The Double

Weary and tired after more than 16 hours of running, power hiking, climbing and descending mountains,  with the wind picking up and the rain getting harder, and knowing I had to come back over this mountain, I began to think maybe this wasn't the best idea. I was wet. Soaked through. The heat generated from movement keeping me warm. I should put on a rain jacket, but I didn't want to stop. Downhill now anyway.

Pre-race. Photo Credit: Matt Cecil

The Finlayson Arm Double put on by Coastline Endurance Running is 134 kilometres split between two races on one weekend: a 100 kilomteres (actually 105 km) and a 28 kilometre race. In all 7,604 metres of elevation gain and loss. And for me, and many trail runners, this weekend trail racing event (four races:  Double, 100k, 50k and 28k) was the first live racing event we've attended since the start of the global pandemic.  

Originally I and Chalene Waldner, had signed up to run Fat Dog 120 on the original course this year. About the time the Fat Dog race director was announcing postponement of the race until 2022 due to the pandemic. Originally originally, we had deferred entries to Cascade Crest 100 in Eastern, Washington. Because of the border uncertainty, the Race Director was good enough to roll over our entry for another year to 2022.  As we heard of the Fat Dog cancellation, Myke LaBelle, Race Director for Finlayson Arm races announced that the event was a go. 

Training was easy to adapt as I had been running weekends and during the week as if I would be doing a long ultra. For a race like Finlayson, with a lot of steep climbs and technical trail, I found that through hiking with a backpack was great leg strengthening and training. Over the summer, Charlene and I hiked Cape Scott Provincial Park (60 km over three days, relatively flat), Sunshine Coast Trail in two sections, the south section over six days, 134 km and 6200 metres elevation gain and loss, and a recovery three days on Forbidden Plateau doing 28 km over three days and minimal elevation gain.

We also participated in an Island Fat Ass overnight 50 km run of the course. This was useful to get a feel for timing and speed and gave me an idea of what to expect come race day. 

My plan was simple. Do loop one of the course in about 11 hours, then loop two in same time but likely slower. Finish with legs and feet intact and ready to run again for 28k next day. Given this I knew that 24 hours or so was a goal that would let me enjoy the run, experience it. This also gave me lots of room for cut-offs if something went wrong. My biggest worry on this course was blistering of feet caused by the rocky and steep trails, and muscle cramping of the legs.  

Day 1: Friday September 10, 2021

I finished work at noon and picked up Charlene and headed to the start line for about 2:15 pm. We set up the tent in the group camping area. Dressed for the race we walked down to pick up bibs. I wasn't nervous about the enormity of the race. The distance nor elevation scared me at all.  I was more nervous that I'd forgotten something important; it's been a while since we've done this.

The 100k two loops - actually is 105 km

The mood at the race start was happy and chill and relaxed. With an ultra nobody is warming up, as that happens when you start running. So instead of running up and down the road, most runners were sitting, resting their legs, eating and hydrating. 

Loop 1: (0 - 52.5 km)

After the race briefing we were off just after 5 pm. About one hundred 100k runners and 40 doing the Double. I started near the back as I hate people passing me in the first hour; partly because it makes me feel like I have to run faster when I know I should really slow down more. Pete Dumbleton, who I used to run with at Flatliners years ago was in the 100 k and we ran together as our pace seemed to be well matched based on our overnight training run. Charlene was off ahead of me somewhere.  

At the water crossing, one kilometres into the run, I took three minutes to take off my shoes, walk through the water and then dry and put on dry socks and shoes. I felt this was worth the time as it would mean less issues later. I was worried that wet feet on this course would lead to blisters. As it turned out, other changes I had made negated the need to take my shoes off. Pete had a different approach - he put plastic bags over his shoes held with elastic bands. First crossing was successful.

Mindful that we were near the back, we still kept to the planned pace through Goldstream park, arriving at the base of the first and most formidable climb on the course - Mount Finlayson. At 406 metres, it was actually the third biggest climb on the course. The bottom half is just a steep trail, the middle half is a rock climb (in places class 3) and the top walking up steep solid rock shelves. The top is a cinder cone, giving away that Mount Finlayson is actually an old volcano lateral vent. First time up I didn't feel great with my heart rate getting too high. But we made it up in 38 minutes. 

On the way down the back I thought a lot about why my heart rate was so high. At the same time I was dreaming of a big glass of water and coca cola at the aid station. I figured I was likely dehydrated and hadn't drank enough during the daytime before the race started. Sucking water out of my flask or water reservoir just isn't as satisfying as gulping down a big glass of fresh cold water. 

At Rowntree Aid Station I had them fill my 600 ml flask with water and I drank it all in one go. I also had coke and ginger ale and watermelon. I was so thirsty. Flask refilled with my tailwind mix, and my trekking poles in my hands, we set off for Durrance going over Holmes and Jocelyn hills on the way. This is actually my favorite section along the ridge. As darkness fell we turned on our lights. I was using my Ultraspire waist light, which I highly recommend for finding rocks easily. With a beam below my line of sight, it avoids the mist effect in fog and dust, and really shows shadows of rocks and roots.  The only drawback, is the way reflectors work means a waist light is not ideal for lighting up reflectors. A low powered headlamp would be a good addition for finding reflectors along a race course. 

At the summit of Jocelyn hill was a nice and welcome surprise - an unofficial aid station with water, grapes, fruits, chips, crackers. That was something given that it's a long hike in from Emma Dickson Trailhead to carry all of that up to the summit of the mountain.  I had grapes as we headed down the other side of Jocelyn heading to Durrance Aid Station. We made good time and passed Doris and Avery who were doing the overnight safety sweep on Jocelyn. So good to know they're out there as anything can happen on those trails. I forgot to mention I had my InReach, which I carry all the time and can be used to call for help in an emergency, to just send a message out, or let people track me on the course. I was so happy to see the welcome path of white Christmas lights lining the way into the aid station.

Aid stations on an ultra are like an oasis. After hours of being out on the mountain and seeing nobody, then walking into the bustle of the aid station made me wonder where were all these runners?  The smell of hot food and bacon made me feel hungry. Even though it was cold out, I was feeling hot and was sweating a lot during the run. So I was focussing on cold liquid fuel. Another full glass of water and watermelon and off over Mt Work to Munn Road. 

