Thursday was our transition day. We had to paddle back to the kayak shop, drive into town, resupply, do laundry, shower (there was no fresh water at either of the campsites and salty sea washes don't really cut it), repack for hiking and then hike for 4 hours! It was a long day but we did it all. We set off early enough in the kayak to ride the tide back in and arrive at high tide for easy unloading. It was a beautiful easy paddle, the sun coming up over the mountain forests, hot on our skin in the cool of the morning, the tide pulling us along.
We did all our chores and had two good meals in Powell River, so by the time we set off on the Sunshine Coast Trail, it was 4.30pm. My hiking bag felt heavy and the sun was burning but when we got on the trail in the shade of the forest, the hike started to feel good. The forest was lovely, tall trees with bare, straight trunks and canopies high above. There were fallen trees everywhere, lying at every angle and leaning up against each other. An unmanaged forest except for a narrow trail. There were a few good views of the bay along the way then we headed uphill to Rainy Day Lake, where there is a hut.
On our approach to the hut, we heard voices and called a friendly hello. It was 8.30pm and we didn't want to startle anyone who might be worried about bears! Emma and Jeff greeted us cheerily at the hut. They were a lovely young couple and we had nice chats about hiking and cycle touring and life in Canada. Dave and I went for a swim in the lake, which was the warmest lake I've ever swam in! Then we had dinner and set up camp in the loft of the hut.
The next morning, Emma showed us edible salal berries and huckleberries and Dave and I set off up Mount Troubridge on a day hike, leaving most of our kit at the hut. It was a big day - the mountain is around 1300m high and the walk only 10km each way so pretty steep. But what a hike! We walked through the forest to a logging road where we were greeted with impressive views of the sea and mountains. Then we hiked up through an exposed section, logged at some point recently but grown back thick with sunshine-loving berry bushes. There were huckleberries everywhere! We stopped to pick the biggest, juiciest berries and gorged like hungry bears. Then sweating we came back into the forest - old growth forest, the tall trees standing strong and proud above the ferns and moss on the forest floor below, old trees dripping with lichen, dead trees standing naked of leaves and bark, their trunks knarled and twisted, home to fungi and insects. Fallen trees everywhere - on the ground, leaning against other trees or rocks, some broken, some still growing defiantly in a new direction, others uprooted, revealing the soil to be only around a foot thick, and mostly moss.
Up we climbed, past incredible fungi and trees, saw a bald eagle riding the air currents, stepped over little green and brown frogs and watched garter snakes slither off the path as we approached. The cobwebs caught on our faces and a few horse flies buzzed around us, joined by the occasional mosquito.
Once we got to the top, we were tired from four hours of hiking and stopped to admire the views and have lunch. Then we embarked on the decent - speedier, but not to be underestimated! Half an hour of decent was enough on the knees and toes really but still two hours to go. We met Emma and Jeff on their way up, cheerily humping uphill with their big bags and we wished each other happy travels. Then down, down, all the way back to the hut. The sun was still coming into the narrow valley over the mountain and we went down to the lake for a swim in the balmy waters.
The next morning we were heading back to the car by another route, uphill at first through more beautiful forests and along a ridge line with more great views, then all the way back down to sea level and back to the car. We were knackered and had root beer floats and egg sandwiches waiting for the ferry. From the ferry we could see where we had walked, although the trail itself wasn't visible. We could see the clear felled patches that had been largely hidden from view on the trail. Once we started looking, we saw evidence of logging on almost every mountain! I hope the remaining areas of old growth are protected.
We travelled all the way back to Vancouver then headed north to Squamish and found our B&B - a house with a lovely garden on a brook in the town that's nestled in the mountains.
On Sunday we had a much needed day off and did some kit organisation and planning.
Monday we went on a multi-pitch climb with a guide. I'd heard about a huge rock / cliff in Squamish called the Chief and we were heading up its Apron. Connor got us kitted out and we walked and scrambled to the start of the climb. Even the climb itself was far from vertical and we could walk on hands and feet up the first pitch. Then along a seam, then up again, slightly steeper. My feet slipped on lichen covered patches a few times and I was a little scared but made it up without a fall.
On the third pitch, Dave skidded down a section on his feet and we had to pass each other awkwardly on the rock face for him to continue ahead of me. There was a tricky section that took me about four attempts but I managed to haul myself up it ungracefully to join Dave and Connor on a narrow ledge by some trees. The next three pitches were fun; we climbed cracks and seams between ledges until we reached a point where we could walk back down. The views from the top showed us Squamish river meeting the sea and kite surfers making the most of the sea breeze. The river was full of log rafts used by logging companies to transport timber. The scramble down was over boudlers in a big boulder field - they must have all fallen off the mountain at some point or been deposited by a glacier. The forest is strewn with them, from little ones to 50ft high ones!
So in the afternoon, we went out bouldering for a bit, enjoying the cool forest and rocky forest landscape. The climbs were pretty tricky and without a crash mat we didn't attempt much but it was a nice place to hang out and have lunch, in awe of the amazing climbers.
Tomorrow, we are going white water rafting before heading out on a two day trail for a hike and camp.
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