West Coast Trail - History

History

The region now covered by the West Coast Trail passes through the traditional territory of the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht and Huu-ay-aht people, Nuu-chah-nulth peoples, who have inhabited the area for over 4000 years. Native trails, used for trade and travel, existed in the area prior to European contact, and the current trail passes through numerous Indian Reserves. In the 1970s a lack of regulation resulted in hikers trespassing on culturally important and environmentally sensitive First Nations archaeological sites, such as villages and refuges on Reserve lands. As a result of this trespass on the traditional territory and cultural property of First Nations living in the area, hikers are now required to remain on the trail when passing through any Reserve areas.

European use of the trail area was originally for the construction and maintenance of a telegraph line between Victoria and Cape Beale. Because of the high number of shipwrecks along this stretch of coast in the late 1800s (see Graveyard of the Pacific), the Pachena Point Lighthouse and the Dominion Lifesaving Trail were constructed.

The reefs and breakers off the west coast of Vancouver Island had long posed a serious danger to navigation, and at the start of the 20th century lifesaving infrastructure on the sparsely populated island was still primitive in spite of heavy coastal traffic that serviced the Pacific coast between San Francisco and Alaska. One source cites almost five hundred wrecks around Vancouver Island alone. Although some plans were already underway to improve the infrastructure, the public outcry which followed the wreck of the SS Valencia in January 1906 spurred the Canadian government to undertake a comprehensive plan for improvements. The resulting trail was called the "Dominion Lifesaving Trail", sometimes misidentified by modern sources as "The West Coast Lifesaving Trail".

The list included:

• The construction of a new lighthouse at Pachena Point (12 km or 7.5 mi) south of Bamfield), near where the Valencia had run aground

• The introduction of wireless telegraphy on the BC coast through the construction of five wireless stations at Pachena Point, Estevan Point (where a lighthouse was added in 1910), Cape Lazo (near Comox, on the eastern coast of the island), Point Grey (in Vancouver), and Gonzales Hill (in Victoria). Note that only Pachena Point is located on the Dominion Lifesaving Trail. Each station was initially expected to have a range of about 150 km (93 mi), hence their spacing. The introduction of wireless service led to the rapid adoption of this technology by vessels plying the coastal trade.

• The construction of shelters at 8 km (5.0 mi) intervals on the trail. Each shelter had a telegraph with instructions for use in several languages, survival provisions like blankets and rations, and directions on navigating the trail.

• Establishment of the Bamfield Lifeboat Station. In 1908, the station was equipped with a state of the art 36-foot (10.97 m) motor lifeboat (MLB) built to a United States Lifesaving Service specification by the Electric Launch Company (Elco) of Bayonne, New Jersey. The Elco 36 ft (10.97 m) was the world's first purpose built MLB and over the next half century hundreds of similar boats would be constructed for lifesaving stations in the US and Canada.

The trail allowed shipwreck survivors and rescuers to travel the forest making use of the telegraph line and cabins. In 1973, the trail became part of Pacific Rim National Park and has been continuously upgraded.

Canadian Coast Guard Station Bamfield is still in operation and now hosts the CCG's Rigid Hull Inflatable Operator Training School.