Nov 11, iPhone App for Sunshine Coast Trails - Available Now!

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 13:59:21 -0500

Almost a year ago I started thinking that it would be cool to have an app for all of the trails and maps on my website. No sooner did I start thinking about this than I was contacted by a fella who lives in Squamish who was interested in creating an iPhone app and wanted to collaborate!

Of course I said yes and shortly thereafter he started work on the app. Our original intent was to have it ready to go for last summer (2012), but life got in the way and for various reasons this didn't happen.

Finally, after a long wait, the iPhone app is available for download from the App Store. You will find it under Trailmapps: Sunshine Coast.

I'm sorry to say that for now at least, it is only for iPhones. If anyone knows someone who can create apps for Androids, please let me know. I'd love to see an Android app as well considering this is the type of phone I have :-)

Oct 10, Mount Hallowell Hike

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 19:35:56 -0400

Mount Hallowell is a strenuous hike in the Pender Harbour area with stunning views from the top as your reward.

Sep 23, Mt. Steele - Tetrahedron Park

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 22:51:42 -0400

Last Saturday a large group of us hiked up to the peak of Mt. Steele in the Tetrahedron Provincial Park. At approximately 5400 feet or 1615 metres this is the highest peak on the Sunshine Coast. At the peak! Starting at the second parking lot the trip up is about 3 hours and covers approximately 8 kms. Return trip including some time to rest, eat and enjoy was about 8 hours. The first 4.5 kms is through forest and is easy to moderate difficulty. The final 3.5 kms is more difficult as it climbs quite steeply at times, but you climb through some beautiful alpine. Mt. Steele Cabin in the distance as seen from the peak. Mt. Steele cabin is nestled beneath the peak. The cabins in the Tetrahedron (there are four) are available for overnight use and are especially busy in the winter months. Edwards Lake Cabin The Tetrahedron is a protected area and includes the Sechelt community watershed. There are special rules in place that prohibit domestic animals in the area. Apparently their feces can carry certain pathogens that once in the ecosystem can cost millions to remove. Although it was hard for me, I left my dogs at home!

Jul 27, Facebook Post Goes Viral!

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:59:34 -0400

The other day I went up to Trout Lake Road to take my dogs for a walk and pick some berries. I took the trail/road that follows along the right of way for the gas line, parallel to the power lines and came across a pile of garbage that included a freezer, fridge and bunch of household stuff.

I knew it was a fairly new dump because it hadn’t been there the week before. I took a look and right on top was a receipt that included a name and address. I took a picture and thought maybe I should post it on my Facebook page for the website. When I got home I had had second thoughts about posting the photo of the receipt. What if it didn’t belong to the people who dumped the garbage? What if they hired someone to take their stuff to the dump and that person dumped the garbage there? So instead I explained what I had seen, posted the photo of just the garbage and then asked “What would you do?” The result of that one, fairly insignificant post is astonishing. The posting has gone viral with over 3,400 comments, 309 Shares and has reached over 100,000 people. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I was amazed, delighted and flabbergasted. What in the world was going on? Why such a surprising response to something that in the big scheme of things, was pretty small? Today, I went out on my daily hike with my dogs and really thought about these questions. What follows is my short version of an answer. I think it really hit a nerve with people because most of us are concerned and worried about what’s happening to the environment. There’s climate change that is a result of global warming. There are major oil spills like the one in Louisiana two years ago that completely devastated the Gulf Coast, sea and wild life. And right now, close to home, is the big debate over whether or not we will have twin oil pipelines from Edmonton, AB to Kitimat, BC. These are just a very few of the concerns that we have to face and many people feel helpless and maybe hopeless about the future. How can one person keep things from continuing to spiral down? Many of us feel we can’t. The people who dumped the garbage obviously have a blatant disregard for the natural world. They are selfish and self-serving - basically the characteristics demonstrated by our governments and big corporations with regard to the environment. Although we feel helpless to deal with these big issues and organizations, we do feel that we can do something about this one incident of dumping and by God people want something to be done about it!

