Short Hike The Sunshine Coast Trail
Sarah Point to Malaspina Road
Another section of the Sunshine Coast Trail to explore! The adventure begins with a drive north to Lund, heading North towards Sarah Point. I know I am able to drive to Bliss Portage and that’s where I plan to start hiking from. Starting at Bliss Portage added five kilometres of the forest service road but getting to Sarah Point was well worth this hike! My plan is to camp at Feather Cove for the first night. I have a backcountry camping permit which is required for these places, as they fall within the Marine Park. Upon my arrival at Feather Cove I found a large group of people that were also staying there – they had kayaked in from Lund. The next day my plan is to stay at Wednesday Lake for the final night. The trail was well marked, and the terrain was rolling the entire day. Staying at Wednesday Lake was great as I had this piece of nature all to myself. After taking a refreshing dip to clean off the day and having some dinner, I settled in for the night and enjoyed gazing up at the bright stars in the night sky. The third and longest day of the trip was upon me, making it to Manzanita Hut was long but the view of Savary Island was incredible! Leaving after lunch and arriving at Malaspina Road to end a long three day hike!
Fiddlehead to Inland Lake
Confederation Lake – it is a climb but well worth the view! Getting a ride to Fiddlehead and using the Avenza mapping app to find the trail, I start my overnight adventure. At kilometer 75 I passed a group of people that said there was a bear hanging around the cabin and they had to wait to leave because the bear was right there! I knew that I had to make it to the cabin as turning around wasn’t an option, as I wouldn’t have cell service at Fiddlehead. I turned my phone on full volume and played the most annoying ringer I could find. Even though I had bear spray I never want to get close enough to use it. Getting close to the hut, the fir forest opened up and I saw the lake – breathtaking! The night was peaceful, and the stars were even more amazing! After failing at taking pictures of these wonderful stars I heard voices and saw lights, people? They arrived at the cabin at 10pm. They told me that they started the hike after work and wanted to make it to the hut for the night, they set up their tent and were gone before I woke up the next morning. Early the next morning after filling up my water and having some oatmeal and coffee I headed toward Inland Lake. I did this hike days before they did the reroute that now goes past a waterfall. Making it to the flat part of Inland Lake it felt like it went on forever! After jumping into the lake and checking my blisters, I enjoyed my sandwich on the dock while I waited for my ride to arrive.
Tinhat Within an Hour, Say Whatttt?
Tinhat is one of the iconic places on the Sunshine Coast Trail and there is a way to get there that’s only an hour hike IF you have 4×4 with clearance and you don’t mind a few scratches as there is a lot of alder up there that you have to drive past. Also, keep in mind heading on any logging road, they are actively logging in this area and hauling out fast! Which means unless you have a radio and the course to operate the radio you can only access this logging road after 6pm on weekdays and anytime on the weekends. At the intersection of Spring Lake Main, we head toward Spring Lake, which turns into Giavanno Main. Going past the small parking lot for the SCT (if you don’t have clearance you should park here) we head up the road and onto an old logging road, this is where the alder was, and it’s heavily grown into the trail this year. The cross-ditches are deep and the last one going up a hill was in terrible shape. I hit the hitch going over it but didn’t damage anything (better the hitch than my bumper). We park at the end of the road and start hiking up. This section of trail is made up of shot rock on an old creek, this took us an hour with overnight packs. Words can’t describe how incredible sunset and sunrise, and that 360 view.