We hiked to Skookumchuk Narrows, and passed by Brown Lake:

We went to both North Point and Roland Point. Roland Point has a closer view of the rapids and kayakers were using this spot to enter the water:

These rapids only occur at certain times, when the tides are right (there’s a tidal schedule somewhere on the Internet).

You probably can’t tell what’s in the titanium pot on the right (H bought this pot for $70. SUPER lightweight), but we had instant noodles in there. Sardines to top off the noodles.

H was covered in sweat during this hike, possibly because he wore his Patagonia down puffer jacket the whole way. It was an easy hike.

Here a few places to look for hikes along the Sunshine Coast:

http://www.sunshine-coast-trails.com/

http://penderharbour.org/Recreation/Trails/trails.html

http://www.sunshinecoast-trail.com/

http://www.sunshinecoastcanada.com/hidden-gems/sunshine-coast-trail

 

We went to pick up groceries at the IGA at Madeira Park afterwards for dinner:

Cedar Creek wine, tortellini, spinach, pepperoni sticks, and crushed up Ruffle cheese chips.

We still had not yet discovered a good coffee place. Coffee on the coast is watery and not effective. Will bring my own next time.

Not quite the middle, but we were on the side of nowhere. We still had data.

Enjoying the view at brunch, before hiking to Skookumchuck Narrows. I need a waffle maker to make bacon waffle benny’s.

We booked this place through BC Ferries, so it included the ferry ride over for $360. TripAdvisor review here.

We drove over to the Sunshine Coast to see what we could see.

What I was looking for:

• Coffee
• Craft beer
• Epic views

First stop was Gibsons, and we found the beer at Persephone Brewing Company:

H and I tried the Goddess Golden Ale, the Irish Stout, Rum Runner Red Ale, and Oktoberfest Lager over a game of checkers. I let him win, and we filled up our Stanley growler with the Goddess Golden Ale (so fresh). The place was pretty quiet, since it was a Wednesday afternoon, with one or two visitors dropping by for growler fills. All their hops are grown on site!

We ate at Molly’s Reach, where Beachcombers was filmed, shopped in some of their little shops, including the Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co, visited the tourist info center to find information on potential hikes, and continued North along Highway 101 to Smuggler’s Cove.

No photos from me as I left my phone in the car… Fail… Maybe I can borrow H’s photos later. Easy trail with stairs and sturdy bridges with railings, nice views at the end of the whole cove, but the beginning of the route over the bog is slightly eerie – lots of dead trees sticking out of the bog and quite deserted. It isn’t really hiking season, so that’s understandable. H wanted to take some of the trees that were growing along the trail as hiking sticks, but maybe if we had a bigger vehicle (this continues to be a problem throughout the trip).

Next stop: Rockwater Resort

Beautiful day for a drive and a hike, and H & I wanted to take the new Veloster up on the highway, so we decided to hit up Joffre Lake yesterday. I came here last year with L & A: http://luwesa.blogspot.ca/2014/06/joffre-lakes.html 

The lower lake was amazing (the Veloster was amazing too. I really missed it.):

Traffic heading up the Upper Levels highway was horrid, we were side tracked by the Squamish farmer’s market, and there was construction along the Duffy Lake Road, so by the time we arrived at the lake, it was already about 3:30PM. Not enough time to go up and come down before dark. We ate our snacks by the parking lot and left. Harrison brought Astronaut ice cream by Mountain House that came with his Cairn box a while back:

Tasted like real ice cream, but the texture was stickier and well… dry, ‘cause that’s essentially what it was.