Jul 22, Roosevelt Elk

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 12:36:17 -0400

Recently, I’ve posted about bears and wolves, but another animal that we share the Coast with is the Roosevelt Elk. The elk are not native to our area, but were transplanted to the Pender Harbour area back in the 1980’s. As the elk have moved down the Coast, the wolves have followed this food source. Here is an excerpt from the E-Fauna BC website: Most Roosevelt Elk in British Columbia live on Vancouver Island where they arrived at least 3,000 years ago. They are found over nearly all of the island except at the southern end and along most of the west coast south of the Brooks Peninsula. There are also small pockets on the mainland including the head of Phillips Arm and Loughborough Inlet, around Powell River, and on the Sechelt Peninsula. The animals near Powell River and the Sechelt Peninsula are the result of reintroductions mainly from Vancouver Island. The two introductions to the Powell River area were made in 1994 and 1996, and the three to the Sechelt Peninsula were carried out between 1987 and 1989. I have come across the elk frequently on my hikes and see their droppings on all of my outings north of Sechelt. Generally the elk will move off as soon as they notice you, but in the fall when they are mating they can be aggressive and charge at you if you get too close. It is always a good idea to keep your dogs from chasing them as they will kick and your dog could be injured. Plus, it is obviously stressful for the elk to be chased by dogs.

Jul 15, Best Swimming Lakes on the Sunshine Coast

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 13:35:40 -0400

We are very fortunate on the Sunshine Coast to have some wonderful swimming lakes. In my opinion, they can’t be beat! Here are some of my old and new favourites.

Jul 8, Frequently Asked Questions

Sun, 8 Jul 2012 12:48:26 -0400

List of frequently asked questions and answers related to Sunshine Coast trails and maps.

Jun 26, New Trail and Bridge for Chapman Creek

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 23:34:55 -0400

I had a bit of time to kill today, had the dogs with me and I was in Wilson Creek so I decided to hike the new trail from the airport to Chapman Creek. I haven't been in since they did all the work. The new trail is really nice. Wide and relatively smooth; I think it would actually be wheelchair friendly in dry conditions! I was in a hurry so I was motoring. I heard a helicopter overhead that sounded really close, but figured maybe something was going on at the airport. It took me about 20 minutes to get to Chapman Creek and where the new bridge is going in. Well it was my lucky day! I guess the helicopter I heard was actually bringing in the bridge span and placing it. Only thing that could've been better is if I'd got there while they were doing the drop. Here's the shiny new bridge which is all ready to use. It is now possible to ride off the ferry in Langdale, ride up to the end of Wharf Road and into the trail at the end. From that point you can make your way all the way to the landfill in Sechelt without touching a paved road! This is really quite exciting.

Jun 17, Lone Wolf

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 17:37:19 -0400

At the end of my last blog post I promised you an account of my encounter with a wolf. This happened September 2010 when I was riding my bike along the logging road near the Telus Road off the Crowston Forest Service Road. There was just me and my three dogs. My big guy Nick was in front, then myself on my bike, my little dog Honey a ways behind me and my older girl Misty bringing up the rear – probably about 75 yards behind me. All of a sudden Nick looked back and stopped and stared hard. This usually means he sees something interesting whether another dog, person or animal of some kind so I thought I’d better stop and look to see what had caught his attention. Back the way we’d come, at a place where another logging road spur connects with the main road it looked like a big dog was sitting there staring at us. I wondered what the heck a dog was doing all by itself way up in the boonies and then realized that it was an awfully big dog! It started trotting towards us – and I should mention that my other two dogs were oblivious to it and were still trotting towards me. I realized that this was not a dog, but a wolf. I’d heard they had made their way down the Coast and were now in the area. I thought to myself, “Oh, oh what am I going to do?” So I shouted “hey!” No effect, he/she just kept on trotting. Now I really thought “oh, oh!” I’ve never heard what you should do when you encounter a wolf. Really not having a clue what else to do I shouted “Go away!” The wolf stopped, had a last look and went away! How lucky was that. Neither of the other two dogs even realized there’d been any danger. I hopped back on my bike and away we went.

