is left for day 7. Whoopsee!
The ocean and the whales were beautiful at Chez Monique’s. The trail has changed a lot in the last 4 years since the last time Phil and Grace hiked it. A lot of boardwalk has been destroyed and lots of trees have come down and re-routed the trail. The trail was now getting easier to walk on and Gale was getting board without any tricky trees to step over or ladders to run up his pace slowed but we kept his spirits up. Annette on the other hand was ready to let loose and run…easy trail, light pack and determination to finish this trail with no injuries she pushed on and pushed Gale along the way.
On the night of Day 5 Phil and Grace met some great people from Seattle who were camping near us at Kanawa Campsite. They were totally impressed that Gale and Annette were hiking this trail and even better that Phil and Grace were carrying all the gear so they could experience a great adventure. We would meet again the next night. The weather was still warm and amazing everyday was awesome.
The last night of camping was interesting a tent pole broke on the tent. Whoops! But Gale was to the rescue using his McGivor skills. Taking the lid from the kippers container he moulded it, using a rock, into a tent pole sleeve – we should have kept it for next time we need a repair. It totally worked!! Phil and Grace chatted with their hiker friends from last night and mentioned that they packed a little light on food and looks like noodles and sauce was all that was left for dinner. A few moments later our Seattle friends were over giving us some food as they had extra and didn’t want to carry it out the next day. Lucky for useveryone wants a light pack on the last day. They had a lot of extra food in the end they gave us 3 freeze dried food packs – We had the biggest feast yet out on the trail – it was awesome.
Although the next day we still had chocolate bars for lunch as we didn’t want to stop and cook some food as it was only going to be about 4 hours of walking- If you don’t loose something off your pack – Phil? Carry everything in your pack as we usually do but thetent fly was wet so it was being carried on the outside of Phil’s pack – about 3km down the trail Grace said to Phil “are you carrying the tent fly inside your pack today???” Phil says “No, is it not on my pack?” Hunting through Phil’s pack…. andno tent fly? We drop our packs and Phil is going to run back to find it – at the most he will have to do is 6km that’s not too bad it’s pretty easy and flat trail today. It’s decided that Annette and Gale will hike on ahead and if we don’t reach them by km 5 then they will wait for us. Grace stays with Phil’s pack and anxiously awaits his return. Only took about an hour and Phil comes running down the trail with the tent fly in hand – Yeah tent fly it’s going on the inside of the pack now.
Phil and Grace are now on the go to catch Annette and Gale before Km 5 and they did it. Finally some speed hiking for these 2. It was a great trip but too bad Gale didn’t let us know his sleeping mat had a hole in it. We may have been able to fix it. The West Coast Trail,conquered by great backpackers and great guides. What’s next? I think I heard Annette and Gale talking about the Chilkoot Trail??
The Packs – Phil Hiom –54lbs, Grace Hiom 43lbs, Annette Hiom 16lbs, Gale Lutkehaus 18lbs to start the hike.
The West Coast Trail with all the talk and the hype has finally become a reality for some very impressive hikers. It says on the brochure this trail is only for ‘experienced backpackers’ which is something both Annette and Gale commented on.
The boat lands at the start of the trail and everyone was chomping at the bit to get started soon after our pictures in front of the trail sign. With a drop of a hat Gale and Annette were gone and Phil and Grace were still extending their hiking poles looking around going where did they go. The anxiety was high for Annette she had a hard time eating this morning and Gale had something to prove. He had one speed and it was fast on the technical walking and slow when the trail was easy.
We soon caught up to Annette at the first tricky part of getting over a log and a small ladder. Where is Gale? Long gone trying to keep ahead. The packs were heavy for Phil and Grace but no complaining as it was supposed to be hard and slow – one foot in front of the other the hike was on. Luckily the trail was dry but logs were big and the roots were high — it was tough for Annette with big steps as Grace offered many boosters up over logs and rock steps with a heavy pack it was quite an accomplishment for Annette.
Calling for Gale… he’s up ahead…. on the first ladder and had climbed to the top having a rest. As we encountered more ladders thus, became the question “Annette are you going to take your pack on this one?” and most of the downs she kept her pack but the up ladders it was just too much weight. Phil would climb up the ladder and drop his pack at the top and come back down for Annette’s pack Grace helped out a few times.
Some of the boardwalk was amazing as it winded its way through the forest and other was broken and not very stable. No turtles here for this crew.
Knowing this was the hardest part of the trail everyone felt confident we would be able to make it to the end as planned. The first night was kind of crammed as we stopped at beach access B. This meant we didn’t have to make the long ladder trek down to Thrasher and back up again it was worth it. By this time we had met 3 groups of people that knew Phil and Grace from Calgary – who would have thought?
The days were long enough each day pushing the envelope a little for Gale, as some of the planned camping areas were either closed due to landslides or Cougars being in the area but non the less the camp spots were awesome with some great ocean views. The trolley cars were coming next and so was the beach walking, lots to look forward to.