Going over Mount Work at night was quite beautiful. The trail was slow going, but power hiking and only seeing what is in your light bubble passes the time fast. Lovely views of Victoria lights from the summit then down to Munn Road. We passed Charlene who was on her way back up the mountain, putting her about 20 minutes ahead of us at that point. 

Quickly into Munn Road and out again (another full half litre of water downed). I still had not peed, so what I was putting in was coming out as sweat. I was balancing the large water intake with salty snacks and Tailwind to keep electrolyte balance.  On the way up we passed Sandra Hardy, doing the overnight safety sweep of Mount Work. On the way back I picked up some bacon at Durrance and ate that on the way down to McKenzie Bight, then then awful climb up Cascade. Actually, it's only the top part which is super steep and has under-maintained steps that actually make it harder than if they were not there. Otherwise it was just a nice pleasent run/powerhike back over Jocelyn (stop for more grapes), Holmes and through Rowntree (more water) back to the halfway at Goldstream. 

Loop 2: (52.5 - 105 km)

We arrived in the halfway aid station to the music of Bon Jovi, "Living on a Prayer". 

"Woah, we're half way there, Woah, livin' on a prayer, Take my hand, we'll make it I swear, Woah, livin' on a prayer"

I had planned a 20 minute stop at this aid station to change shoes and socks and to eat some solid food. We had caught up to Karen Laberee on the way into the aid station, and she was much quicker than us and got out of there at least five minutes if not more ahead of us. Pete and I left eating food and drinking as we hiked out up the small hill for loop two.

This time the river crossing was in the dark and not as successful as the first time. I dropped a shoe into the water, but luckily it only wetted the outside. Pete's plastic bags failed and water got inside. 

Elevation Profile of the 100 km Race

This time it took us 10 minutes longer to get to the base of Finlayson. I'm not sure if that is just being more cautious in the night, or if our uphill power hike was somewhat slower. The climb up Finlayson felt much better than the first time, though we did take four minutes longer. In all we arrived at Rowntree 30 minutes behind our first loop time. I wasn't bothered as I knew the second loop would likely require more time for stops to deal with issues that arise later in a long race.  It was daylight by the time we arrived at the aid station so I dropped off my light here as I no longer needed it. 

Daylight along the ridge trail as the lead 50 km runners started to pass us. After having the trails to ourselves during the night, I realised we had to share them with another 150 runners during the day today. 

We held on to the time as we headed through Durrance and over Mount Work to Munn Road. The 50k runners largely caught up to us, so the run over and back on Mount Work included a lot of yielding right of way to the faster runners. We saw Charlene again, this time a bit sooner, so around 40 minutes ahead of us. She was looking strong. 

At Munn Road we had perogies and they were so tasty. OMG. Could be tired starving runner brain but they tasted like the best thing I've ever eaten.  I had to take a few minutes here to remove half of the trail dirt from inside my shoes (I really need to get gaters) and change a hearing aid battery (my fault, should have put in a fresh battery before the start of the race). 

The rain had turned into a downpour but I didn't want to put on a rain jacket. I wasn't cold but I knew if I stopped I would cool down really fast. So far though, other than a bit of hunger, which I quenched with a drink of tailwind, I was feeling great. Feet were happy. Legs felt strong and not sore or crampy and we were on the way back to the finish. 

I was tired and could feel that familiar feeling from my Fat Dog race. Coming down the home stretch to the finish I saw a kid standing in a yellow rain jacket, then he appeared to dash onto the trail and vanished. It was my first and only hallucination of the race. I had them constantly on the second night of Fat Dog - and the timing about 24 hours after starting is about right for the start of hallucinations for me. They're fun, but annoying because they look so real. 

Pete and I finished together in about 24 hours (at time of writing, official results have not been posted).  And all I wanted before anything else was a burger and beer. Charlene had finished almost an hour ahead of me. Finally I could sit down, and eat my burger and drink my beer in the pouring rain (I finally put on my rain jacket). 

Finishing the 100k with Pete Dumbleton.  Photo credit: Matt Cecil

The 28 K

We drove home so we could shower all of the trail mud off. We went back for just after 9 pm crawled in the tent and passed out to the sound of the rain on the tent. 

Next morning we woke at 6:30 am and I did not want to get up. Out of the tent, and my ankles and calves were so tight I could not walk. It took a few slow walks to loosen up and I could eventually walk well again.

The 28k course

My feet had no blisters. The changes I had made paid off. I had made two changes and took one precaution (the precaution being removing shoes through the river crossing). I had increased the size of my shoe by a half and that gave more room in the toebox for the feet to swell during  the run, and reduce pinching and rubbing of them against the shoe. I also at the advice of Charlene, applied a thick layer of body glide to my feet and toes. So thick you could see the white clumps of it. I did this at start of the 100 and at halfway, and at start of the 28k and the glide survived the river crossing too. It didn't wash off. 

The 28k elevation Profile

We picked up our timing chips to add to our bibs and joined the start line. As this was only a 28k, my pack was light, mainly just water and tailwind.  It felt a bit more stressed at the start with so many runners running up and down the road warming up - that really stresses me out. Still, they intend to run it a lot faster than me.

Then with 250 other runners, at 8 am we set off on the 28K run. I purposely wanted to be near the back and took it easy to let the legs loosen up more.  Lisa Fehr was in the 28K and she led us through Goldstream and helped pace us in the early part of the run. I was not particularly looking forward to climbing Finlayson again but knew it was there. It's a psychological brick wall on this course. Oh and this time, I just went through the river and ran in wet shoes - I didn't care as it was only 28k and I didn't have to preserve my feet for another day of running.

We climbed Finlayson in about 45 minutes. Slowest time of the three climbs, but there were more people and some waiting at the ledge to get up narrow sections. Once over and past Rowntree I was feeling strong and picked up the speed, making it up to Jocelyn turn around in the quickest time of the race for me - shaving a full 10 minutes of the fastest I did it in the 100 k. The return to Rowntree was the same. 

Third time up Finlayson - happy because I don't have to do it again.
Picture credit: Ed Weldwood

From Rowntree the timing was about the same, maybe a few minutes faster than in the 100. The trip around Finlayson on the new trail (FUBM) was easier as the trail was so well worn in, verses how it was on the first loop in the dark. And before we knew it, we were running hard down to the finishing chute. I had a hard time keeping up to Charlene as we entered the chute and we finished together in about 5 hours, 33 minutes. So for me about 29 hours, 30 plus minutes for the weekend. 

