After spending thousands of dollars on hiking trips abroad in the summer of 2022, I was feeling pretty broke going into the summer of 2023; therefore, I figured the only way I was going to get my hiking fix that year was doing so on the cheap by exploring more of what is available closer to home. I have a number of coworkers who are outdoors enthusiasts and often spend their weekends hiking and camping on Vancouver Island. I asked them for recommendations and Della Falls was a hike that was recommended to me again and again. I was told that if I did Della Falls, I had to do Love Lake as well because the best view of Della Falls is actually from en route to Love Lake. When I ran the idea of a Della Falls hike past my boyfriend, he was keen to join me. Della Falls is a popular hike, so I was pleasantly surprised to still be able to get a reservation for a weekend in peak season when I was booking in May. I reserved us on the 10:30am ferry to Della Falls on Saturday, July 14th and the 4:30pm return trip on Sunday, which I knew would make for a packed weekend.
Day 1: Della Falls and Love Lake
Distance: ~25km
Time: ~7.5h
Elevation gain: ~1350m
We left Victoria at 7:00am. While it usually only takes 2.5 hours to drive to Port Alberni, we wanted to give ourselves plenty of extra time because we expected delays due to highway repairs in lieu of a recent wildfire in the area. However, we luckily managed to get through the construction zone with only a 15 minute delay, so then we had time to stop for breakfast in Port Alberni before heading over to the Della Falls water taxi. There was a group of 3 guys who were also taking the 10:30am water taxi. When our captain was loading their backpacks onto the boat, he commented on the weight of them. They had a number of items that seemed unnecessary, like a full sized axe, but it turns out that a hefty portion of the weight was coming from all their liquor. They put away a few beers each on the ferry ride over. The captain told us stories of rescues he had done on Great Central Lake and provided us with facts about the area.
When we were dropped off on the dock, I was eager to stretch my legs because a 3 hour drive followed by a 1 hour ferry ride had made me restless. The guys got a head start, as they set off right away and we stuck around to use the outhouses, have a snack, and apply sunscreen before we set off; however, it was not long before we caught up with the guys, whose heavy backpacks were slowing them down. My boyfriend was flying down the trail and I was struggling to match his pace with my stubby legs, though I was too proud to admit as much.
After only a little over an hour, we had already covered 7km! The section of trail to Margaret Creek Camp is flat, just 170m of elevation gain, so we were able to set an impressive pace. As we crossed the bridge over Margaret Creek, we were tempted to stop for a refreshing dip, as it was a nearly 30 degree day and we were sweating buckets. The thought of putting my damp clothes back on afterwards deterred me though.
After Margaret Creek, the trail was still quite flat and we continued to clip along. As we neared Cable Car Camp, our stomachs growled and our energy dwindled. My boyfriend wanted to stop for lunch, but I made us push on until we reached Cable Car Camp. There we took a long break to rest and refuel, weary but proud of ourselves for crushing 11 km in only about 2 hours.
After crossing Drinkwater Creek in the cable car, the trail got a little more challenging, with more roots and rocks and few small hills, but was the trail was still very manageable. We passed through one section with high, dense vegetation on either side that was encroaching onto the trail. I thought this would be the perfect place to bump into a foraging bear and listened intently for rustling, but all was quiet and still. Shortly after, we crossed back across the creek again, this time on a narrow metal bridge.
Shortly after this, we popped out onto a pebbly beach and lost the trail. We started going the wrong way and a guy who had set up camp on the beach called out to redirect us. I felt a bit embarrassed, but he reassured us he'd taken that same wrong turn and watched others do so too. We had a section of scrambling over boulders before we were back on a flat trail again. The top of Della Falls appeared in the distance.
We passed the turn off for Love Lake and pressed on to Saw Blades Camp. We passed site after site that was already taken. We seemed to have passed all the sites, but kept going in hopes of other options. We crossed a wooden bridge over the creek and just on the other side was a large site that we agreed was much nicer than any of the sites we had passed, though the compromise was that we were a ways from the food cache and toilets. As we were unpacking our bags, a sizeable branch fell right where we were planning to pitch the tent! I reasoned that maybe we should pick another location, but my boyfriend assured me that it would be highly unlikely for another branch to fall in that exact same spot; therefore, we finished setting up camp as originally planned.
Free of our heavy bags, we floated over to Della Falls.
We waffled about whether to hike up to Love Lake that afternoon. We were feeling pretty worn out, so we were unenthused about doing anymore hiking that day; however, we were also desperate for a swim and we thought our future selves would thank us for not having to rush to fit in Love Lake tomorrow morning. Somewhat begrudgingly, we set off at around 5:30pm. AllTrails said it was only 1.5km to Love Lake with around 600m of elevation gain, so I was expecting a steep, short grind to the top, and I hyped myself up to just get it done quickly.