Jun 5, Bear in Mind!

Tue, 5 Jun 2012 22:09:24 -0400

With all of the hiking and biking I do in the back country, it’s no surprise that I’ve had a few encounters with bears and other wildlife (like wolves). Last summer I was hiking up around the Suncoaster Trail near the Malaspina Power Plant in Pender Harbour and had a close call. Normally I keep my eyes open and look ahead on the trail to see what’s coming, but this time I had my head down looking at the trailing blackberries beside the trail. All of a sudden Nick my big, male dog started barking and went flying by me with my little dog Honey yipping and following close behind him. Scared the heck out of me and when I looked up there was a big black bear about 100 feet ahead and heading up the bank beside the trail. Unfortunately, because I wasn’t prepared I wasn’t able to call Nick back before he reached the bear. There he was barking ferociously at this big bear and nipping at his back leg. Crazy dog! I’m yelling “no” and trying to call him back. Honey had enough brains to know that the battle was a no win situation and came right back to me. The bear was getting pretty annoyed and turned and swiped at Nick. Thank goodness he missed. I think Nick suddenly realized that this animal was just a little bit bigger and meaner than him and he came back. Fortunately, the bear decided to keep going and didn’t come back for me! We let the bear go a bit further up the bank before we slowly and carefully continued on our way. Moral of this story – keep your head up, eyes open and your dogs under control when you’re out in the wilderness and a bell wouldn’t hurt either. Next time I’ll tell you about my encounter with a wolf!

May 21, Carlson Lake Hiking & Biking Route

Mon, 21 May 2012 22:05:34 -0400

Carlson Lake is a beautiful lake located approximately 3.2 kms from the Halfmoon Bay Carlson and Carlson Lake FSR junction.

May 20, Carlson Lake - Halfmoon Bay

Sun, 20 May 2012 19:42:35 -0400

Today I decided to hike up to Carlson Lake again. I’ve been up once before about two months ago when there was still a couple feet of snow and the lake was frozen and covered with snow.

I hiked up the same direction as last time – parked at the Y junction about 5 kms up from the highway. The road is pretty good to this point and I could probably go a little further, but I’m comfortable with this location and I don’t have 4-wheel drive.

About 1/3 km from the car there is a road/trail that cuts off the main road to the right. You follow along this way for about 2 kms until you reach a road that cuts in on the left and heads up. This is a very rough and rocky route and I think would even be difficult for a 4-wheel drive vehicle. It’s about .8 km to the Lake.

On the way up, about .2 km before you reach the lake, there is another road that branches off to the left. This is the route I took back out. I had run into several young guys at the lake (looked like they’d had quite a party!) and they told me I could get back to the Halfmoon Carlson FSR that way as well, but it would be several kilometres. I decided to give it a go and it turned out it was probably only about 5 kms total back to my car.

Unfortunately, the last few kilometres down the logging road was through a new clear-cut. Pretty devastated area, but it did open up some views out to the strait and across to Vancouver Island.

Interestingly, the Google Earth map above doesn't show the logged areas. I guess they haven't updated their image for awhile. They've been logging there since last year around this time.

Next time I think I'll take my bike up and do the longer route that does a wide circle around the lake!

May 13, Geocaching on the Sunshine Coast

Sun, 13 May 2012 23:29:35 -0400

Geocaching is a treasure hunting game where you use a GPS to hide and seek containers with other participants in the activity. The lower Sunshine Coast is home to more than 250.

May 9, Doriston, Sunshine Coast, BC

Wed, 9 May 2012 21:06:48 -0400

Doriston is a small, boat access only community on the south shore of Sechelt Inlet about a 10 minute boat ride from Egmont.

Apr 7, Skookumchuck Narrows Route

Sat, 7 Apr 2012 21:35:05 -0400

Skookumchuck Narrows Provincial Park offers a beautiful, world famous hike into one of the most beautiful and powerful natural ocean rapids you will likely ever see. Right in your own back yard.

