2 weeks in PNW, BC. Where?

Hi Scott,

Lots of options for week-long trips. The PNT looks interesting, seems like it goes trough some amazing country. Hiking along the Olympic Coast is really amazing, from La Push heading South, or from Rialto Beach heading North to Cape Alava (one week each, slow pace). There are several nice week-long section hikes on the PCT as well, including:

• Sections H/I – Mt Adams to Chinook Pass (longer), or to White pass (shorter)
• Section J – Alpine Lakes widerness, I90 to Stevens Pass
• Section K – Stevens Pass to Hwy 2 (longer), or to Suiattle Creek (shorter).

Sunshine Coast is supposed to be awesome on Vancouver Island.  Between OR, WA, and BC the possibilities are endless.

Glacier Peak wilderness. Lots of options; you won’t be sorry. Easy to spend two weeks there.

You can get well into Western Montana on a tank of gas in 8 hours. That gives you Northern Idaho too. I want to take the train to Glacier.

+1 on the Olympic beaches. Use a bear can as much for the raccoons as the bears. Might as well see the Hoh River while while you’re out there.

Mount Rainer has lots of possibilities. If you can’t get a walk up permit for part of the Wonderland Trail, you can base camp in one of the campgrounds and take great day hikes.

If you have a bike, a few days in the San Juans and Canadian Gulf Islands make for good adventures.

http://wta.org has a good searchable database of trails and good trail reports. http://nwhikers.net is a good resource too.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I’d forgotten about the Sunshine coast and recently read about it being relatively untrodden. Love to hear some more tips on B.C. if anyone has ’em.

You could consider the north coast trail on Vancouver island. There is also the Sunshine Coast trail which is a 180km hut to hut trail on the mainland of BC

I’ve been to the Sunshine Coast, in my RV.  More than untrodden, it’s back about 40 years culturally.  Like when you go into a gas station several people come out to wash your windows.  And I talked to someone that had never been off the Sunshine Coast.  I did a little hiking that was unremarkable.

I backpacked in Strathcona Provincial Park a long time ago.  Maybe Bedwell Trail?  Canadian trails are much steeper and more primitive than U.S. trails. Forbidden Plateau is nice but more of a day hiking area.

If you drive from Vancouver to Whistler there are some nice trails going East from the road, I’ve only hiked a little.  I think there are multi trip backpacks possible.

Jasper National Park has excellent backpacking.  That’s probably what I’d recommend.  Fewer people.  I remember seeing Northern lights and being surrounded by Caribou.  Or Banff – but there are more people.  Lot’s of international tourists.  I don’t have any specific trail though.