This is an extremely historic, but little-known section of coast. The ancestors of the Nuu-chah-nulth people arrived here at least 13,000 years ago, almost certainly via a coastal route, and much of their history and stories are still alive through their oral traditions. We will pass through the territory of three Nuu-chah-nulth nations on our journey: Nuchatlaht, Mowachacht/Muchalaht and Hesquiaht, and we hope to interact with them and learn from them as much as possible along our way.
Our route will take us to many more recent historic locations, too, ranging from the site of the first known contact between Europeans and the indigenous people on the west coast, to the only place in Canada that was shelled from the ocean during World War II.
Our route will be mostly through wilderness (although unfortunately some sections have been affected by clear-cut logging). We will pass through several little-visited provincial parks along the way (Rugged Point Provincial Park and Hesquiaht Peninsula Provincial Park) – but pretty much our entire route will be through wilderness and along pristine coastline, inhabited by bears, cougars, wolves and at least three species of whales – a landscape little changed from how it was hundreds, or even thousands of years ago. This video explains more:
Vancouver Island's Secret Coast 