This particular trip to Cape Scott was with my pal Melissa from nursing school, her dog Aspen, and her friend Ryan from the Strathcona Lodge. We decided to go in May because we wanted to stay in the ranger cabin, which is left unlocked in the off season. We did pack a tent and tarp just in case, you never know who could have the same idea as we did. We took three nights in total including one night at the beginning sleeping at the trailhead.
We left for the Cape Scott trailhead later in the afternoon from Victoria. Melissa had to work night shift the night previous and needed some sleep before our trek. We picked up Ryan from Campbell River on the drive through. By the time we arrived at the trailhead it had been dark for hours so we decided to pitch a tent and start the hike early the next morning.
Day#1
When we awoke in the morning we discovered we were the only car in the parking lot. As we were packing up our gear Ryan was digging through all of his stuff kind of laughing... He had forgotten his hiking boots back in his van in Campbell River... All he had on were crocks, and we weren't going to turn around, so crock hiking it was!
Just before 1500 we hit Nels Bight. We headed for the cabin with wet clothes and tired feet, and dropped our packs. We had it all to ourselves! We took a quick poke around and immediately began looking for dry wood to start the wood stove, but everything was wet. Ryan did eventually have success getting the fire going, but I know it took him quite a bit of time and effort.
For the rest of the day we explored the beach and looked through the cabin. The cabin had everything from a makeshift shower out back to a fridge... Which I imagine is hooked up to a generator in the summer. There were two bedrooms and a main living space with the wood stove I mentioned and a dining room table. People had left all kinds of odds and ends from the beach scattered throughout the cabin.
Day#2
The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and made a break for the lighthouse. We were on the trail again by 0800 and there were spots of blue sky and sunlight coming through the clouds. We followed the beach to the east until we hit Experiment Bight and then turned south through the trees to Guise Bay.