You be the Judge
I'm not the fittest person. So, how do I know I can tackle a tough trail? By knowing myself. I know what I can or can't handle. I know when I'm getting in over my head. I know when I can keep on going. No one in the world is a better judge of what you can handle than you. I met one person who was having trouble getting up the ladders on the easy section. She was thinking that she would keep on going, but I asked her "If you are finding your legs going numb climbing up the ladders in the easy section, what makes you think it is going to be any better in the harder sections?" I would never say to someone "You should" or "You shouldn't". Each person has to judge for themselves. But, at the same time, when someone says "I can" or "I can't", you should support them. If you think you can do it, I'll be there to cheer you on and if you find you can't do it, I'll be there to help you out.

Make it Fun
Sometimes we don't like life because what we are doing is dull or routine or not very pleasant. Okay, welcome to life. If life gives you lemons, then make lemonade! To handle the mud, the ladders and the tough uphill sections, I decided to make the trip fun by counting EVERY step I took along the way. Even better, I recorded it in a journal along with landmarks, reference points, birds I saw, bears, ladders, flowers, people and even how I felt! People along the trail began to hear that someone was counting every step of the way. When I got to the Pachena Lighthouse, the lighthouse keeper came out of the house taking giant, exaggerated strides down the sidewalk counting loudly "Five, six, seven, eight..!" He had obviously heard about this idiot counting the steps. I had a howl! It's amazing how making something fun for you can make it fun for others.

Enjoy Yourself
While it's great to make others smile, make sure you take the time to make yourself happy. I'm not in the greatest shape, so I don't kill myself trying to race anyone or even keeping up to anyone. I set my own pace so that I can enjoy myself. Enjoying myself means that instead of killing myself to get to the first camp spot, I have to sleep beside the trail. Enjoying myself means letting everyone hike faster than me. But enjoying myself means that I have seen whales and bears, cougars and eagles, have met interesting people, seen wonderful sunsets and have enjoyed the flowers and sights along the way. Do you know what? I always make it to the end like all the people who hurried through the trail. I'm just not the one saying "I wish we had spent another day or two to enjoy the views". Enjoying myself also means taking the good with the bad. When it rains for seven days straight, it may not be as pleasant so you have to take enjoyment in little things. When your pack breaks, you have to take enjoyment in the fact that you are creative enough to think of ten other ways to carrying everything.

For fifteen years I've given it a try, been the best judge of my abilities, have made it fun and have thoroughly enjoyed myself. As a result, this over-weight, out-of-shape, middle-aged man has completed the trail eight times including one time when it rained seven straight days. And guess what! It's always been fun.

Tom Cox took 123,374 paces to complete the West Coast Trail in 2004. His complete journal is available at www.wct.ca .

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