Rubber Band and Confederation lake; 5-June-2011

Thanks to the crew who cleared the Rubber Band trail from Inland lake and up to and round Confederation lake. We enjoyed a clear steady steep hike up through the glorious old trees above Inland lake. Round Confederation lake
there were several wet spots and very slippery rock and roots (I guess the winter's snow'd recently gone); still, nobody died and we were up at the cabin in 3.25 hr from the boatlaunch.
Bright sun; some gentle breeze; beautiful views; great day!

Inland Lake - Lost Lake

Leaving the boatlaunch in bright sun - on Sunday - round the S end of Inland Lake and past the first 'pier' round a rocky head, we found at last the trail to Lost Lake, marked with a 'Portage to Lost Lake' sign.
Does anyone really take a canoe up here? It seemed very optimistic, being steep and muddy; I'd hate to carry a boat down this!
The steep bit was short, though, coming soon to an old road and the jog right to the continuing trail to Lost lake.


Here, many of the 'Lost Islands' sported pretty clumps of small pink blooms, making a nice foreground to Mt Mahoney.

Mount Troubridge snow condition report - Peter Behr

Still lots of snow up Trowbridge. I recommend anyone going wear snowshoes as they help keep you from falling into the “melt holes”.

There were some tracks of someone who wore boots and they went through the snow a few times.

Still three feet of snow at the top and a foot or 2 most of the way up from the Rainy Day Lake Rd. end.

SCT trail work

During March and April of 2011 members of the Bomb Squad did the following work on the Sunshine Coast Trail. Their work is much appreciated. Report by Ron Sellers and Bruce McDonald.
· cleaned Valentine mountain trail from Mowat Bay
· cleaned trail from Squirrel Crossing to road above Larsen’s Landing and Yew Trail to Mud Lake & back.
· cleaned Tees Kwat trail & built new bypass.
· finished bypass on Tees Kwat trail & cleaned trail from pole 272 to Browne Creek Trail
· cleaned SCT from Wilde Road to Shangri-La
· cleaned SCT Tony’s Trail from Telus road to Haywire Bay.
· cleaned SCT from Malaspina road to Southview road
· cleaned Lost Lake Loop. Fixed boardwalk. Cleaned bridges & boardwalks. Drained water from road.
· cleaned Upper Marathon trail.
· cleaned Appleton Canyon Trail to Wilde Road.
· cleaned Scout Mountain Trail.
· cleaned Brown Creek Trail to Hurtado Point & Bay & out to pole 350.
finished new bridge on Marathon Trail & cleaned up old bridge.

18th Annual Marathon Shuffle - Conditions

Hike/run Sunshine Coast Trail, Sunday, April 17. Free Event. The 29 km long trail section has been cleared and groomed and is in excellent condition. Nearly a thousand brand-new organge fluorescent markers have been installed, as well as high visibility kilometer markers, and chalk lines. Click here for registration: http://www.clubfatass.com/events/marathon-shuffle/registration

Press Release:

Once again the time has come for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy a popular rite of spring. The 18th Annual Marathon Shuffle is an event for hikers and runners to enjoy a 29 km-long section of the Sunshine Coast Trail. This section from Malaspina Road to the Shingle Mill has been groomed and marked by members of the Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (PRPAWS) and the Bloody Old Men’s Brigade (BOMB Squad). Brand new kilometre markers and nearly a thousand new fluorescent squares have been installed that will keep you from straying from the Shuffle route.

In addition, chalk lines at junctions will take the guesswork out of which way to go. Participants to this free event are asked to register on-line at www.sunshinecoast-trail.com by clicking on Marathon Shuffle on the Home Page, then Events Details under the picture, and Registration at the top of the next page. This allows the organizers to know in advance how many people to expect and to prepare for the event, and for participants to view pages of details, from free trail descriptions and maps to listings of past records.

Shuffle participants who have pre-registered on-line will meet at 7:45 am on Sunday, April 17, at the Shingle Mill parking lot to arrange for carpooling, and receive their participant numbers. Limited seating is available on a mini-bus to the starting line on Malaspina Road. Make your reservations by calling Lita at 604-414-0708. Cost: $2.00

Last minute registrants are asked to come earlier, at 7:30 am, to fill out their registration forms. A limited number of seats are available on a small bus and must be reserved. Carpool departure is at 8:00 am with an 8:30 am Shuffle shotgun start at the Malaspina trailhead, a kilometre east off the Lund Highway. There will be five water and fruit stations at logging road crossings that can also serve as emergency exits. The hike/run is free and participants take part at their own risk. They are asked to carry raingear, good footwear, some snacks and extra water to stay hydrated.

The 12 km-long Half Shuffle is becoming more and more popular as it takes only three to four hours of moderate hiking. It begins 6 km up Wilde/Tomkinson Road at 10 am and encourages a more leisurely pace. Sign in at the Appleton parking lot above the bridge, and follow the well-marked trail past vistas and swimming spots.

All registered participants are asked to report in at the finish line at the Shingle Mill to sign out, receive their standings, and a ticket for prizes to be drawn after the medal awards.

A-Branch Cabin

Rick and I went to branch A today and just thought I'd send some pics of the snow height at both cabins.  There's also a picture of the outhouse at branch A if you can find it.  We figure there's about 12' of snow.  Was a great day.   

We parked at the top of the first slash-it took us 3 hours to get to the cabin.  We then hiked over to the ridge above branch E and took the pictures of the cabin.  We were the only snowshoers but 3 snowmobiles showed up during the day.  Great snow conditions.

Doug.