His Dream Was To Hike The WCT. When The Airline Lost His Luggage, Strangers Stepped Up

June 26, 2023

A Utah man was able to fulfill his dream of hiking the West Coast Trail (WCT), thanks to the kindness of strangers.

Credit: Cragun Foulger / CBC.ca

Cragun Foulger had long dreamed of completing the 45-mile hike along the west coast of Vancouver Island. The WCT is an iconic backcountry, multi-day backpacking trail that is a bucket list challenge for many hikers.

But Foulger's trip to Vancouver Island earlier this month was almost ruined after his airline lost all of his hiking gear.

"I kind of went through all the cycles of grief in about 15 minutes," he told the CBC.

Foulger had previously spent a lot of time on the "West Coast Trail, Beautiful British Columbia" Facebook group preparing for the trip. Once he accepted that he would not be going on the hike, he posted a message to the group to explain what happened and to thank everyone for their support in planning the trip.

"There was a huge outpouring, just a deluge of people saying, 'No, you can't do that'," Foulger said.

Group members offered to pick him up and supplied him with a backpack, tent, poles, sleeping bag and other necessary equipment.

Foulger ended up thanking 19 people in his Facebook post.

He completed the trek and made many new friends along the way.

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

Watch the good news video below.