For this I received a beautiful The Double Hoodie, Finlayson Arm Cap and Finlayson Arm beer glass. Charlene won Third Female overall in The Double. Congratulations Charlene! 

Finishing the Double with Charlene Waldner. Photo credit: Matt Cecil

Big thank you to Myke LaBelle and Coastline Endurance Running for inventing and running this event this year. The logistics are a nightmare and you pulled it off. From a racer point of view everything went smoothly. The course was well marked, easy to follow and the aid stations, all of them, were second to none. The covid safety rules were prudent and not excessive and i don't think detracted from the spirit and enjoyment of the event. 

Also thank you to all the volunteers - those who marked the course, pre-swept the course, swept the course, overnight safety sweeps and marshals and aid station and finish line volunteers. Thanks to Andrew Barclay for making sure we were good and had what we needed at all four visits to Durrance Aid Station; Jade Carter for doing the same at Rowntree Aid Station, Dave Scott and his team for a fun turn-around aid station with amazing perogies, Geoff Large for a rather long drawn out awkward hug, Lisa Fehr thanks for pacing us through Goldstream - it really helped to get us going.  Thanks to Jason Ball for being at all the aid stations throughout the hundred - and his upbeat encouragement and cheering us on. Pete Dumbleton for the company throughout the 24 hour adventure. And Charlene Waldner - thanks for training with me, pushing me harder when I don't feel like it, and keeping me going in the 28K. I'm sure I'm missing somebody.

Highly recommend this if you enjoy:

1. running all night and all day

2. Love the idea of climbing and descending almost the height of Everest in a weekend

3. Love a super fun event with amazing people and an amazing trail community

4. Enjoy pushing your limits to see what you can do

Just don't let the distance fool you - it's just as hard as any 100 mile race. It tough. Brutal. Beautiful. And amazing.

I will be volunteering next year. :) 

Finish of The Double - Picture Credit: Liesel Rieger-Mitchell

Now - how do I train for the rolled over Fat Dog 120 at beginning of August 2022 and the now twice rolled over Cascade Crest 100 just three weeks later?  Any ideas let me know. :) 

The Northern Part of the Sunshine Coast Trail

Sometimes things do not go according to plan. 

I had been planning a four day back-packing/day run trip out to E.C. Manning Provincial Park. It was to be part hiking and part training run for the Finlayson Arm Double (134km) race in September. The plan was to hike in to Nicomen Lake back-country camp and setup there. Next day do an out and back run along the beautiful Heather Trail to Blackwell Peak; next day hike via the Hope Pass to Granger Creek, then on Tuesday hike out and head home.  All in all about 44 km hiking and 44 km running. 

Wild Ice-cream - after the hike

The nail in this plan's coffin was the Garrison Lake wildfire, burning out of control only 13 km east of Nicomen Lake.  The fire was outside the park and not likely a threat in itself, but the winds were changing and the forecast was for terrible air quality in Manning over that weekend. I started to make alternative plans.

Friday, the day before heading over, the final nail in the coffin, a new wildfire in the park in Fat Dog Creek valley had closed the section of the park north of the highway and east of Cascades - essentially all of the trails I had planned to hike and run. 

Day 1: Northern SCT to Manzanita (5 km)

And so it was Charlene and I found ourselves heading back to the Sunshine Coast to do the section of the Sunshine Coast Trail (SCT) we missed last time - the northern section from Sarah Point to Mowatt Bay Park.  Except, hiking it north to south wasn't enough distance for four days, and I still wanted to incorporate an out and back run. 

Setting off - walking on the 9:55 am sailing from Little River to Powell River

We walked off the ferry from Little River into Powell River at 11:30 am on Saturday of the August long weekend. It was busier than the July long weekend.  We had just under 4 hours in Powell River before we had to get our bus to Lund. Our packs were loaded with four days of food and two litres of water each.  I like to carry the 1 litre Smart Water bottles as they fit the sides of the pack nicely and easy to handle while hiking. I also like the squirt tops, but they only seem to fit those on the half litre bottles - so I buy one of those too and switch the top with one of the 1 litre smart bottles. Why you might ask? It's to do with the water filter. The Sawyer Squeeze water filter works well, but it needs to be back flushed after use (especially if filtering water with lots of crap in it). The squirty cap on the Smart Water bottle fits the nozzle perfectly and makes back flushing easy while on the trail. I just use a small amount of the freshly filtered water to back flush.  In addition to the bottles, we had two empty 2 litre running bladders, two half litre soft running bottles and a 3 litre CNOC, so our total water capacity if we had to fill up was 12 litres between us.

From the ferry we walked down the street, spying out a restaurant for dinner after the hike, and looking in the shops. We stopped at a waterfront park, where Charlene did some yoga and I relaxed in the shade of a tree.  There was a mini-golf across the street, so we went and played a round of that. From there we hiked about 1.4 km up the hill to Quality Foods. 

Mini Golf

Powell River is so hiker friendly. As we were leaving the Mini-golf a local offered us a ride up the hill in his truck. We politely declined. We had lots of time and needed to get our hiking legs back. It was a hot climb but it felt good to get the body used to carrying the pack again.  

BC Transit's rural route "14 Lund" operates twice a day from Powell River to Lund. After quality foods, we walked over to the bus terminal at the main mall, and along with two locals and six other hikers, boarded the 3:25 pm (and last bus of the day) to Lund. We arrived Lund at 4pm and from there hiked along Finn Bay Rd, then Sarah Point Rd for about 2 km before joining The Spire Trail that provided a side-access to the SCT.  It was a pleasant hike and the trail was an easy grade all the way to the SCT.  Our destination for the night was Manzanita Bluffs, where there was an SCT hut and places to camp.  Once on the SCT, we hiked north and up the last one kilometre steep climb to the bluffs.

Camp setup on Manzanita Bluffs

I knew from Facebook posts that there was no water at Manzanita; I also could not find any intel on water sources on the Spire Trail in. From the map it looked like we crossed small streams and went by small ponds, but I had no idea if after 45 days of no rain, they would actually be running. To be safe, we each carried an extra two litres of water with us from Powell River (a total of 8 litres between us).