Annette Hiom (phil’s mum)– active runner, trail runner, outdoor enthusiast – has Brittle Bone disease
Gale Lutkehaus (Grace’s Dad)- farmer, logger, active outdoorsman, fisherman, former guide – prostate cancer survivor
The Trail – A 75km hike along the west coast trail for 7 days Grace and Phil Hiom have signed up to be sherpas for Gale and Annette for their quest to finish the West Coast Trail. Knowing the difficulties of the trip with lots of ladders, trolley crossings, deep muddy trails, slippery boardwalks and tiring beach walking.
7 days of food and gear is a lot for 2 people to carry but Phil and Grace are looking forward to the challenge. They like challenges but usually they cover a lot more distance in a lot less time so going slow will be the challenge but the heavy load will help to slow them down. Gale and Annette will be carrying daypacks with clothes and water. The rest of the gear could add up to a lot but totally worth the challenge for these 2 young adventurers.
Phil and Grace recently left some of the best jobs in the world in Calgary and travelled to Australia and New Zealand for 3 months when they returned they moved to Kamloops to be closer to family and have longer and warmer summers. Although missing their jobs and friends they had in Calgary it was time to make the move. Sometimes it’s worth the sacrifice to be closer to family to give your support. With Gale turning 68 this year and now recovered from prostate cancer why not take on the west coast trail, which is named one of the hardest hikes in Canada.
Annette also just being diagnosed with severe Brittle bone disease or Osteoporosis had a few things on her bucket list – one being the west coast trail and an other one she conquered last year when Phil and Grace took her to the top of a mountain in Lake Louise. Annette is very active; running road marathons and trail runs up to 25km maybe 50km this year. I’m sure there will be more after this trip.
Although each have their own concerns Annette has a fear of ladders and whether she will be strong enough to finish the trail. She has been practicing the ladders with one set up in her yard. Also hiking many stairs every day with a pack getting ready for the long hike. Not sure what the neighbours think – maybe lots of leaks on the roof?
Gale has concerns of being slow and getting exhausted too quickly but with encouragement we can get him through it. Needing some motivation to exercise he decided to build an extension on to his hay barn so the ladders will not be a concern for him.
Phil and Grace ran the West Coast Trail 4 years ago in 2 days so they know what they are getting into. With all the scary websites out there saying how hard this trail is Annette is starting to have doubts but as part of her training now she is not going to look at anymore websites on the WCT
Conquering this trail will be a trip to remember for everyone. The gear is going to be light and the story is going to be great. Wish us luck and good weather for the trip
The night before the race checking out the times of the previous year winners for solo women Grace noticed she needed 6 laps to win. The pre-ride the night before was awesome but we only rode half the course not the crazy downhill which we soon learned about in the race. The race started at 10am and it was an all out sprint to take your place in line. The course was awesome lots of challenging logs to go over and some crazy downhills as we both almost launched into a ditch.
With no support and just a car to go back to – to switch out packs and get food there left little reason not to keep riding. Grace was in the lead for women’s solo early in the race and really didn’t want to do a 6th lap but knew that 6th lap would mean 1st place. Phil had a mechanical on lap 5 as his brake pads went into his router, not so good when the rest of the lap is all downhill but he made it to the end safely and in time to convince Grace to do that 6th lap. An awesome race and we will probably go back next year. See you at Pedal by the Puddle
The best place we know so far for fishing is Grassham Lake located near Fort St James a small town where Grace grew up. It’s always a great fishing day almost every cast or a few minutes of trolling it’s either a bite or a fish landed in the boat. A favourite location for camping or take the catch to shore and cook up some fish with salt and vinegar chips on a bun who needs hot dogs when you have nice rainbow trout.
We caught enough fish for dinner for a week and we spotted a moose and calf on the lake. Always a great day out if you go fishing at Grasham Lake. If you are looking for a guiding outfit to take you out for a great day these guys can take care of you and show you a good time at Grassham – Omineca Outfitters.
Here’s a moist bread that will taste fresh for several day’s on the trail. It’s heavy but provides a lot of energy and tastes great at all times of the day.
Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, I personally find this has too much sugar I would recommend reducing this to 2.5 cups from 3 cups:
3 Cups Non Gluten flour (a mixture of hemp, all purpose non gluten, tapioca, rice etc…)
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
3 Cups Cooked Pumpkin or Canned
3 Cups Sugar
2 Cups Chopped Walnuts
1 Cups Vegetable Oil
1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
4 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
Split mix evenly into 3 loaf tins.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until the centre is cooked use toothpick to test.
Here are some pictures that Grace and I took at the Race the Ranch Downhill Race this past weekend. It was a beautiful day for the race. There were 358 riders taking part in the race. Grace and I volunteered to help out with the timing for them however before we got started Grace and I snuck off and got some pictures of the racers pre riding the course. I would have loved to get photos of them while they were racing but it was very busy around the timing tent and no time for running off to pretend to be a pro photographer. Maybe next time there is a race in town I will try and get on as a photographer instead. Anyways hope you guys enjoy the pictures.
