"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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Climbing to Pearson Pass and Confederation Lake |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