Sunset view from camp on Manzanita Bluffs

We arrived Manzanita about 5:20 pm and it was already busy with southbound hikers. We found a small tight spot to pitch the tent that was out of the way and had a wonderful view over to Vancouver Island. More hikers came in southbound, and we moved a picnic table to make room on a flat spot for one more tent. Two women decided to sleep in the cabin as it was tight to find a place to put up another tent. In all there were about 14 people up there that night.  

Manzanita Bluffs was a beautiful spot. It's only 300 metres above sea-level, so not very high, but the views were spectacular. With a direct line of sight to Lund, we had 5-bars mobile service too on all carriers. There were two outhouses, an old one at the north end and a newer composting toilet up the hill above the hut. There was no food cache, but lots of room in the forest to hang-food or tie Ursacks to the trees well away from the campsites.

Day 2: Sarah Point out-and-back (32 km)

The worst of camping on a bluff is that the sun heats the rock all day, then at night the rock radiates heat into your tent. I was sweating most of the night. To make it worse there was absolutely no air movement.  

In the morning everybody except us began their journey south. We loaded up our running packs with valuables, some food for the day and the remaining water (about 4 litres). We placed everything else in the tents, except the food, which we hung in the forest in the Ursacks.  Then we set off for Sarah Point.

Bliss Landing Hut - and tent camping pads - newest hut on the SCT

We (meaning me) had picked the least runnable section of the SCT. The trail climbed at first over Manzanita, before gently descending. This section was quite runnable. We passed southbound hikers who had spent the night at Wednesday Lake. Once down the first hill we entered Malaspina Provincial Park, which we would be in (except for couple short sections) all the way to Sarah Point.  The trail was un forgiving - rooty, rocky and steep up or down for most of it.  

Four kilometres from Manzanita we arrived at Wednesday Lake; a beautiful lake with a nice rocky bluff that would fit several tents.  The trail from here to Bliss Landing was mostly in the forest, though it did take us out onto a bluff overlooking Okeover Inlet. Mostly the trail was a rough "boot" trail, and for the most part a fast hike. 

At Bliss Landing,  the trail pops out of the park for a few hundred metres and the SCT association has taken advantage of this to build a cabin here.  This is completely new and isn't on some maps of the SCT yet. It's in the forest with no view, except of an old clear cut. There is a composting toilet, and food cache. And the only hut where they have built tent pads - so I'm happy to see SCT recognising there's a need for more camping options on the SCT.  Back-country camping is permitted in Malaspina Provincial Park and there is no fee for it either. 

Sarah Point - northern terminus/start of the 180 km SCT

After Bliss Landing, the SCT heads up a steep switch back to reach higher elevations to get over the ridge. Three more kilometres and we pass the small Hinder Lake. Wednesday Lake and Hinder Lake are the only reliable water sources (in a dry summer) north of Manzanita Bluffs.  We passed three couples heading to Manzanita Bluffs. They seemed surprised when we said we'd see them there. Then we explained what we were doing.  About one kilometre before Feather Cove campsite, the trail smoothed out and was a joy to run. After Feather Cove (no water here either) the trail began climbing, but remained runable most of the way to the top of the ridge. Then from there it was a steep drop down rocky Arbutus bluffs to Sarah Point. There is camping here too, again no water.  

We met two more hikers who had just got off the water taxi and were starting out. Their plan was to get to Bliss Landing for the night; for one of them it was her first overnight hiking trip. I thought given that, and the heat, it was a good call to plan for Bliss Landing. We advised them to fill up their water at Hinder Lake. 

Running on the SCT

Speaking of water, we were down to our last half-litre and in hindsight should have filled up at Hinder Lake on our way out.  We began our run back, climbing up Sarah Bluffs in the heat, and rationing the remaining water to last us the five kilometres to Hinder Lake. We ran out about 10 minutes before the lake.  At Hinder we stopped and filtered about 3 litres of water between us, which should be enough to get us to Wednesday Lake, 6.5 kilometres away.  I also drank a full litre making up for rationing on the way to the lake from Sarah Point. Hinder Lake was awkward to filter from - no easy access to the lake and Charlene ended up standing in the lake up to her waist sinking into the mud as she filled the CNOC bladder.

Charlene swimming in Wednesday Lake on the way back to Manzanita Bluffs

Tired now and tired of the technical and largely unrunable trail, the 6.5 kilomtres to Wednesday Lake seemed to drag on. There was always one more hill to climb but we finally reach it. And we also caught up to the three couples we'd passed outbound. They were just getting ready to move on after a rest at Wednesday Lake.  We stopped for a rest here too; Charlene went in for a swim and I sat with my feet in the water. It felt so good.  We also ate some of the food we had brought and drank up what was left of our water.  

Warning for southbound hikers at Wednesday Lake - filled up our nine litres here

We filtered from the lake's outlet stream. The water was flowing nicely over rocks, making it easy to fill the CNOC, plus it was shaded and cooler by the stream. We filtered 6 litres of water and carried 3 litres of dirty water in the CNOC. In all we left Wednesday Lake with 9 litres of water to haul back up to Manzanita Bluffs (we'd each need to drink about a litre of it on the 4 km hot climb back up).  On the way up with passed all three couples and when we arrived back at the camp, there was nobody else there. As it turned out there were no northbound hikers coming through that evening, so it was just the eight of us up there on Sunday night.  

Day 3: To Little Sliammon Lake (27 km)

Sunday morning up at 6 am and we were on the trail by 7:30 am.  Heading southbound, we hiked down the bluffs enjoying the cool morning air and knowing it would not last. Once down the hill, the trail was mostly a beautiful smooth easy to hike trail. So we obviously ran the wrong section, though running this section wouldn't have worked very well.  But if you plan to run the SCT, highly recommend running the Manzanita Bluffs to Homestead section.  It has some climbs, but the trail is for the most part, smooth and runable.

Looking back at Manzanita from our next hill climb as we hiked southbound

The trail climbed over a small hill, then a nice gentle down hill to Malasapina Road, where somebody had left a cooler of drinkable water for hikers. We used about half a litre to top up and carried on.  Through hikers call this "trail magic". 

Trail Magic on the SCT - much appreciated and thank to whoever left this for hikers

There's not much to say about this stretch - it was all in the forest and just an enjoyable hike. So quiet and no people. We did see some northbound hikers who told us there was a good water source at Plumper Creek, and we told them there was no water at Mazanita so load up at the small creek about 1 km before the hut - the creek was running.  