Mar 25, Lulled Into A Sense of Spring

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 23:08:08 -0400

Today and yesterday were beautiful, sunny warm days here on the Sunshine Coast. This feeling of spring made me feel like going out and exploring new trails. I decided to head up and see if I could find the trail into Carlson Lake. Of course, I didn’t expect I'd find so much snow! I parked in my usual spot and the road here was a muddy mess and there was some dirty snow along the sides. Last time I headed up here I had to turn around at the second big gully because I couldn't get across. Today, although there was more snow, I was able to get across the creek and carry on up the road. A vehicle had been up ahead of me so I was able to hike in its ruts. I passed the road I thought would take me up to Carlson Lake thinking I would check out Dragonfly Lake first and then go back. However, not far from here the car tracks came to a stop. I was going to keep going, but I noticed some animal tracks in the snow that looked like either a coyote or maybe a small wolf. Decided to turn around rather than run into something scary. Here's a photo of the snow and tracks.

I had just started up the road to Carlson when I saw a Jeep coming down the road so the dogs and I got out of the way to let them by. They stopped to chat and it turned out they had made it about 3/4 of the way in to the lake, but got stuck in the snow and had to turn back.

Turns out I wasn't the only one thinking spring. They had a boat on their roof and they'd been planning to fish! Huh, not likely. They thought I could make it in by foot and when I asked them how far it was (I've never been in before) they thought it was about 2 kms to where they got stuck and then another kilometre from there to the lake. Luckily they were way off on their distance. It was about .6 kms to where they got stuck and then another .2 km from there to the lake. I followed their tracks, but the last .2 km was difficult because of the very deep snow. The lake was stunning. Pristine snow over the ice. Mountains in the background. Just beautiful. And the air was so sweet! It was like mixing cold and hot water. The air would be crisp and cold one second and then you'd get a swirl of warmer air.

Mar 15, Homesite Creek Trails

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 22:33:34 -0400

Homesite Creek Trails - Secret Cove Recreation Site is a lovely spot to stop for a short hike and picnic. Just off the highway north of Brooks Rd. in Halfmoon Bay.

Mar 10, New Trails at Big Fir

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 21:19:17 -0500

I heard a rumour that there were some new trails in the Big Fir area so I decided to head check them out. Heading up Parbac and just before the clear cut a new trail cuts in on the right. I believe it is called Broke Bac. There's a boardwalk that crosses a wet, muddy area right at the start and the trail then continues approximately east towards West Sechelt. After a 5 or 10 minute walk the trail forks. To the left is a trail marked DB which stands for Drop Bac. This is a beautiful, easy trail that will eventually join up to Addernach. At the moment it is still unfinished.

There are several short trails that connect into these new trails and will take you down to Big Fir.

Below Shakecutters, connecting DD to Duracell is a third new trail called 3D. This one is my favourite! It follows Wakefield Creek so that you can always either see or hear the water. It is a great trail through a beautiful forested area. Loved it!

Check out the map below. The ones in green are the new trails.

Mar 5, Photo Contest - Deadline for Submissions Extended

Mon, 5 Mar 2012 22:10:18 -0500

Dates Extended by One Week
(see dates below) Rules and instructions:

Submit a photo to contact@sunshine-coast-trails.com
Photo should not exceed 300 kb
Make sure you include your name and the name of the trail you were on when you took it.
Photo can be of anything you see while hiking or biking.

I will post the photos at Facebook with no identifying names, but if I use your photo on my website I will give credit to you. I will collect all of the photos starting now until Sunday, March 11 at midnight. Then I will post them in an album on the Sunshine Coast Trails Facebook page from Monday til Friday, March 16th. The photo with the most "Likes" will receive first prize and the runner up will receive second prize. First Prize: Half day (4 hours) mountain bike tour which includes rental bikes/helmets etc. for two people (valued at $350.00) from Off the Edge Adventure Sports http://www.offtheedge.org/ Second Prize: Chimney sweep or gas fireplace/furnace yearly service (value $105.00) from Sechelt Fireplace http://www.secheltfireplace.ca/

Mar 1, Photo Contest

Thu, 1 Mar 2012 23:06:40 -0500

Rules and instructions:

Submit a photo to contact@sunshine-coast-trails.com
Photo should not exceed 300 kb
Make sure you include your name and the name of the trail you were on when you took it.
Photo can be of anything you see while hiking or biking.

