Sunshine Coast Trail – day 1

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Mowat Bay to Inland Lake

My camera had multiple problems on this trip. Photos are inconsistent, at best. 😦

day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Sunshine Coast Trail information page

AT A GLANCE

• the best jumping off point for the SCT is Powell River, close to Vancouver B.C.
• the Sunshine Coast is less rainy than the rest of the lower mainland, but can still be very wet
• up to 180km (112mi)
• possible to hike hut to hut without carrying a tent
• huts “first-come, first-sleep”. Each can accommodate at least 12 hikers. More huts are being added.
• Canada’s longest hut to hut hiking trail
• NO permits or reservation required
• free 🙂
• it’s considered B.C.’s hidden gem of hiking routes. Many have not yet heard of this adventure.
• recommended to carry a tent as a back-up. There are many scenarios which might cause you not to reach the next hut on any given day.

I caught the 10am ferry from Comox, Vancouver Island to Powell River.

My plan was to do the big central section. About 90km.

July 2015 we’d hired a boat to drop us at the northern trailhead Sarah Point. But quit the hike at Manzanita Hut after only 2 days. Driven out by mosquitos and wasps.

Could have taken a local bus to a trailhead, but instead walked from the ferry about 5km through town to Mowat Bay.

Here’s pretty Cranberry Lake in Powell River town.

Lovely day to start a hike. 🙂

Mowat Bay is close to sea level. It’s uphill from here.

Alder loves to overgrow the relatively little used trails. Blow downs are more frequent than are volunteers with chain saws. It’s rugged and challenging hiking. But pretty.

I ended up paying $5 to camp on Anthony Island. I slept in my tent.

A Danish couple took the hut.

They made dough from flour. Then wrapped it around a green branch to cook over the open fire. A Danish tradition, I understand. Burnt on the outside, raw on the inside. 🙂

 

day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Sunshine Coast Trail information page