An airline lost his equipment, shattering his dream of hiking the West Coast Trail. Then strangers came to the rescue

Cragun Foulger has long dreamed of hiking the West Coast Trail, the rugged 75-kilometer hike along Vancouver Island’s west coast that’s considered a bucket list trip for hikers and adventure seekers.

“It was so enticing,” Foulger told CBC’s At the coast from Salt Lake City. “It just embodied everything I really love about hiking.”

Foulger’s trip to BC earlier this month was nearly ruined, he said, after his airline lost all his walking gear, but he managed to complete the walk between Port Renfrew and Bamfield thanks to the kindness of strangers.

Foulger says he spent a lot of time preparing for the hike, making sure he was in the right physical condition and had the right equipment.

He also joined one Facebook group dedicated to the West Coast Trail. Facebook groups can quickly descend into bickering, he said, but this one was different, offering guidance and encouragement as he embarked on his dream journey.

Foulger flew from Salt Lake City to Victoria. When he got off the plane, he waited at the baggage carousel, but his equipment was nowhere to be seen.

“I went through all the grieving cycles in about 15 minutes,” he said.

He had reached the acceptance stage, he said, and made his way from the airport to the city with the clothes and hiking boots he wore, his ID and toothbrush and toothpaste.

On June 3, Foulger posted to the Facebook group explaining what had happened and thanking everyone for their support in planning the trip.

The purpose of the message was not to ask for help, he says, but to keep group members informed.

He wrote that he intended to spend some time in Victoria before returning to Utah.

“There was a huge outpouring, just a flood of people saying, ‘No, you can’t do that,'” Foulger said.

Michael Anderson, the owner of the West Coast Trail Express, which offers shuttle service to the trail, offered to pick him up and kit him out with a backpack, tent, poles, sleeping bag and other gear.

Foulger had a ticket on the West Coast Trail Express, so Anderson drove him to the trailhead in Port Renfrew.

Anderson says he was happy to offer his help.

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t,” he said. “I didn’t think there was any other option. I was so happy we were able to set it up.”

Wayne Aitken, the co-author of Blisters and blissa hiking guide now in its 10th edition offered items that Anderson was unable to provide.

All told, Foulger thanked 19 people in his Facebook post.

‘More than I could have imagined’

Foulger says he completed the trek and made friends with fellow hikers along the way.

The experience was “beyond what I could have imagined,” he said.

When he got back to Salt Lake City, the airline had found his things and returned them to him. It would have been easy to get frustrated, but he said the trip was a lesson in gratitude.

“I’m just extremely aware that I’m trying to be a kinder, more gentle person and try to lead with service, patience and compassion, because that’s what all these people have given me.”