I will post the photos at Facebook with no identifying names, but if I use your photo on my website I will give credit to you. I will collect all of the photos starting now until Sunday midnight. Then I will post them in an album on the Sunshine Coast Trails Facebook page from Monday til Friday, March 9th. The photo with the most "Likes" will receive first prize and the runner up will receive second prize. First Prize: Half day (4 hours) mountain bike tour which includes rental bikes/helmets etc. for two people (valued at $350.00) from Off the Edge Adventure Sports http://www.offtheedge.org/ Second Prize: Chimney sweep or gas fireplace/furnace yearly service (value $105.00) from Sechelt Fireplace http://www.secheltfireplace.ca/

Feb 5, Kisses

Sun, 5 Feb 2012 11:37:53 -0500

Kisses to the geocachers and your 'Cache In-Trash Out' policy, picking up other people's garbage. Our Sunshine Coast trail users thank you

Jan 23, iPhone App Coming Soon!

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:16:21 -0500

A couple weeks ago I was contacted by a fellow from the Squamish area who asked me if I would be interested in collaborating on an iPhone app for the Sunshine Coast trails. He gave me a link to his website and after checking it out I told him yes. So far he has created trail apps for Pemberton, Whistler, Squamish and Hornby Island. The lower Sunshine Coast will be his fifth (and best I bet:-) I also asked him if it was possible to create an app for Android phone users. He has a buddy who is working on one so there is hope for the future. We are hoping to have it ready by sometime this spring!

Jan 3, Dakota Ridge Winter Recreation Area

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 23:45:25 -0500

Dakota Ridge is the Sunshine Coast's winter recreation area.

Jan 2, Sechelt Trails Map

Mon, 2 Jan 2012 23:08:09 -0500

Sechelt trails map.

Jan 2, Sechelt Trails

Mon, 2 Jan 2012 21:25:43 -0500

Sechelt trails are diverse and widespread and include some fantastic downhill and great connecting trails.

Dec 20, Chapman Trail & Bridge Project

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:28:07 -0500

Here is an update from Brad Proctor on the new Chapman Creek trail and bridge project. I'm very excited to see it complete and can't wait to be able to ride or hike from the Wilson Creek area to Sechelt. This new bridge and trail will mean that it will be possible to ride from Sprockids in Gibsons all the way to the landfill above Porpoise Bay in Sechelt without having to ride on the highway. "All the permits and approvals are now in place for the Chapman trail project! Construction should start sometime early next year. The Sunshine Coast Trail Society, in partnership with the District of Sechelt, is building the trail on the east side of Chapman Creek. The Bridge will be installed by the District of Sechelt. The clear span bridge will be constructed of aluminum and is located on the Selma Park road right-of-way. I have heard the location called the "washing machine" because of action of the water in the choke point directly below where the bridge will be. On Tuesday afternoon of this week (last week now) we did a site visit with members of the Trail Society and the potential contractor. Overall, the route is amazing - if you explore it now, there is a bit of a hill to get down to the flats and it then takes 30 minutes to walk to the bridge location through the flats. The trees are amongst the oldest second growth that you will find anywhere here on the coast, some of them rivaling the size of the ones in the Big Firs rec. site. The Sitka spruce here are the largest I have seen on the coast. For us as riders, we will be able to start a ride in Davis Bay, ride up the trails, cross Chapman, then ride the trails into the Wilson creek area without having to ride on the Highway or Field road." (As mentioned above, it means we'll be able to do a heck of a lot more than just that if we want to have more of an epic journey:-) Have a great holiday season and hope to see you out on the trails!