The biggest DirtChix ride of the season, so far. Thanks for the invite and thanks to Phil for putting on his skirt and joining the DirtChix to take some pictures. 16 fine girls and 1 photographer were out for the ride, which slowly broke into a few groups so the faster girls could ride ahead. Only one really good tumble not sure who won the dirtiest girl award but I tried rolling around in the dirt but that didn’t work. Thanks to Dana for organizing a great ride. Check out some of the pictures below from the ride.
Here is the latest video angle we are trying with the hero camera. It’s pretty good it gives you a new look on the trails. We shot this video up in the Juniper area of Kamloops late in the evening. Super fun riding up there. Enjoy.
Do you want to go riding in Salmon Arm? Hell’s ya!! It’s hard to believe it’s mid April for the past how many years riding in April meant wearing lots of layers and piece mealing a trail together. NOT NOW, for Phil and Grace it means great climbs, awesome trails and lots of sunshine.
There were 12 of us riding; the climbing was awesome as we pounded our way up to the top of the hill where we rested so the group could catch up. Cruising down the other side with some dips, berms and gates. At the bottom was a bike trials and jump park. Time for some pics and a snack and the dreaded climb awaits. Watch out for Phil the creepy guy along the trail taking pics of everyone else riding, well not really creepy.
Reaching the top again and awaiting the arrival of the rest of the group was a great time to work on our tan. Did someone say DOWN, WOW that was amazing the down was filled with tight corners fast descents, more corners, trees, rocks and GATES!!! what a rush we loved it. Just another day in paradise. Thanks to everyone for letting us tag along can’t wait for next week.
The trolley cars were a blast although we could have walked around some of them… it was a nice break to be off our feet. The trail was in great shape with little rain this year we were lucky to have a dry trail. Chez Moniques was on our radar from the beginning the plan was to have dinner there although will last minute warnings from other hikers that the food was questionable we found ourselves only buying chocolate bars and pop. This was a great pick me up. This kind of threw a wrench in to the meal planning so we stocked up on chocolate bars, as that may be all that is left for day 7. Whoopsee!
The trail was now getting easier to walk on and Gale was getting board without any tricky trees to step over or ladders to run up his pace slowed but we kept his spirits up. Annette on the other hand was ready to let loose and run…easy trail, light pack and determination to finish this trail with no injuries she pushed on and pushed Gale along the way. 
Whoops! But Gale was to the rescue using his McGivor skills. Taking the lid from the kippers container he moulded it, using a rock, into a tent pole sleeve – we should have kept it for next time we need a repair. It totally worked!! Phil and Grace chatted with their hiker friends from last night and mentioned that they packed a little light on food and looks like noodles and sauce was all that was left for dinner. A few moments later our Seattle friends were over giving us some food as they had extra and didn’t want to carry it out the next day. Lucky for useveryone wants a light pack on the last day. They had a lot of extra food in the end they gave us 3 freeze dried food packs – We had the biggest feast yet out on the trail – it was awesome.
Although the next day we still had chocolate bars for lunch as we didn’t want to stop and cook some food as it was only going to be about 4 hours of walking- If you don’t loose something off your pack – Phil? Carry everything in your pack as we usually do but thetent fly was wet so it was being carried on the outside of Phil’s pack – about 3km down the trail Grace said to Phil “are you carrying the tent fly inside your pack today???” 
Phil says “No, is it not on my pack?” Hunting through Phil’s pack…. andno tent fly? We drop our packs and Phil is going to run back to find it – at the most he will have to do is 6km that’s not too bad it’s pretty easy and flat trail today. It’s decided that Annette and Gale will hike on ahead and if we don’t reach them by km 5 then they will wait for us. Grace stays with Phil’s pack and anxiously awaits his return. Only took about an hour and Phil comes running down the trail with the tent fly in hand – Yeah tent fly it’s going on the inside of the pack now.
Phil and Grace are now on the go to catch Annette and Gale before Km 5 and they did it. Finally some speed hiking for these 2. It was a great trip but too bad Gale didn’t let us know his sleeping mat had a hole in it. We may have been able to fix it. The West Coast Trail,conquered by great backpackers and great guides. What’s next? I think I heard Annette and Gale talking about the Chilkoot Trail??
Calling for Gale… he’s up ahead…. on the first ladder and had climbed to the top having a rest. As we encountered more ladders thus, became the question “Annette are you going to take your pack on this one?” and most of the downs she kept her pack but the up ladders it was just too much weight. Phil would climb up the ladder and drop his pack at the top and come back down for Annette’s pack Grace helped out a few times.
Knowing this was the hardest part of the trail everyone felt confident we would be able to make it to the end as planned. The first night was kind of crammed as we stopped at beach access B. This meant we didn’t have to make the long ladder trek down to Thrasher and back up again it was worth it. By this time we had met 3 groups of people that knew Phil and Grace from Calgary – who would have thought?