We stopped at Plumper Creek, filled up our water and took a break for an early lunch. I loved the location, shaded, and the running water felt like air conditioning.  

Filtering water from Appleton Creek

We were now just above sea level, and next 3.5 kilomtres followed Plumper Creek and the wide valley it was in. Of course, all we saw was trees, birds and some noisy squirrels.  At homesteads we popped out onto a forestry service road, before immediately going back on trail and starting the longest climb of this section - 200 metres elevation gain to Rieveley's Pond Hut.  This hut is next to a very small lake (hence the name pond). It had a flat area that could hold a few tents, a hut and composting toilet. There was nobody there and we didn't stop. We carried on. Stopping at Appleton Creek camping area to filter more water from the stream under the bridge. 

A walk in the woods

Appleton creek was the most dramatic part along this section of trail. The trail followed the ridge above Appleton Canyon, then dropped down into the canyon. Along the way there were waterfalls, which in high flow season must be spectacular to see and hear. We came across several day hikers along this stretch. A black dog made the hairs on  my neck stand up as at first when I see a black animal coming up the trail towards me, the first thought is "Bear!".  

Bandit Falls - one of many falls as we headed down the Appleton Canyon - imagine these are roaring falls in in spring

By 4:30 pm we arrived at Sliammon Lake campsite. It was fairly large by back-country standards, with lots of flattish areas for tents, easy access to the lake and an outhouse. There was one couple there setting up. As it was only 4:30 pm we decided to keep going another three kilometres to Little Sliammon Lake.  This trail alongside Sliammon Lake, then over a small pass to Little Sliammon Lake was a beast. It was more of a route than a trail, and extremely slow going. We got to Little Sliammon Lake campsite by about 6:00 pm. That's how slow we were moving along there.  

The campsite, called Shangri-la was quite nice. There was room for about 4 or 5 tents, and there was a shelter with a picnic table under it, and a decrepit stinky outhouse, with the door half off. It was so bad we decided to dig cat-holes in the forest instead.  About 30 metres down the trail was a dock, with good access to the lake for swimming and for filtering water. 

Sliammon Lake - view from camping area

But we think it was haunted.

It had a creepy feeling. We were in the forest and there was an old clear-cut on one side, the lake on the other and tons of berry bushes. Berry bushes and close by water means it would be favourite place for animals, especially bears.  We could hear a deep groaning/growl coming from the forest every so often. We heard coyotes howling. We didn't go anywhere without carrying our bear spray. 

Lillte Sliammon Lake

The strangest was the canoe.  First time we went to the dock there was no canoe. We heard voices over the water. Second time we went back the canoe was on the dock, but there was nobody around. It seemed strange as it was a long hike out from there. So we decided it was ghosts.  All I knew is I wanted to be safely in the tent by dark. I always put the bear spray close by so I can grab it in the night if needed, and I keep a knife inside the tent in case we need to cut open the tent to make a quick exit, or stab something trying to get into the the tent. Our food, fuel and anything scented, as always is safely inside the Ursacks and a tied to a tree a long way from the tent.  

Yoga class in the Shangri-la at our "haunted" campsite

Day 4: The hike Out (17 km)

Last day on the SCT. We got going by about 8:30 am and hiked out to Powell River. The trails were quite nice and flowy to hike along. Once out of the Little Sliammon Valley, the trail went down hill gently for some time, before our last climb, over Scott Hill and down to Shingle Mill. The hike up was pretty easy and we were soon on the bluffs. We stopped here to enjoy the view and have some snacks. Then we began the steep rocky descent down the bluffs. Shingle Mill was about a third of the way through our hike today, and there was a beautiful flush toilet washroom at the side of the road. I was so happy to see that.  

The haunted canoe and the early morning mist rising from the lake

From here we hiked over the bridge on Highway 101 and rejoined the trail on the south side of Powell Lake. Nice smooth trail and then one more climb over a ridge and we were back a Mowatt Bay, where we started the SCT southbound on the July long weekend. We had completed the entire SCT. 

We stopped at Mowatt Bay for a break, so Charlene could get a couple of decent swims in (she's training for a swim/run on August 20th).  I relaxed under my ultra-light sun umbrella, which made such a big difference in temperature. My mobile shade.  

View of Powell Lake from Scott bluffs

After an hour, we left Mowatt Bay and on road, climbed about 120 metres in elevation. We turned off the paved roads and followed a BC Hydro service road, then onto the Millenium Park trail system. This was a nice trail through the forest, that took us down to the ocean side park we had relaxed in when we arrived in Powell River on Saturday. We hiked through the park and down the main road to the latin restaurant for an early dinner. 

A little drunk after a 650 ml bottle (bomber?) of Tin Hat IPA (local IPA named after the mountain on the SCT), we hiked back up the street a kilometre to get locally made ice-cream at "Wild".  It is amazing, and I'm not usually a fan of ice cream.  The vanilla with blended fruit is the best - this time I had strawberry. So refreshing. 

Walking down Kingfisher Trail in Millennium Park - this is not part of the SCT

And then time for home. We hiked back the way we had come, past the restaurant to the ferry, to get the 515 pm ferry to to Little River.  Then, with a stop in Thrifty's for more food and cold Bubly water, we headed back to Victoria, getting in a 10 pm.

Sleep time. November Project is at 6:29 am on Wednesday. Back to reality! 

Waiting for the ferry:  personal shade under my Six Moons Designs sun umbrella

Final Thoughts:

I must say I am so impressed with the people of Powell River. It is very hiker friendly. People stop to talk to us. A guy driving by slows down to asked if we'd done the trail and then air high fives us. We're offered rides from locals. The SCT is also a very well maintained and blazed trail.  At 180 km it isn't a long distance trail, but certainly something that can be done in 7-10 days depending on how quickly or slowly you want to go. Resupply is possible as follows:

1. at Shingle Mill by getting BC Transit bus 1 to the town centre mall - bus runs every hour so could resupply and get back on trail quickly

2. Mowatt Bay by walking up the road to Cranberry store, or from there getting BC Transit bus 2 to Powell River town centre mall - bus runs every hour.

3. Contracting with a local operator who will take supplies to you at service road trailheads at pre-determined times, for a fee of course.  

Six Days on the Sunshine Coast Trail

"What do you mean, you don't have bear spray".  I was looking incredulously at the clerk in the Powell River Canadian Tire. I noticed the day before that my bear spray had expired, so I hadn't brought it with me. Charlene's bear spray was on the recall list; so, we decided we could pick up some in Powel River on the way to the trailhead.

