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.

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.

We were planning to get to the parking lot at Cypress by 7AM to hike 5hrs, 11km, to St. Mark’s Summit, which is a part of the Howe Sound Crest Trail, but we ended up leaving the McDonalds by Boundary and Lougheed at around 730AM. After a hearty meal of Sausage Egg McMuffin and hashbrowns, purchased using the coupons available on their mobile app, we were ready to hike.

The view from the top was spectacular, with a few low hanging clouds. This was from the 2nd farther viewpoint after reaching the summit (takes a bit of searching to find the correct path to get here… go around!). Snacks for this hike included a 6 plums from the tree in my backyard and a 90 calorie fibre1 chocolate chip cookie, split between the 4 of us…

Things to note if doing this trail next year at this time…

-It’s wet and muddy up there at this time and it was drizzling a bit this morning. Wear hiking boots, bring a jacket.
-There were no ravens this time.
-Go earlier as this trail is becoming more popular.

More info at Vancouver Trails: http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/st-mark's-summit/

What’s an intermediate hike with a view near Vancouver that isn’t congested?

  

Last last last weekend, we did an easy local hike. A good 5 hour hike at an easy pace, lots of stairs, pretty well groomed and well marked path. H was dehydrated and cramped pretty hardcore (sucker, who told you to drink the night before?). The trail head at Lynn Canyon was packed with people and the trail end at Quarry Rock/Deep Cove was like walking around downtown. The middle of the trail had less traffic. Mostly mountain bikers in the middle of the trail. A few of them passed us while we sat down for a few snacks…

This Munk Pack Oatmeal Fruit Squeeze (Blueberry Acai Flax flavor) was actually quite delicious. H got it for as a sample in his Cairn box, but I think I would definitely get it again for the next camping or hiking trip.
Here’s more info on the trail at Vancouver Trails (pretty damn awesome website…): http://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/baden-powell-deep-cove-to-lynn-canyon/


Note: Photos were all edited with Instagram! I like that Gingham filter.