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Taking a trip on the West Coast Trail means some planning and organization. There are a few basic, but essential things that need to be worked out before you go. This article looks at the planning considerations for deciding how to arrange your transportation for this hiking adventure. It is article three in the series of five. The West Coast Trail is a traverse, meaning it is a hiking adventure that has two distinct ends and the journey goes from end to end. Getting to and from two distinct trailheads, many kilometers apart can be challenging. We will look at the options for getting there and getting home in this article. Many people are kind of stuck on their cars and find them hard to give up, even for a few days. So, one option is with your own cars. If you just don’t want to buy transportation, maybe you can get someone to take you out and pick you up. Another option is to buy the transportation from one of the shuttle services running between the trailheads. Maybe a mix of these options is what you are looking for, combining your car with some bought transportation. And finally, another option is to hire a guide company to take you from pickup point to drop off point (and provide all those extras in between). The two car shuffle? If you want to use your own cars to get to your hiking trip on the West Coast Trail and back, you will need two. That means driving both to the final end of the trail, leaving one, then driving all the way around to the other end. From there, you then get to hike the trail to the first car then drive all the way back around and get car two from the trailhead. Now, that’s a lot of driving, a lot of time, and a lot of gas. With increasing consciousness toward saving fuel and decreasing exhaust emissions, this is a pretty poor option. Friends and beer. With enough beer, your drivers will still be your friends after the trip is over. You can talk someone into taking you out to one trailhead, and then someone, maybe the same person, to pick you up at the other trailhead. This can work, but you have to have friends on Vancouver Island, or at least in southern BC. If you come from another province or from a country other than Canada, you can rule this option out. The perfect mix. If you just can’t give up on your own car, you can drive your car to the end where you will finish the hike, then have one of the shuttle services take you to the other trailhead-takes about 4 ½ hours and costs about $75, plus your own gas to get to the end. This way, you get to finish and drive home in your own car. This may add a day to your overall trip, but it is a viable option. Take me, baby! And of course, you can pay to have someone else drive both ways. West Coast Trail Express and Pachena Bay Express both go to the trailheads from Nanaimo and Victoria, and back again. Travel to and from will cost you about $145 from and to Victoria. This is a great option. It saves wear and tear on your own car, and uses less fossil fuels by taking more people in one vehicle. I want the whole enchilada! The tour companies that operate West Coast Trail tours take care of the transportation, if not from Vancouver, from Victoria or Nanaimo. They make all the arrangements on your hiking tour beforehand, saving you the hassle. After the end of the trip, it can be really nice to sit back and enjoy the ride back with the new friends you have made in your group. With the tour companies, it’s all about the quality of the experience, and having the ride taken care of for you is quality. Transportation for getting to and from the trailheads for your camping tour on the West Coast Trail can be arranged in a number of ways, but the best will depend on your values, budget, and desire for more or less taken off your plate. Only a few real options exist, but thinking through what you want is important and can affect your experience greatly. To learn more about hiking trips on the West Coast Trail, visit www.coastalbliss.ca where you will find this and much more about adventure tours and BC coastal hiking.
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