"Sorry, it was all recalled" she replied. "But don't worry, in all the time I've lived here and gone out on the trails, I've never seen a Grizzly. They're very rare, though since the new power lines have been put in, they come closer into town now."

Well that made me feel better. No bear bangers either (sold out as nobody could get bear spray) so we left. Other stores that might have bear spray were closed, on Canada's national holiday.  

Then as we were finishing lunch, a local couple asked where we where hiking. We told them. They then showed us a post on Facebook that two Grizzlies had been seen the day before between Tin Hat and the fisheries, on a forest service road.  Great. We'd be up Tin Hat the next day.

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2021 was supposed to be the year we ran the Fat Dog 120 race that was cancelled in 2020 due to the global pandemic. The 2021 version was cancelled in June, so we (Charlene Waldner and I) were left hanging for plans over the July weekend (Canada Day and a few days off to make a six day weekend). Our original plan was to go to E.C. Manning Provincial Park and do some training runs on the Fat Dog course.  

We signed up for the Finlayson Arm Double (a total of 134 km) and decided, given the nature of the Finlayson race course, a six day hike with packs on mountainous terrain would be good training. So we picked the Powell River to Saltery Bay section of the Sunshine Coast Trail (SCT), which is 135 km and about 6,000 metres elevation gain and loss. A perfect, if unusual, training route.  

SCT Day 1: Powell River to Inland Lake Provincial Park - (23 km - 590 metres elevation gain)

We had an early start, leaving Victoria at 6 am and arrived at Little River Ferry Terminal at about 9 am. Lots of time to park the car in the long term lot, and get our backpacks sorted for hiking. Our packs were full with six days of food, two litres of water each and two fuel canisters, as well as shelter, sleeping systems, clothes and emergency equipment.  

We got the 9:55 am ferry to Powel River, landing there at 11:15 am.  Then we started our hike through the streets of Powel River, heading first to Canadian Tire.  We were unsuccessful finding bear spray and headed over to Quality Foods to have lunch.  While there, two locals gave us the enjoyable news of Grizzlies spotted close to our route.  A little rattled, we went in search of bear spray from a couple other retailers, but we had no luck. Giving up, we decided we'd be okay and hiked up Manson Avenue five kilometres to Mowat Park, where we picked up the SCT.

Approaching Lost Lake on the SCT

The weather was hot, in the high 20s. The trail in the trees was quite pleasant, but it soon turned into our first steep climb, heading over bluffs alongside Powell Lake. The first day was about finding our trail legs, and this trail was somewhat perfect for that. We soon found ourselves at Haywire Bay campground, which we hiked through. Charlene spotted a water tap in the campground, so we stopped to fill up our water bottles.  We're using Smart Water bottles because the shape and size is perfect for fitting in the side pockets of the packs, making it easy to drink while hiking. They also have a 28 mm thread, perfect for fitting a Sawyer water filter on.  

Leaving Haywire Bay, we were passed by another thru-hiker. It was a pleasant hike through the forests on gentle grades, past Lost Lake and then steeply down to Inland Lake.  Inland Lake has an "all ages all abilities" trail that runs 13 km around the lake. We followed this trail counter-clockwise past the drive-in campground and another three kilomtres to Anthony Island, where back-country camping is permitted. 

Evening - last three kilometres to Anthony Island on Inland Lake

We arrived there around 8:30 pm and setup camp. The camping area was pretty small; there were already four other tents there, and we had the choice of two places flat enough to pitch the tent. Being close to the lake was convenient; Charlene could go for an evening swim, and we used it to filter water.

Dinner was mac and cheese with dehydrated vegetables and spiced tuna.  

Home for the night - Anthony Island

SCT Day 2: Big Climbs to Tin Hat - (21 km - 1,900 metres elevation gain)

With summer days, sunrise at 5:13 am and sunset at 9:30 pm, we woke early with the light and the noisy birds. Breakfast of oats with dried berries, then packing up the tent and off we go for what we knew would be a hard day of hiking.  It's already hot at 8 am and it's only going to get hotter.

Following an old service road heading towards the Pearson Pass climb

Loaded up with filtered water, we set off, back-tracking about a half kilometre or so to rejoin the SCT southbound. Leaving Inland Lake the trail began a gentle climb, getting steep, before joining an old overgrown forest service road. This road slowly got steeper before giving way to a well constructed switchback trail climbing 600 metres up a dark narrow valley to Pearson Pass. With no wind, the climb was extremely muggy and I was dripping with sweat. I consumed most of my two litres of water by the time we get to Confederation Lake. 

Climbing to Pearson Pass and Confederation Lake

Confederation Lake was beautiful. The SCT hut here at the north end had a beautiful view of the lake. We used the picnic table for lunch, which was mostly trailmix and some bars.  We filtered water from the lake, and then continued on our way over the pass, up past the delightfully named Vomit Bluffs and then the long down hill to towards Fiddlers Landing.  Vomit Bluffs gave us our fist view of Tin Hat. In the heat of the bluffs, thinking of climbing the 1100 metres to the summit made me want to vomit. Now I know why it's called Vomit Bluffs.

Confederation Lake

At the bottom of the long descent at the junction of the Fiddler's Landing Trail, we took a break. Not knowing if the rain barrels at the top of Tin Hat would have any water in them, we decided to camel up on water. At a stream we filtered to our four litres capacity and then carried three litres of dirty water in the CNOC bladder, tied to the bottom of my pack. So for this climb, I had five kilos of water to carry. 

First view of Tin Hat from Vomit Bluffs

At first the climb started on a decent smooth grade, but it soon became super steep. There was no wind, humidity was close to 100 percent, and it was hot, even in the shade. We took a few breaks, and took our time climbing, arriving at the Tin Hat Hut near the summit about 8:30 pm.  The last bit is always the hardest; we could see the summit but the trail maddeningly seemed to take a long time reaching it - taking us up steep rocks in the blazing hot sun.  

We saw nobody all day, except two trail runners coming down the lower part of Tin Hat, who told us there was a couple hiking up a few minutes ahead of us.  But when we got to the summit, there were a lot of people up there. Most were overnight hikers, coming up from the end of a forest service road about 5 to 6 km away.  We counted at least 10 tents spread out on the rocks, taking advantage of the flattest parts. We found a nice spot, not quite level, with a view east (for a perfect sunrise).  

