No shoe, no problem: Olympian Clara Hughes completes West Coast Trail wearing borrowed Croc

The West Coast Trail is a tough hike even for the most experienced outdoor enthusiasts. Seventy-five kilometres of steep ladder climbs, deep mud, slippery boulders and rugged terrain isn't for everyone. 

Now imagine making that multi-day trek with one trail shoe and one slightly-too-small Croc. 

Six-time Olympic medallist Clara Hughes, 52, found out just how much tougher the hike can be when you lose a shoe. 

This is her story,  as told to CBC's All Points West host Jason D'Souza.

The first two days were fantastic. I was hiking with a really good friend of mine from Victoria. Her name is Jill, and her trail name is Jilly Goat because she literally ran up every single ladder on that trail and didn't seem to have any problems. Both of us are big on movement as medicine and using things like hiking and being in nature for our mental health, and just having that deep connection in the natural space. 

The first day we hiked only six kilometres, spent the afternoon on the beach, had a camp in the forest. The second day, we hiked about 17 kilometres, started in the dark and walked into the rising sun. We spent time in the caves and just really enjoyed being out there. We had another great beach camp, and it was the morning of the third day when things changed dramatically.

It was, what I would say, the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me on many, many, many miles of hiking. 

We got up early again to walk the beaches with the low tide. It was still dark. 

I generally don't take off my shoes when I cross creeks. I hike in trail runners. They dry really fast, and I'm just pretty lazy, so I usually leave them on. But Jill was like, "I'm going to take my shoes and socks off," and I was like, "Oh, that's a good