Rick McCharles was the I NEED to Know website editor in 2001. This was his humorous summing-up of a trip where he suffered a stolen bagel. Photos.

Dear Parks Canada,

Humans are animals too.

A murder of crows took my bagel at 8:15 am July 25th at Camper Bay on the West Coast Trail. Please have the crows there humanely dispatched as you put down troublesome bears, cougars, banana slugs and Killer whales.

Thanks for your continued vigilance.

- A disturbed West Coast Trail hiker

This was my second go at the West Coast Trail and it was glorious — aside from the bagel theft. I hiked the WCT with Gregi, a Swiss buddy.

Gregi and I tried to “walk on” to the WCT without a reservation. Unfortunately we were delayed by one day. Port Renfrew, the southern trailhead, is a great place to get stuck though. It’s the end of the road; the end of the world.

We ate at the old Port Renfrew Hotel. There was a famous killing in the bar, but none the night we were there.

We heard a story of a tugboat crew who harboured at Port Renfrew then began a drinking binge at the old pub. Finally, the very large proprietor ejected them. The crew returned later but were denied re-entry on account of still being too drunk.

The tugboat captain then pointed out the metal cable now looped around the entire Hotel! The crew was finally welcomed to resume drinking.

My first trip on the West Coast Trail I hiked with 10 people. With only 2 hikers this time we could travel about twice as quickly. To add challenge we climbed long ladders without stopping and descended facing out without using our hands. Gregi always chose the most difficult route — just for fun.

A bit rushed, this trip we camped at:

• Thrasher
• Camper Bay
• Carmanah
• Hole-in-the-Wall
• Michigan

At Thrasher Gregi spotted humming birds and mink on the beach. In fact we saw mink almost every day. Everyone saw whales ... except us. Brian, the water taxi captain reported over 40 whales on one trip! Some California Grays are staying resident.

We had a magic time at Camper, playing in the surge channels and sea spouts. That night we slept under the stars on the beach.

Wild camping near Hole-in-the-Wall was fantastic. We scrambled the rock formation at sunset.

At Nitinat we bought beer and crab, enjoying this perfect meal in the bright sunshine on the dock. We watched as the native fisherman demonstrated how to dissemble and boil-up crab. Delish!

Our last night at Michigan it began to rain hard. The WCT is far less fun in the rain. We climbed into our tents early that night. Other hikers kept going into the night, set on getting a hotel in Bamfield that night.

We saw seals, a bald eagle with a bird in it’s talon, snakes, and sea lions -- even a recently washed-up sea lion corpse.

We didn’t see a bear on the Trail, but on the drive back to Port Renfrew over logging roads we surprised two.

Saturday night in Port Renfrew! We headed for the beach party — beer and salmon — a fund-raiser for the volunteer fire department and emergency services. It was also a wake for L’il Ollie, a local forester who drove off the government wharf last winter. We talked to his buddy who had been drinking and smoking with him that night, joking with him about pulling donuts on the icy pier.

Another soggy logger claimed to have seen 8 or 9 cougars! He even had one in his yard. He didn’t see that one -- but it ate his dog.

We’d recommend the West Coast Trail to one and all. It’s the premier hike in Canada.

100 photos from this 2001 hike.