I have to say, I was impressed with the composting privies on the trail. No smell at all and they work so well. Thank you so much to Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (PR PAWS) for these.

Dinner was ramen with dehydrated veggies and mushrooms. 

SCT Day 3: Lakes - (22 km - 870 metres elevation gain)

We woke early and got up to watch the sunrise over the Coastal Mountains to the east. We had quite a bit of dew up there and condensation. Lying things in the morning sun had no drying effect. In fact, just after sunrise temperature still drops a bit, so dew was still forming.  We went for a hike, without the packs, up the short climb to the true summit of Top Hat for a wonderful 360 degree view.  Top Hat is definitely the highlight of the SCT, and well worth the climb.

Sunrise on Tin Hat

We got underway about 8 am and started the steep descent down the east side of Tin Hat. The SCT is well blazed and signed. Red square blazes are posted at least every 100 metres or so, and trail turns are marked with two red blazes, and sometimes a "SCT south" sign pointing the way. 

Tin Hat views

So I was surprised when we ended up on a steep downhill trail that was in poor condition.  After commenting on how this trail really needed some maintenance, I realised I had not seen a red blaze. We climbed back up and found the real trail, that went up over some rocks; we had missed the faded blaze at this location.  Back on trail we continued down through the forest towards Lewis Lake. 

We were over-taken by three hikers and their dog, and while taking a short food break, by a group of four women hikers. We passed both groups, one who had stopped at a stream to filter water, and the other at a small waterfall to filter water. One women commented that she didn't want to filter out of the stream the other group stopped at becuase they were letting their dog drink out of the stream. I held my tongue, but wondered if she was aware that all animals drink out of streams, including the one she was filtering water from.  The women then passed us when we stopped at a shaded location at Lewis Lake for lunch. 

Lewis Lake and Tin Hat

We hiked beside the lake for a couple kilometres, and found a beautiful spot with a picnic table. We stopped here so Charlene could go for a swim in the lake. I rested in a shaded section.

The next 11 kilometres was a nice flowy smooth trail to hike. It climbed gently, and was fun to hike, with some views along the way.  Just before March Lake, the SCT was detoured, adding about a kilometre to the distance. After March Lake the trail started a steep 200 metres climb over one kilomtre to Elk Lake.  

The four women hikers were there and had taken the best tent sites. We found a small pitch on the trail at a turn in the trail. I used the "cat hole" trowel, trekking pole, and the saw and parcel hook on my Swiss Army knife to modify enough area to fit the tent footprint. It wasn't perfectly level, but it was decent.  Charlene had another lake to swim in, and we filtered water from the lake too.  As we sat on the trail making dinner (I think it was ramen with dried veggies and tuna), the group of three with their dog came in. They asked if there was another tent site, and we said there was further up the trail.  We had looked at it, but liked our current site better. It did well for them.  

SCT Day 4: Walt Hilton - (28 km - 900 metres elevation gain)

Another hot morning. The tent was soaked with dew and condensation and I had to pack it away wet, which means carrying a bit more weight. 

Today we got hiking around 8:30 am. I enjoyed the hike to Lois Lake. The start was a gentle uphill on a double track, then single track that dropped on switch backs about 250 metres. Then it was a nice relatively smooth single track for four km through the woods.  That ended with a steep 150 metres climb to Coyote Lake.  We stopped for lunch at Coyote Lake (trail mix, Snickers bar, Lara bars, wild huckleberries and salmon berries). Charlene went for a swim in the lake, and we filtered water from it too. 

Smooth easy trail on the way to Coyote Lake

Walt Hill was actually a pretty nice climb. It was still hot, but the climb was in shade and we got a nice breeze to help cool us off.  We took a detour to cut out two kilometres on the way up by following the Walt Hill access trail and then a sketchy side trail to rejoin the SCT. We did this because to make it to Saltery Bay in our time limit we had to get to Lois Lake tonight.  I'm glad we did this because on that trail we saw clumps of baby frogs. They looked like rocks, until we got close and then the frogs started jumping off and scurrying into the bushes at the side of the trail. There were several of these clumps, and there must have been hundreds of frogs.  It was amazing to see.

At the summit is the Walt Hill SCT Hut, also known as "The Walt Hilton".  We caught up to the four women hikers, who were taking an extended break at the top and drying out their laundry in the sun.  We took a short break here and enjoyed the views.  

The Walt Hilton on summit of Walt Hill

Walt Hill, at 1000 metres is the third highest point on the SCT. The highest was yet to come.  The trail down Walt Hill south is all in forest, or alongside clear cuts, crossing the odd logging road. The trail did a good job of staying in the forest and there was very little actually in clear cuts. A lot of the trail followed steams down, which helped to cool us off; sort of a natural air conditioning.  

We disturbed birds on the way down. The first was a Steller Jay on a tree in the clear cut to our left first sounding the alarm of our arrival. The jay screamed at us constantly. Then the a crow started in the trees above us. This caused more crows to converge and add to the noise. I actually thought they were going to attack us. We hiked as quickly as we could to get out of there. They finally quieted down as we moved away. 

About five kilometres from Walt Hill the trail dropped down a steep switchback to the Lois River, where the crossing was by fording - though the water was low so we could do it by stepping rock to rock.  The crossing was marked simply by two SCT blazings on both sides of the river.  This location is down stream from a 1942 BC Hydro dam, so camping or staying here is not advised as water could be released from the dam flooding the river valley. A siren would sound if this was to happen. On climbing out of the river we could see evidence that the river levels had risen from flood water not too long ago.  We did stop here and filtered water from the river.

Crossing the Lois River

Leaving the river, the single track trail took us up to a BC Hydro service road. This is the only place the SCT blazings failed. While there was a northbound trail sign at the trail, there was no indication on the service road as to which way to go and no blazings to spot either.  I had the route on my phone, and we used that to navigate. There was a junction in the service road and again no blazes to tell us which way to turn. We went left and found a single blaze further down, but still no blazes near the dam to indicate the route. I plan to advice the SCT association to see if they can correct that. 

From the dam it was a single-track trail alongside Lois Lake to the Lois Lake Recreation Area. We set up camp on a small beach here.  There was no food cache here (in fact the only food cache we saw so far was at Tin Hat) so we tied the Ursacks to a tree in the forest well away from our camp.

