We planned a very laid back "bachelorette" for TPL of outdoorsy activities in the Gibsons, Sechelt, and Halfmoon Bay area. My only regret was that there wasn't very much drinking on my part, because it was my car and I wasn't about to authorize any of the others to operate it (too much risk in case something did happen!). 

The trip started off with a long and tedious wait outside of Smitty's Oyster Bar. They don't take reservations, as we found out from their snarky voicemail message, and while we arrived at around 6 or 6:30PM, there were a few large parties who just would not leave, so we ended up sitting down at around 7:30 or 8PM. The real kicker was that the hostess told us that she'd text us if we wanted to wander, so we did... Except she never texted. I swear I saw other people who came by after us, go in before us. 

However, we were very determined to eat here, because TPL wanted to have raw oysters, and this place had some good reviews. Ended up just waiting, right in front of the restaurant. 

Was it worth the wait? 

While we did not receive prodigious amounts of food, what arrived on the plates looked presentable and appetizing. We ended up ordering the shrimp, salmon cakes, and scallop risotto, with raw oysters to share.

This was not enough for us, starving travellers, so we ended up adding the chicken trout (note: this is not chicken):

Not sure if I'd go back for the main dishes again, but if I had to, I'd order the chicken trout again, because it was so light and crispy. The risotto was still crunchy, but I'll give them props for trying. Risotto is hard to get right! The rest of it was decent, nothing too memorable about the shrimp or the cakes. The oysters were better than what I've had at other places, very sweet and fresh. This would be a nice spot to hang out by the docks, sipping on a beverage of your choice, and slurping up freshly shucked oysters, at $3.50 a pop. 

So, was it worth it? 

I mean, we ended up eating it all, every last crumb of crunchy risotto. Probably from hunger after waiting so long, in combination with the small portions. 

Sometimes, I'll judge people on their food choices, and I did question some of the food decisions we made collectively, on this trip. I mean, it's so hard to not be doubtful with strangers who are just becoming new friends. I'm sure I'm not the only person out there making flash judgments about strangers, friends, even family members. This guy is too old for her, he doesn't have a real job, she wears too much makeup, and they're so stingy with their money. He associates with him or her, so that makes them a bad person... Where do these judgments take us?

Didn’t make it all the way up to Tin Hat Hut. We were about halfway there, but a series of unfortunate (preventable) events occurred.

First, we were late for the ferry. Then, we didn’t have enough gas, because there wasn’t enough time.

We took the Dixon Road, as described here: http://www.clubtread.com/routes/Route.aspx?Route=998

Veloster Turbo cannot handle gravel roads… I was clenching my hands and starting to sweat. Some websites advertise 1 hour drive to get to the trail head, but I suppose, not in a low vehicle.

The first wooden sign along the road:

A 4x4 pickup drove by just before we reached this sign – the driver was laughing.

This was the sign where we decided to turn back (about halfway there):

The drive along the logging road isn’t very nice, no views, logging trucks rumbling by, and rough, jagged terrain.

After turning back, we tried to hit up the SCT via another route… Rainy Day Lake was the destination. We made it to here:

Again, bumpy gravel road that the Veloster could not handle. We gave it a good try, but we had to turn back. Ended up on an empty camp ground, sleeping in the car after a dinner of Mountain House Macaroni and Cheese:

This was quite delicious and extremely simple to make – add water and mix. Lots of cheesy flavour (cheese addiction is a real thing, if you haven’t heard already). I would get this again.  8/10.

Here are some other links to Tin Hat that I found:

http://sunshinecoasttrail.com/tinhat.html

http://www.clubtread.com/routes/Route.aspx?Route=998

http://www.sunshinecoastcanada.com/blog/232-52-weeks-of-trails-week-50

 

I bought the Sunshine Coast Trail Hut-To-Hut Hiking book. All set for next year. BETTER WATCH OUT.

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