Abstract
Introduction
The West Coast Trail (WCT) is a 75 km trek in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, with 4000 to 6000 hikers attempting to complete the trail annually. It is a physically demanding and strenuous hike renowned for its unique infrastructures and violent weather. Parks Canada quotes that 1% to 2% of hikers require evacuation every year, while an additional 200 sustain minor injuries. There is growing literature reviewing injuries and illnesses in US National Parks that consistently show hikers to be the most common group requiring medical assistance. To date, no formal studies have analyzed the morbidity associated with a specific hike where accurate census data is available.
Objective
To review the epidemiology of injuries, illnesses, and causes of evacuations on the WCT and make recommendations for improving participant safety.
Methods
Parks Canada staff provided de-identified public safety occurrence data within the WCT from 2005 to 2010. These reports were retrospectively reviewed and the relevant data was extracted. Only reports involving hikers during the May 1st to September 30th hiking season were included. The 2-proportion z-test was used to determine statistical significance.
Results
We reviewed 457 occurrence reports, of which 310 met inclusion criteria, corresponding to an incident rate of 1 per 104 hikers. This was significantly increased (P < .01) from the rate of 1 in 220 hikers that Parks Canada stated required assistance in 1993 to 1994. Evacuation was reported in 196 (63%) cases, while only 56 (18%) documented administration of first aid. Injuries and/or illnesses were reported in 89 and 22 of the cases, respectively. Sixty-seven (21.6%) incident reports originated from km 70 to 75 of the trail.
Conclusions
There was an alarmingly high number of evacuations and morbidity on the WCT given the limited number of hikers. Injuries and illnesses were likely underreported. Further analysis is required to determine causes for the significantly increased incident rate found in our study compared to incident rates in 1993 to 1994. More detailed injury surveillance is required for further assessment of morbidity on the WCT. This will allow for appropriate prevention strategies to be implemented.