Sunshine Coast Trail

In a small town like Powell River it's guaranteed you'll see someone you know everywhere you go. I'd been trying to catch a Pacific Coastal Airlines flight to Vancouver, but had no luck due to persistent fog.

On the second day at the airport, we ran into Don, an acquaintance of Wayne's from the Chamber of Commerce.


During our wait, we learned that Don and two of his friends were founders of the Sunshine Coast Trail. This long distance hiking trail runs from Sarah Point (near Lund) to Saltery Bay, a total of 180 km.

The Sunshine Coast Trail was built and is maintained by dedicated volunteers in the community including the non-profit Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (PRPAWS). Wayne and I have hiked portions of the trail in all seasons, but have yet to travel its entire length.

The Trail is well documented at the Sunshine Coast Trail website. The Sunshine Coast Trail Guidebook (recently updated) by Eagle Walz (another founder) is excellent. It's available for purchase at the Visitor's Centre.

Winter is a good time to hike portions of the Sunshine Coast Trail. Forest roads take you to excellent entry and exit spots. The woods are quiet and often shrouded in snow. Under the trees, hiking boots are fine, no snowshoes are necessary.

Read about some of our hiking adventures in Up the Winter Trail. In the chapter "Truck Got Stuck" you can read about hiking the Appleton Creek section of the trail. In "Winch It" you can read about a quad ride that took us near a southern portion of the trail along Suicide Creek. And then there's a hike we took just to see Old Gnarly in "Little-Big Storm."

You can purchase Up the Winter Trail in print and Kindle formats at Amazon or other online booksellers, locally in Powell River at Coles or Breakwater Books.  For more information we invite you to visit PowellRiverBooks.com. -- Margy