Caution: Not for the faint of heart
The Mackenzie Range consists of a number of jagged and impressive pinnacles situated 65kms west of Port Alberni off of Hwy 4. Each of the peaks has its own name, which include: Mackenzie Summit, Redwall, Shadowblade, Flat Top, Witch Hat, Centuar, and Razorback. The tallest is Mackenzie Summit at 1360m. My hopes were to reach the Perez Lookout to the west and view the impressive range.
Lauren worked a night shift the night before we left to go hiking (crazy woman!), but we agreed that she would drive to our house after work and sleep in the truck as we drove. By the time she arrived at our place and we departed from Victoria it was 0800. The weather was increasingly cloudy and foggy as we made our way up island. When we finally arrived at our parking spot and loaded our packs it was 1125.
Getting There:
To get to the parking spot for the Mackenzie Range we set the odometer to zero as we were leaving Port Alberni and headed west towards Tofino. At about 63kms we passed Canoe Creek on our left and at 65kms we arrived at our parking pullout on the right. It is not more then a gravel spot meant for 3 or 4 vehicles along the river. Looking back east you can see an old white sign and the start of an old overgrown skidder road, which is the start of the trail.
The Trail:
The trail started off pretty tame up an old road and after a few minutes ended up at a small creek crossing. After that things got pretty intense. Almost immediately we were headed up and up and up. I felt as though I was using my arms to pull myself up and over logs and rocks for about a third of the trail. The route itself was quite well marked with flagging and markers. You could even see where someone had taken a machete or saw to some of the brush.
We headed up the relentless trail for hours passing through thick bush and swarms of black flies. It would have been nice to pause for a break, but we were eaten alive by bugs seconds after stopping. The bush was damp and we climbed blindly through the thick fog unable to see the summits looming above us. The trail repeatedly brought me out of my comfort zone: passing large crevasses in the rocks under our feet, up steep banks gripping roots and brush, over rocks clinging and heaving our packs. There were few spots where the trail levelled and it took three solid hours before we were greeted with any kind of a view. Talk about a labour of love… |
We were so wiped that Lauren and I pulled out our sleeping mats and bags and curled up for a quick power nap in the warm sun. At this point a couple guys hiked passed headed down after an attempt at the northwest route up Redwall. After about 30 minutes of rest we grabbed small packs and headed further up to reach the Perez Lookout.
It was so nice not to lug our heavy packs. I felt like I was weightless. After only a few minutes we were scrambling over rocks and wet snow to the lookout. When we finally arrived we realized that a bunch of small trees block the view of the range. Therefore we attempted a smaller unnamed pinnacle to our north, which proved to be a bit of a struggle as well and Lauren opted to wait with the dog. The views from this small summit were amazing and Darryl and I snapped a few quick photos before heading down.
When we arrived back at our camp we were all quite filthy from the days events. We changed into clean dry clothes and grabbed a few beer out of the snow that we had lugged up. I have never tasted BEER SO GOOD!
The next morning we all awoke with a startle to my alarm at 0700. Slowly we climbed out of the tent and began the chore of packing up and making breakfast. The bugs were brutal and everything had to be done while moving so as to not be an easy target. By 0830 we were on the move back down the mountain.
After 3.5 hrs we arrived at the truck mainly unscathed except for aching legs, monster bug bites and a few cuts and bruises. We were hot, sweaty, and filthy from the bush. Thus, Darryl and I decided to jump in the river, which was amazingly refreshing. We then drove our way back to Port Alberni and had a delicious lunch and beer at the Starboard Grill. What a trip to remember!