I’m not a hammock camper, so I can’t speak to the specific hammock experience on the WCT. However, it’s worth noting that all of the campgrounds are on the beach – if you’re looking to hang a hammock in the forest behind the beach you might have to hunt around for a long time to find a suitable place to string a hammock. From what I’ve heard from people who have hammocked on the WCT, they didn’t recommend it and had to ground pitch their hammock a few times.

Hi Whitney,
Nitinaht to Walbran in one day would be a very long day. It’s over 20 km and while that might be a doable distance elsewhere, travel times on the WCT are much longer than on other trails. It will likely take you 8 to 11 hours to do that distance. As well, if you are on a 7 day itinerary, you will be doing over 25% of the distance for the whole trail in a single day.
Your idea of doing Nitnaht to Carmanah, then Carmanah to Walbran etc. is likely a better plan. However, you don’t have to decide your itinerary before you leave (besides booking the Nitinaht cabins) so you can always wing it on the trail and see how far you get.
Have a good hike!

We are planning our 7 day (6 night) itinerary and want to spend a night at Nitinat in the cabins. We are starting in Pacheena and have heard we should try our best to camp at Walbran, is it unreasonable to get from Nitinat to Walbran in a day?

Would it be easier to do:
-nitinat to Carmanah creek
-Carmanah Creek to Walbran
-Walbran to camper bay
-Camper to Gordon Bay (and have the long day at the end?)

Thanks!

You could definitely do Nitinaht to Gordon River in four days. I recommend the following itinerary:
Day 1: Nitinaht Narrows to Bonilla Point: 16km; 6-8 hours
Day 2: Bonilla Point to Cullite Creek: 10km; 4-5 hours
Day 3: Cullite Creek to Thrasher Cove: 13km; 6-8 hours
Day 4: Thrasher Cove to Gordon River: 6km; 4-5 hours

You can take the orientation at any trailhead. You can take the afternoon orientation the day before you start or any orientation on the day you start. However, if you start at Nitinaht, you must do your orientation at Nitinaht

PS: Super great resource. Thanks for taking the time to create this site for others.

If you have found dates that work for you, book them before someone else grabs them. There is a small store in Port Renfew, but it is has limited hours and supplies. Relying on it for a full resupply may not be the best idea – although it could be done.

@Taryn Eyton, thank you for the info! I happen see two dates I can make work so maybe I should just snap one up for now and cancel if I can’t get the time off (I’m considering next year too). The Olympic Coast comparison is very helpful, I’m now thinking 10 nights might be the sweet spot, which allows for two shorter rest days, one at the start (orientation at 2pm then hit the trail) and one in between trails, and puts me on the 11 days you suggest. My base weight is 12-15# depending on camera equipment, food is typically my limiter. It seems I don’t have to make reservations once on the trail which is actually pretty nice…so I can speed up or slow down as needed, allowing to plan for longer just in case.

Last question, and I’ll google this as well, after my super size lunch at the Port Renfrew Pub, is there a store where i can resupply? …hopefully with hiker friendly food?

Thank you again for the info, how can i best contribute to your endeavors here?