As we wound up another switchback and another, I grew inpatient, feeling as though we must have covered 1.5km by now and should be at Love Lake. When I checked AllTrails, it reported that we had, in fact, already done 1.5km, but we were still nowhere near Love Lake! I cursed at AllTrails for misleading us and tried to let that frustration power me up the rest of the trail.
After hiking for about 3km, we got to the top of the switchbacks. The view across the valley to Della Falls flowing out from the mountains was stunning and I understood why my coworker felt seeing Della Falls from this vantage point instead of from the base of the falls was worth the climb!
When we finally got to Love Lake, it was shaded, so I knew I needed to jump in right away or else I would get a chill and lose my motivation. As I undressed, I got swarmed by mosquitos. I plunged into the water to escaped them and I let out a cuss because the water was freezing! I raced out of the water and got dressed as quickly as I could. Continuing to get attacked by mosquitos, I urged by boyfriend to hurry up and take his dunk before I got eaten alive. I would have loved to have enjoyed the epic scenery longer, but the mosquitos were really ruining the moment for me.
With the sun sinking, we hurried back to camp. By the time we arrived, it was nearly 9:00pm and we made dinner by headlamp. After the long day we'd had, the walk to put our food in the cache before bed felt like the straw that almost broke the camel's back.
Day 2: Della Falls
Distance: ~15km
Time: ~4h
Elevation gain: ~500m
As we were packing up our camp, the guys we had met on the ferry yesterday asked if they could have our site, and we agreed. Moments later, they came parading down the trail with their tents fully erected. We got to chatting with them and they told us they had slept with their food in their tents last night because they had been even a little ways further from the main camp than us and had not wanted to walk over to the bear cache. I shook my head at what a stupid idea that is. They also complained that they had brought a bunch of fishing gear, but there were no fish in the river to catch. "What a bunch of buffoons." I thought to myself.
Before setting off that morning, we went back to Della Falls to soak in its majesty one more time.
Having hiked until dusk last night, my legs were not feeling rested that morning, so I was doubtful that we would be able to match our pace from yesterday.
Only a short while into our hike, I felt my left knee snap into hyperextension under the weight of my backpack when I took a big step down from one rock to another. After that, my knee felt unstable. I took to hiking with my knee flexed at all times rather than going through the full natural range of motion. At one point in those 15km back to the trailhead, I got complacent at keeping my left knee in a protected position and it snapped into hyperextension again. I felt a twinge when it did.
As we trucked along, we kept coming to sections that I did not recall, so either the trail looks very different in the opposite direction or I zoned out for periods of the day yesterday. I'm guessing the latter because flat trail enclosed by a thicket of spindly trees is not particularly interesting.
After Margaret Creek Camp, we passed a couple headed to Della Falls and I did a double take. They are acquaintances of mine and it is such a coincidence to run into someone I know out here in the wilderness far from home! My boyfriend and I tried to sound enthusiastic when talking about our experience and we encouraged them on their way, but it was hard to hide that fact that we were starting to feel exasperated.
Once my boyfriend could tell the end was near, he basically ran to the finish. I limped after him. We arrived around an hour before the ferry was scheduled to arrive. We sat on the dock with our feet dangling off the edge and the cool lake water felt heavenly on our throbbing feet! I tried to kick my left leg out and could only get my knee about half way to fully straight.
The ride back to Port Alberni was much rougher than the ride to the trailhead had been, as there is almost always an afternoon wind that makes waves on Great Central Lake. Two unfamiliar couples joined us for the ride. We had a different ferry captain than on the way over and he asked if any of us hardcore hikers had done Victoria Peak, claiming that it is the tallest mountain on the island, and then proceeding to brag about his summit years ago. I was pretty sure that Golden Hinde is the tallest mountain on the island, but I kept quiet.
Closing thoughts
I would strongly recommend doing Della Falls in 2 nights if you plan to include Love Lake, as the hike to Della Falls plus the hike to Love Lake made for a really long day, and I'm certain that I would have enjoyed Love Lake more if it had been on a day of its own. The hike to Della Falls feels long, but is it quite flat and the majority of the trail is on even footing, with the only difficult section being the short boulders section; therefore, I think it is quite approachable for less hardy hiker, such as those who may be inexperienced or advancing in age. It is undeniably cool to have bragging rights that you saw the tallest water fall on Vancouver Island; however, Della Falls is not the most impressive waterfall I have seen, and I haven't gone chasing that many waterfalls, so you have to be in it for the journey as well as the destination.
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