How does this vista look? 🙂
KATCH SILVA:
This Norway hike follows a ridge that has incredible views of glacial lakes surrounded by peaks on both sides. …
The Outbound – Hike the Besseggen Ridge
Sunshine Coast Trail – day 2
trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Inland Lake to Tin Hat Mountain
day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Sunshine Coast Trail information page
This was my toughest day. A steep scramble up to Confederation Hut on the same-named lake. Then a long descent down to Fiddlehead Landing Hut. And finally a steep slog up to the top of Tin Hat Mountain.
This is not Fiddlehead Landing Hut. Rather a floating holiday home next door.
Hiking temperate rain forest can be lovely. Soft mulch underfoot. Plenty of variety. Nurse logs. Good visibility even in the trees.
I didn’t see much wildlife. Other than garter snakes.
One snake was eating a banana slug. I’d believed NOTHING could eat a banana slug. 🙂
Lisa from Ontario had seen a bear near the start of SCT. But – in general – you don’t see much aside from birds.
… Fact is, I never made it to the top of the mountain. About an hour short of Tin Hat Hut I dropped my pack on the trail and set-up on the trail.
Could barely keep my eyes open. That was 7pm. I’d been almost all of 12 hours on my feet. Mostly climbing up or down.
day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Sunshine Coast Trail information page
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
Pembrokeshire Coast Path
Antti Rantanen did the 300km in Wales in 10 days. Wet. Weather.
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.
Trip report:
That’s one of our top 10 coastal trails.
Anglesey Coastal Path, Wales
The Anglesey Coastal Path is a 200-kilometre (124 mi) long-distance footpath around the island of Anglesey in North Wales. The route is part of the Wales Coast Path. …
Or check the official map.
related – annual Walking Festival and Walkathon
toughest hike of the year?
Southwest Tasmania Traverse
Cam Honan:
Between February 27 and March 22 of this year, I completed a traverse of the southwestern region of the state. One of the wildest, most pristine backcountry areas on the planet, it was a hike I had dreamed of doing for almost two decades. …
200 miles (322 km) approx. …
Time: 24 days
Daily Average: 8 miles (13 km) approx. This included one rest/resupply day. Hiking, scrambling, bushwhacking, climbing, paddling, crawling, swimming, rock hopping…………yep……..the terrain really was that challenging …
top 10 coastal hikes worldwide?
by site editor Rick McCharles
updated April 2016
But what are the best coastal hikes anywhere?
#1) West Coast Trail, BC Canada
#2) Otter Trail, South Africa
#3) Abel Tasman Track, New Zealand
#4) Lost Coast Trail, California
#5) Thorsborne Trail, Australia
#7) Kalalau Trail, Kauai, Hawaii
#8) Pembrokeshire Coast Path, U.K.
#9) South Coast Track, Tasmania
10) Great Ocean Walk, Australia
Leave a comment if you have more to add to this list.
Canada’s West Coast Trail is so popular that many other alternatives have been developed nearby:
- North Coast Trail, Canada
- Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, Canada
- Nootka Trail, Canada
- Sunshine Coast Trail, Canada
What about Canada’s east coast?
- East Coast Trail, Newfoundland
- Fundy Footpath, New Brunswick
I’ve still yet to hike all of the Shipwreck Coast Trail (Rialto Beach to Shi Shi Beach) in Washington State.
Hiking is so popular and so well developed in the U.K. that there are many alternatives to the Pembrokeshire:
- South West Coast Path
- Cleveland Way
- Norfolk Coast Path
- Fife Coastal Path
- Arran Coastal Way
- Ayrshire Coastal Path
- Anglesey Coastal Path
- Causeway Coast Way
- Lecale Way
In Italy there are some classic short walks suggested by Andrea:
- Cinque Terre, Liguria
- Sentiero degli Dei, Costa Amalfitana
Other recommended in the past:
- Lycian Way, Turkey … by Geoff
- Easter Island coast … by Geoff
Australia must have more coastal hiking than any nation in the world. There are many good candidates including:
- Great South West Walk, Victoria, Australia … by Frank
- Thorsborne Trail, Queensland, Australia … by Ken
- Bibbulman Track, Western Australia … by Frank
- Cape to Cape Track, Australia
Personally, I liked the Queen Charlotte Track in New Zealand even better than the Abel Tasman.
And the Fisherman’s Trail, Rota Vicentina, Portugal is high on my personal life list.
related – Adventure Junkies – TOP 11 BEST COASTAL HIKES FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO ENJOY IN 2016
documentary – Sunshine Coast Trail, B.C.
World → North America → Pacific NW → Canada → Sunshine Coast Trail
Nearby West Coast Trail is the best hike in the world. Right?
The SCT is the latest of a number of WCT alternatives. And it’s an excellent alternative. Be aware that “Sunshine Coast” is the name of the region. Not much of the SCT is on the coast. It’s almost entirely inland.
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
- 12 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.
- we recommend you 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.
Read more on our Sunshine Coast Trail information page.
Click PLAY or watch a trailer for a new Sunshine Coast Trail documentary on Vimeo.
NEW – Three Capes Track, Tasmania
The Three Capes Track is a brand new, 4-day, 46 km, bushwalk in cliff-hugging wildness of Australia’s far south-east. Forty eight permits are issued each day, and the walk is self-guided.
The track opened Dec 23, 2015 …
The track features over 35 “art” pieces, most of which provide a seat” for walkers to sit and enjoy the natural surroundings of a particular area, whilst learning about the Tasman penninsula’s natural, maritime, and convict history. …
Lonely Planet calls the Three Capes Track “The hottest new travel experience of 2015”. …
3Capes Track – D3 (Munro – Rutakunna [Jan 1, 2016])
Otter Trail, South Africa
The Boab Nut did our favourite hike in Africa.
Check the trip report – Otter Trail (what goes down, must come up again) 🙂
Otter Trail information page
besthike.com 