Walt Hill Hut

We have added another missing link in the hut-to-hut chain - this one at Walt Hill, on Penstemon Bluff, so you can now stay in a different hut each day from Inland Lake to Lang Bay. Please visit the Hut blog to find details on the building of the hut, and the area.

REOPENED: Manzanita - Gwendoline Hills and Eagle River

The section of the SCT that runs from Malaspina Road to Manzanita Hut in part through the private managed forest lands has been reopened again. The loggers are finished and the remaining wood piled about will be apparently taken out by firewood contractors in the fall. That means the occasional pick up truck coming in and cleaning up. It is our understanding that the area will be replanted in the next planting season.

The section of the SCT heading north from the Dixon Road crossing is reopened again. The massive trees that blew over in the March storms this year are still not salvaged but a temporary reroute goes around the boots and boles and makes passage possible. In the coming weeks Western will salvage the blow down.

Passage through the old Fiddlehead Farm is also reopened again as the nearby logging is complete.

Creek Four and Spring/Lewis Lake Reopened

Recent trail closures due to nearby road building activities of two sections of the Sunshine Coast Trail (Creek Four up from Lois Lake up toward Elephant Lake, as well as from Spring Lake to Lewis Lake) have run their course. The SCT is open again in these two sections, as is the trail just to the north of Fiddlehead Farm near the old Giovanni Creek bridge.

One section up from Dixon Road to Mile 4 at Goat Main has been closed due to about a dozen large trees that blew down in the late winter storm have to be dealt with yet by Western FP. There is no joy in trying to go through that tangle and so it has been blocked off for now and will very soon be reopened again as this is a very popular and usually very accessible section of the SCT. Reroute signage has been put in place. Stay tuned. We will inform you of the reopening.

Manzanita Hut Access and Visitors

During April and May a couple of PAWS work parties accessed the Gwendoline Hills section of the Sunshine Coast Trail by way of the Okeover cutblock. Final logging activities were finished in May. The owners, Island Timberland, are planning on restocking the cutblock in the next planting season. 

Where the SCT traverses a corner of private forestland the owner had agreed to leave a buffer trees along the trail.

Some trees had blown down in the buffer during recent wind storms and had blocked the trail a mile south of the Manzanita Hut. Above is a view looking southward from Manzanita Bluff toward 3 K Bluff and the cutblock.

Fortunately the Rhododendron Grove remained intact throughout the logging and the howling storms. The rhodos are nearing the end of their bloom, a delightful visual feast along the trail.

Bruce and Terry, part of the maintenance crew, are happy with the May Day results.

One more final check in the coming week will ensure that the trail is completely re-established and tidy.

Today, visitors from Terrace hiked up to Manzanita Hut from Malaspina Road and found the obstacles removed. Another group from the Lower Mainland and Davies Bay came up via Sarah Point Road and the Spire Access Trail.

The hikers were astonished by the sudden apparition of the hut in the woods. There were some light-hearted musings of living up on idyllic Manzanita Bluff.


Later that day this group of merry media moguls and tourism representatives met at Herondell B&B mixing with locals and enjoying a BBQ. They also got to sample the first locally produced beer from nascent Townsite Craft Brewery.

 

They seemed to have enjoyed their stay.

Finishing Touches prior to Shuffle

We have been putting the finishing touches to the Shuffle route.

A small bridge across a tributary stream below Toquenatch Falls received some new decking. The recent rains have saturated the ground, the streams and creeks are running vigorously, and some of the rich soils of the "jungles" are testing our claim of having the Sunshine Coast Trail 99% mud-free. There are a few soft spots that a hundred of the registered feet might expose, adding an adventurous allure for some of the shufflers.

For those who would prefer a real slushy experience just for the fun of it, we have a special section along Little Sliammon Lake where the beavers have been busy raising the level of the lake by nearly a foot and putting a stretch of the trail under water. This will be really fun. You can't miss it.

Well, actually you can, if you want. We built a 100 foot trail reroute that is high and dry, and will allow you to keep your feet cosy if you prefer that option.

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The latest addition on the SCT accommodations side of things are some surprise shelters.

 

The architects and builders of these shelters are unknown, but a minimalist abode such as this is something everyone should try out, at least once.

 

 These shelters come with fire ring, lean-to and privy, and have their very own je n'est sais quoi.

 Layers of hemlock boughs promise a soft and aromatic rest.

 Rear view of one of the idyllic Homestead Haunts. Come back and stay awhile.

Marathon Shuffle Sunday, April 29

For the last month and a half volunteers of the Tuesday and Sunday work parties have spent 150 hours to prepare the 29-km long Shuffle Route on the Sunshine Coast Trail for the 19th Annual Marathon Shuffle.  This event takes place on Sunday, April 29, 2012. A bus is available at the finish line at the Shingle Mill to take you at 8:00 am to the starting line at Malaspina Road. Cost of bus $5.00 - first come, first served. Start of Shuffle 8:30 am. Participants take part at their own risk. Click here to find out more about the Marathon Shuffle, and to register: http://www.clubfatass.com/events/marathon-shuffle


One work party, as the PR PAWS volunteers were working on grooming the trail, the Sunday Hikers were coming through passing here at Dogleg Pond.













Phil, one of the Sunday Hikers expresses his appreciation of having a trail cleared of blow down and groomed for a stroll.

On another Trailday outing Don is making short shrift of a wall of salal.

Jim is taking a breather from running the weed whacker at the Shangri-La swimming dock on Little Sliammon Lake.


















Now you see him, now you don't. No, Jim is not playing hide and seek. One of the many trees that were blown over in two very aggressive March storms pummeling the region fell across the the trail. First we cut the branches, then sawed off the top.

The Shuffle route has never been in better condition with first attention going to cutting out the extensive blow-down that the storms had brought. Many of the fallen trees were decayed and week, but others were vibrant, just in the way of violent gusts. That's the way of the forest. Day in day out.

Once the blow down was bucked and moved out of the way, we began with brushing back vigorously growing salal and salmon berry bushes, so wet leaves would not brush against the boots or running shoes of the Shufflers.

More of the orange-red markers, as well as wooden directional signs, have been put up as well. Additionally, orange arrows have been painted onto the trail at critical locations so as to help hikers and runners navigate the trail.

In the coming months we will carry on cutting out trees that have fallen across the trail. If you know of the location of some blow-down impeding easy hiking please get in touch with us so we can put them on the To Do list.