Clambering over fallen logs in ancient temperate rainforest, stashing food in raised bear caches, and getting caught in apocalyptic rainstorms – all in a day’s work.

 

As the Wilderness Committee campaigner here on Vancouver Island, one the best parts of my job is helping to organize and lead trail building trips in Clayoquot Sound.

 

Trail building, a conservation strategy used by the Wilderness Committee for decades, is a job with endless benefits.

 

The Meares Island project in Clayoquot Sound is done in coordination with the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, who have declared the island a Tribal Park to be managed by the Nation based on the traditional teachings of their chiefs and elders. The Wilderness Committee has worked with the Tla-o-qui-aht and local conservation groups like the Friends of Clayoquot Sound since the mid-eighties, to protect Meares and the rest of Clayoquot’s old-growth rainforests. The current trail building project is a continuation of these partnerships.

 

The Meares Island project is one of many trail building efforts undertaken by the Wilderness Committee – we believe that getting people out into spectacular wilderness areas is the most effective way to foster conservation and environmental responsibility.

 

On the most recent Meares Island trip, I joined Wilderness Committee field operations director Andy Miller and a crew of 10 volunteers for five days of hiking, planning, flagging, and trail clearing in old-growth temperate rainforest.

 

 

The crew included a few veteran trail building volunteers, some experienced hikers, and some people who were newer to remote camping and trail building. The task for the trip, the second of four Meares trips this summer, was to continue the work on the old route between C’is-a-quis and the Big Tree Trail. C’is-a-quis, the site of a cabin built by Tla-o-qui-aht activists in the eighties, is set in a calm bay where we make our base camp. The world-famous Big Tree Trail is a boardwalk loop that features some of the biggest cedar trees in Clayoquot Sound – a focal point in the campaign to protect Meares Island and in the War in the Woods in general.

 

Connecting C’is-a-quis and the Big Tree Trail will make Meares Island ideal for day or overnight hikes, which will bolster the sustainable tourism industry in the region and bring more people and more awareness to this ancient forest.

 

 

The work ranges from bushwhacking and route-finding – incredibly difficult in the dense rainforest – to clearing and improving the marked routes. The work is slowed considerably during heavy rain, which is a virtual certainty on Meares.

 

On the first afternoon we had have some dry weather and a chance to set up tarps and cozy campsites – always a bonus.

 

 

Splitting into two teams led by Andy and myself, we flagged, cleared and widened the trail over the next three days, making a great stride towards the trail’s completion. The first five kilometres from C’is-a-quis are now in good condition, with the route cleared beyond that right down to the coastal mudflats on the other side of the island. The route now requires further extension to the big tree trail, which can be done during the remaining trips this summer.

 

The volunteer group was amazing (as usual) and worked together like a team that had been together for years. Even with the arrival of Clayoquot Sound’s famous monsoon-like rain – 24 hours straight of torrential downpour – spirits remained high, food and laughs were shared, and we all slogged along with silly, soggy smiles.

 

Photo: Two volunteers work together to clear a limb from the trail

I felt lucky to be part of this trip, as I do with all Wilderness Committee fieldwork I participate in. Spending time with amazing people in a beautiful ancient rainforest and working on a meaningful project is a fulfilling way to spend a few days. But the Meares Island Trail Building project is about more than that. It’s about bringing people and awareness to Meares and to Clayoquot Sound. Most of the old-growth rainforest in this region is still unprotected, and that needs to change.

 

Please visit the Wilderness Committee’s campaign sites to learn more about our efforts to protect the old-growth forests in Clayoquot Sound and throughout the province.

 

If you want to get involved in fieldwork, now is the perfect time – we are getting volunteers together for our next trip to Meares!

 

I am already excited for the next trip, happening on the BC Day Long Weekend, August 3-7. Please contact us if you’re interested in trail building, we’d love to have you out. Come volunteer with us, make some new friends, and be part of an important project in one of the most beautiful forests on Earth.  

 

 

Vancouver Island Campaigner