There are a
score of beaches that the trail
touches as it heads westward,
each one of them with an ancient
story of it's own. For
interpretation of these points be
sure to get yourself a guidebook
or even better a First Nations
Guide to elaborate. The last
beach is Cow Bay and then the
trail turns inland and follows
Cow Creek to the peek of Mt.
Flores sitting at 900 meters.
The revival of
this ancient path began in 1993
when a group of Ahouhaht women
formed Walk the Wildside with the
intent of promoting the trail as
an eco-tourism destination. An
initial investment of time, sweat
and a little marketing and the
Wild Side Heritage Trail was open
for business, Quickly tales of
the stunning beaches, deep forest
tunnels and wild life that was
truly wild swept through the
hiking community of the west
coast. Thousands made the trip
and effects were felt both
positively financially and
unfortunately negatively on the
land. The trail had begun to
deteriorate by the mid 1990's,
there was concern within the
Ahousaht elders as to amount of
damage that could be done to the
environment and to culturally
sensitive spots. This was
addressed and it was decided that
a proper trail with boardwalks,
bridges and other forms of
engineered support was needed.
The work began in 1996 under the
management of a joint venture
between the Ahousaht
Band Council and the Western
Canadian Wilderness Committee. It
took a group of 25 native and
non-native youth and workers 7
months to compete the work.
There is a $20 per person fee
that goes to the maintenance of
the trail. Registration is at the
Wildside Trail office which is
located in Mini-Mall just above
the Hydro dock in Ahousaht. For
more information call
250-670-9586
" Choosing the route
was not an easy process. The
Elders, Hereditary Chiefs and
Band Council gave this matter a
great deal of thought and
attention. It was extremely
important to the people of
Ahousaht to choose a route that
would show off the natural
wonders of Ahousaht First Nations
territory, while safeguarding the
environment and historical
records from damage by
well-meaning hikers."
Sid Sam Sr.
Chief Counsellor
Ahousaht First Nations
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