Today we drive on a highway to reach Port Renfrew but it was not always so. Coastal trails were long-used by First Nations folk of course, and then in the 1890s the Telegraph Trail was initiated as part of the All Red Route connecting the various world wide components of the British Empire. In its original route, the Telegraph Trail, with the telegraph wires strung tree to tree, reached from Bamfield not just to Port Renfrew, but right into Victoria.
In 1906 it was the tragic loss of 126 lives, occurring with the wreck of the SS Valencia near Cape Beale, that led the federal government to initiate safety improvements along this coast, often called the graveyard of the Pacific. The enquiry resulting from the Valencia disaster, which it was said almost brought down the government, caused so much uproar that it led to the government establishing the Dominion Life Saving Trail, more lighthouses, and lifeboat stations.
One of the more interesting features of the Trail was the construction of aerial tramways, or aerial trolleys, designed as a method for crossing deep gorges on the route. There were many challenging ravines on the rocky coastline, requiring ingenuity on the part of trail builders. Visual records are largely unavailable to demonstrate these aspects, but we are fortunate in having an image of the device in use at Loss Creek.
Driving down into the valley of Loss Creek nowadays, one might be surprised to know that a century ago, the means across the valley would be for the individual to be seated in a “bosun’s chair,” meanwhile engaging one’s shoulder muscles in pulling a cable to carry one across. These cables were in a continuous loop, such as a clothesline.
Nowadays, the area is known as Pacific Rim National Park, and with the immense interest in hiking and outdoor adventures, the West Coast Trail is internationally popular. Much enhanced and maintained now, permission to hike the trail requires booking well ahead, whether leading from Port Renfrew or Bamfield. Our coastline, so rugged and beautiful, offers much in unforgettable adventure for hikers, in addition to the extensive history of the trail and the memory of the many men and women who have taken part in shaping it.
Elida Peers is a historian with the Sooke Region Museum.
