Bushwhacking on the Sunshine Coast Trail - June 24-26, 2007

Heather and I have been wanting to check out some of the SCT since we got here last September. We had three days off in late June before my parents arrived and we decided to take a break from deck building and take in the Tin Hat Mountain section of the SCT.

~DAY 1~

We took the first ferry from Earl's Cove (Sunshine Coast) to Saltery Bay (Powell River Penninsula) to give us enough time to check out the town of Powell River and get on the trail in the morning. It started out as a misty day and we were fearful that we would get caught in the rain all day, but were happy in knowing that the first section of trail was all under tree cover.

Here we are pulling into the berth at the Saltery Bay ferry terminal.

We headed up Goat Main Logging Road to get to the start of our section. These roads are home to active logging and care should be taken when driving. I later found out that many people rent a radio so that they can hear when the trucks are coming. Luckily, we did not run into any trucks. Along the way you could see extensive logging in the area, which offered a few views of the surrounding lakes -- many of them part of the Powell River Forest Canoe Route.


Views of Lois Lake from the foothills of the Smith Range provided by a cut-block.

We used the trail guide by R.E. Walz and found it very descriptive, but, not always the most accurate. We were able to follow Goat Main to the Tin Hat Jctn, but, got stuck for about 2 hours, searching for the trailhead described in the book.



The book describes passing by the 4km mark and hitting a road to Lewis Lake with a trail shortly after. We passed a road that had a sign indicating "Lewis Lake", however, there was no trail in the vicinity. After the searching and walking up and down, we decided to drive further up the road and stumbled across an area that looked like the trailhead. We now realized that the trail guide should have said 4miles, not 4km....arrrghhhh!



So we suited up and hit the trail skirting Spring Lake with the final destination for the day being the Lewis Lake Forest Site.



The trip started with a well beaten trail and was easy to follow. We were happy to finally hit the trail and enjoyed the thick forest canopy and lush floor with oodles of course woody debris (CWD) -- hahaha.



However, as we got further into the trail the ferns started to make the trail more difficult to follow. Glass half-full, this allowed us to exercise our route finding skills. Additionally, this was my first overnighter using my new GPS, so I was interested to see how this new gadget would fit into the traditional compass and map tools that we generally use.



Our route finding skills were not finished being tested as we came to a section that lead to a logging road that was not on the map. Both sides of the trail were thick with fall-down and debris from the road development. So we wrestled our way to the new road and pulled off our packs and had a drink. We bushwacked on the other side and came up to what appeared to be an old cart-path. We could hear water lapping not too far away, and were confident that this was probably the trail that lead to the camp -- and we were right.


Our new MEC Apollo tent was nice, however, the tent pads were very firm and difficult to knock in our tent pegs.


The site also had a long dock, as the new logging road gave easy access -- I assume there is probably good fishing in Lewis Lake. We made dinner and hit the sheets with our eyes on a full day to the top of Tin Hat Mountain and back to Lewis Lake.

~DAY 2~

We started with breakfast and hung our food and were off by 9am. We headed back along the cart path and connected with the trail. This section was said to be completed in 2003, however, all we knew for sure is that the route has been marked. The beginning of the trail around the south tip of Lewis Lake was very well developed and made for an enjoyable start. There were reminants and many reminders of the areas old growth past.


Heather posing by a fallen monster -- now that's some CWD!

As we progressed we came upon more and more blow down. It was apparent that this section had not been cleared yet -- I knew I should have brought my bow saw! We took everything in stride and took in some of the neat things this forest had to offer.


Heather was taken by this fungae and took some cool pictures.

It was not long before we were again amongst some very heavy blow down. We realized that the trail was now skirted by a new logging road, which opened up the area for the winds to blow. There was also alot of "scrap-brush" and "leftovers" from the road development. By this time there was no trail and we were climbing up and over everthing. After about an hour we finally got to the logging road to reasess.


Here is a view of the "trail" that we were following.

We decided to look for a small creek which would eventually hook back up to the trail. We walked along the logging road and picked up the creek. Of course there was immense blow down along the creek, however, at this point we were feeling good about our route finding skills and felt we needed an advanced test. We whacked up the creek until we came upon a pink flag on the other side of the creek, and a beautiful tree being used as a bridge. We had picked the trail back up -- yahoo!


This is Heather finally enjoying being able to walk without the constant barrage of fallen trees - this tree was to our advantage!

We took a flagged route, which by our calculations was running in the right direction. We hit a small series of Lakes/Ponds after about 2km and were happy to come upon Lac Godeau, Sofia Pond & Cranberry Pond within about a half hour. We stopped at Sofia Pond and took a dip and had a snack. After about a half hour break we suited up and were ready for the approximately 800m elevation gain to the top of Tin Hat (1150m). We continued to follow a slightly logical flagged route, however, after about an hour of zig-zagging, with no apparent purpose we headed for the ridge that would lead to the top of Tin Hat. We gained the ridge and started our ascent. Again there was no trail on the west access to Tin Hat, and we found ourselves whacking up the side of the mountain. We finally picked up flagging again and at this point seemed to be following a much more logical route. We finally reached a few rocky outcrops and turned around for the beautiful views of Lewis Lake (front), Ireland Lake (middle right), Dodd Lake (middle left) and the meeting of Horsehoe Lake & Nanton Lake (back) -- all part of the Powell River Forest Canoe Route.





We continued up the mountain, still heavy bushwhacking and wanting the top more than ever. There were a few more lookouts and views as we worked our way up the mountain.


Views of the Georgia Strait and Texada Island on our way up.


Views west of the Knuckleheads and Mount Freda area (Mount Freda is the snow-topped center left & Diadem the sharp point just left of that)


Views north of Beartooth Mountain on the Rainbown Range

As we got closer there were a few rocky sections which allowed us to test our scrambling skills. We have not done a tonne of scrambling, but have always enjoyed the little that we have done.

Here is Heather smiling in the enjoyment of some easy scrambling.

We rambled through a few small meadowy sections filled with Heather and enjoyed the more open country as we started to get above the tree line. There were views everywhere we looked and too many pictures to post. You could take in most of the Canoe Route, which was neat.


I am already planning the trip on the Canoe Route -- next summer!

We pushed further and now had views of the cairn at the top of Tin Hat. By this point our legs were weary from the bushwhacking, yet still anticipating the views from the top.


Heather making the final push with the cairn in the background.

We passed through a few snowy sections and were at the top with the happy Leprachaun (cairn) -- we figured the cairn was for the heli-pad which consisted of two peices of lumber lying on the ground with "HELI-PAD" etched into them.


The summit provided 360 degree views that our pictures will not do justice. It was getting late and the bugs were out on top so we had a quick meal, took some pictures and decided to head east to hook up with an old logging road that lead to the more traditional access trail to Tin Hat. After 8 hours of whacking (for a planned 3-4 hour return trip), we were not in the mood for whacking any longer!

Here are a few pics from the top....

Quiggs enjoying the views.


Oliver is such a poser! Beartooth Mountains in the back...


Heather and Quiggs.


Goofing around on top.


Heather and I


We headed back to our camp along the "rubble-rich road" as it is described in the trail guide. An old logging road, wide and clear, which was fine with us. We ate and crawled into bed. Day three consisted of getting out and catching the ferry.

Happy Trials and Trails!