SUNSHINE COAST TRAIL





Other sources elsewhere will have detailed descriptions of the trail.  This blog is just a photo-series generated over three or more years of day hikes by an old man who is neither an experienced hiker or a photographer.  I am best known for my ability to find unique ways to get lost along an otherwise well marked trail.  The majority of these photos will be just that: pretty pictures of a nice place. The odd photo will be an important way-point where one should pay attention or end up going a long way out of your way.


Sarah Point to Bliss Portage,  the first hut


                        
                                                      This is a wonderful and easy way to start the SCT. Access to the trailhead is by either pre-arranged water taxi from Lund or by the winding and sometimes rough Sarah Point Road.  Landing from the water taxi is dependent on the tides to some degree, so your arrival at the trail head is out of your control. The land route along the Sarah Point Road is best done by a dependable  4x4.  It's just best to avoid the last steep hill down to the shore; the towing companies love that as a cash cow.  Sometimes it's not even much fun to hike down due to the rocky surface. There is no potable water along this section of the trail until you reach Hinder Lake, so be prepared. If you want a  long looping day hike, then you can park your vehicle at the cross roads of Sarah Point Road and Bliss Portage.  The road is not a terribly exciting walk and there is no water along the way.  There is often a fair bit of bear poop though.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
















Sarah Point Road heading North. Hot summer sun makes this a trial.




The trail head after 4 km of non-hiking on the road.




The last 200 meters of road: just hike it. It's horrible.



From the bluffs at the end of the Sarah Point Road.







Along the shore heading to Sarah Point








West from Sarah Point 



The trail leading south





 






from the Feather Bluffs, about 500 meters short of Feather Cove










North from Feather Cove


From Feather Cove, a VERY nice campground along the trail.


















Feather Cove itself

Yah  : it's just pretty.












                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
                                  



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an old fashioned stile navigates a fallen giant across the trail






 






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One expects to find the Sasquatch hidden somewhere here.  You start to talk to yourself after a while just to give the Sasquatch and the vagrant bear a chance to run away.








From the north edge of Hinder Lake: the first potable water on the trail




From the head of Hinder Lake



South from Hinder Lake








Along the trail leading to the long climb to the Nob














the winding trail off the Nob.  I would have some pictures from there, but the trees have blocked the view.

If you hunt around the Nob, you'll find a few view points that are tasty, but you have to be willing to step off the beaten path and look for openings. The first is the view south, the second is around the Nob, while the view North is fleeting and just a glimpse.  Unless you are a monkey and can climb a tree or two.




At the bottom of the Nob, the beginning of the Bliss Portage.




from the beach below the Bliss Portage Hut.  Looking South















The new Bliss Portage Hut.  There is a nearby creek that appears to run for most of the year.  I would not absolutely count on it being wet though.  Get some water at Hinder Lake.






On Bliss Portage heading West.  As you exit the direct access to the trailhead onto the main logging road, turn West and  follow the road due west. When you get to the forks, stay left and low. The trail will climb slowly up into a logging cut and then will feed into a rugged, narrow old logging road that drops gently down, heading almost true West.  At the bottom of the trail, it's a swampy area that can be a little wet to walk through.  The Portage ends back at Sarah Point Road.

Deuparth gwaith yw ei ddechrau : Starting the work is two thirds of it.

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