Camping on the beach at Lois Lake - tent guy lines double as clothes lines

Another hot night and another lake for Charlene to swim in.  Tired and an early night.

SCT Day 5: Mount Troubridge - (24 km - 1,500 metres elevation gain)

While having breakfast on a log next to the lake, a family of Canada Geese, mom, dad and three babies, came up close to us. The mother was begging for food. She'd come up close, opening and closing her beak, looking directly at us. I said to her "shame on you, teaching your babies to beg. Go and teach them how to fish."  They swam away and came back and tried again.  When we wouldn't give her food, she started hissing at us.  Trekking poles were useful - just pointing it at her caused her to back off. She didn't give up though and took her family onto the beach walking around us looking for bits of food. Obviously somebody has been feeding them, which was too bad. I wish people would not feed wildlife, Because of that, here was a mother teaching her young how to beg from humans, instead of how to fish and forage. 

View from highest point on the SCT - 1300 metres on Mount Troubridge

Today we would climb to the highest point on the SCT, the summit of Mount Troubridge at just over 1300 metres. The start of the hike was along the lake, though the trail made a lot of climbs along the way. It finally turned inland, and began the ascent. It climbed relatively steeply to 450 metres, then became a gently climbing single-track trail. It then turned and climbed steeply up a narrow valley to 900 metres and to Elephant Lake. 

We stopped at Elephant Lake for lunch. We decided to have a hot lunch today, and had couscous with lentils and dried string beans.  Charlene went for a swim in the lake, and we filtered water here to take us up to the summit of Troubridge.  

We saw some bear scat on this section. Charlene asked what type of bear. I said "If it looks like fermented berries, it's a black bear. If it looks like fur, bones and smells like pepper spray, it's Grizzly. It was a black bear and it looked fairly recent.

Moving on, the climb up Troubridge was actually pretty easy and didn't take as long as I expected.  We stopped at a small stream that was hardly flowing, to fill up our water. I used my trekking pole to modify the moss and rocks to increase the flow a bit, so it wouldn't take so long to fill the CNOC.  

The summit of Troubridge is a bit disappointing. It's the highest, but there are no great views as it is largely treed.  We didn't stop, and kept hiking. The descent was the longest sustained steep descent on the trail so far. The trail was a boot trail, not constructed, and very slow due to steep rocky sections and lots of roots.  

Rainy Day Lake - tight spot but made it work

We finally made our way down to Rainy Day Lake SCT hut by 630 pm, much earlier than I expected. This hut is on a rocky treed bluff overlooking Rainy Day Lake. There was another group there and they had taken the flattest spots below the crag that that hut was on. So we pitched the tent next to the hut on a tight spot that wasn't quite flat.  But it worked and was comfortable too. We essentially had the hut to ourselves as well.

Scooping water to filter at Rainy Day Lake

I was so tired arriving here that I just wanted to sleep. I needed to take a half hour or so to rest before setting up the tent or the stove for dinner.

We filtered water from the lake, and Charlene, of course, went in for a swim.

SCT Day 6: And on to Saltery Bay - (10 km - 500 metres elevation gain)

Our last day on the trail and only about 10 km to the end of the trail. We had to be in Saltery Bay by 2:10 pm to catch last one of only two bus trips that serve Saltery Bay Ferry Terminal.

We ate the last of our food, save for one or two Lara bars we held in reserve. With the Ursacks empty of food, and only filled with our garbage, our packs were feeling lighter. We set off back up the trail with four litres of water between us. Another hot day, so I knew we would need it. The trail was along the coast, which means a lot of up and down, and little shade. We'd need the water.

On the coastal section of the trail heading to Saltery Bay

We back-tracked up the mountain to rejoin the SCT coastal route, and then a long 450 metres descent to sea-level and the Fairview Bay SCT Hut. We took a short break here, then continued along the coastal trail, a mix of smooth track, and rocky coastal trail. There were a lot of steep climbs and descents, but overall it was pleasant hike.  The trail joined a forest service road and we hiked that for about a kilometre, before it dropped back down to sea-level, then a final climb over a hill and a steep descent to Saltery Bay. We arrived about 1 pm.  

We were done with the hike.  

Saltery Bay start/terminus of the SCT

And there is nothing in Saltery Bay, but a ferry terminal, a few houses and a bus stop. We had just over one hour until the bus arrived.

We were hungry. Hiker's hunger. Last two days we'd been dreaming of pizza, burgers and cold beer.  There was a taco place in Saltery Bay but it wasn't open. A local told us the owner moves the business to a beach on certain days.  So we raided the vending machines at the ferry terminal for cold drinks and salty snacks. Then we walked to the bus stop and leaned against our packs in the shade, looking across at the closed taco stand as we waited for the BC Transit bus "12 Stillwater" to take us back to Powell River. 

Friendly people on the bus. When the 20 seater mini-bus arrived it already had about 10 people on from the ferry. Another local got on with us. People seemed to want to talk to stinking dirty hikers. As we got off the bus 45 minutes later in Powell River, the guy who got on the bus with us invited us to his place for a beer. We politely declined as we were starving and I had found a place on-line while waiting for the bus that looked perfect.  

We walked up to The Coastal Cookery, which the reviews said had the best burgers in Powell River. So calamari to start and the largest burger and an IPA to follow for me.  With an hour until the ferry left, we walked about a half a kilometre up the road to an ice cream place that we'd seen advertised at the Tin Hat hut. I had blended mangos ice cream in custom made sugar cone and it was sooooooo good.  

Food and and IPA!!!

Walking back to the ferry a women also going to the ferry talked to us - again the backpacks.  In the ferry line she gave us a full bag of freshly picked cherries. We ate all of them on the ferry.  We sat on the outside deck, and I must have fallen asleep, because we arrived in seconds at Little River.  

We stopped at Thrifty's for cold drinks and I bought a sandwich because I was till hungry.  Overall, with the heat and sweating and limited diet on the trail, I figured I lost about 4 kilos.  All of it will come back as it's mostly dehydration.  But some if it was be fat burn. 

We arrived back in Victoria about 1015 pm. Totally exhausted and for the first time in a long time, I missed November Project the next morning. I needed sleep.

We never did see a Grizzly or black bear. 

Total distance: 128 km

Total elevation gain 6,260 metres