Oct 30, No Modifications!

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:17:28 -0400

On a rainy, gray day the best thing I can do is head out for a good, long hike or ride. So today I grabbed the dogs, hopped in the car and headed up to Big Tree. We parked at the parking area and then headed up the road to Desoto. We did the reverse direction from that described in my Desoto Route and as we were coming down Desoto I decided that it might be a bit more adventurous if we checked out the new trail No Modifications (6.21 on the West Sechelt map) on the way back. I hadn't been on the trail for three months or more and I had heard it was now complete. The last two times I hiked it the middle piece wasn’t pushed through and I had to do a little bushwhacking to get out. So instead of following the logging road back down to the Big Tree Rec Area and taking the Beaver Pond trail, we cut off to our left on Rock'a'Billy (6.20 on the map). This trail is not marked and you have to keep a close eye out for it. If you end up at a road going off on your left you've gone too far! We followed Rock'a'Billy past Bypass (6.19) and on to where the trail forks. If you take the right fork you are on No Modifications (left fork is still Rock’a’Billy and takes you out to the FSR over to the mine site). No Modifications is a really beautiful trail as it climbs over a lot of mossy rocks before descending through heavy forest. Lots of steep, loamy trail going down. This is a trail I will never ride because it is way too steep for me, but it makes a beautiful hike and adds a little distance and difficulty to my original Desoto Route. At the end of the trail you will pop out onto the logging road just west of Crowston Lake and just east of the junction where you can turn left down to the Big Tree parking lot. On your way down you can cut off through the Big Tree Rec Area again if you want or over to Parbac and return that way. Or you can do like I did and just go straight back on the road. This hike took me about 2 3/4 hours at a moderate pace.

Oct 20, Capilano University Mountain Bike Program Graduate in Movie

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:17:42 -0400

One of the Capilano University Mountain Bike Certificate Program graduates, Kyle Norbraten (class of 2008) is a featured rider in a bike movie called "From the Inside Out" coming out this month. You can see a trailer of the movie at Pinkbike.

Kyle is part of a group called the Coastal Crew and is not only a professional rider, but also part of the production team (film crew). Kyle moved to the Sunshine Coast from Prince George to completed the Mountain Bike Operations Program and has been a growing success story in the industry ever since. He is also the biker on the image (wall ride) which has been used to promote Capilano University.

There is a movie premiere scheduled in Gibsons on Oct 29th at the Heritage Playhouse. Tickets are $7 and can be bought at Off the Edge in Gibsons. This event will sell out for sure. Click here to find out more about the movie.

Oct 5, Roberts Creek East Map

Wed, 5 Oct 2011 20:54:01 -0400

The Roberts Creek East map shows all of the trails east of the B & K logging road., etc.

Sep 24, Trail Kudos

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:58:47 -0400

Two items of interest this weekend relating to our local trail builders. The first is an article written by Lydia Watson for the Coast Reporter. This is the third in a series of four articles that Lydia is writing for the paper about mountain biking and trails. This is my favourite one so far because it talks about our awesome trails and the wonderful people who build and maintain them. Here's a link to the article online or check it out in this weekend's newspaper. The second interesting tidbit is the news that our very own Brad Proctor is one of two IMBA Canada’s first-ever X-Fusion Trail Ambassadors. The other "winner" is Ryan Lindh from Nova Scotia (I mention him because he is a graduate of our local Capilano University Mountain Bike Operations Program). The award recognizes "advocates across Canada who go ‘above and beyond’ their volunteer roles to give back to the mountain biking and trails communities. Both Eastern and Western Ambassadors will be receiving a 2011 X-Fusion Velvet RL fork from RCS." Rod Camposano, another Sunshine Coaster, is a "runner up" and will receive Hygia Elite Carbon brakes. The fact that 3 of the 5 individuals mentioned are from the Sunshine Coast or have ties to it is pretty amazing considering this was a Canada-wide award! Congratulations you guys! The work you do really is outstanding and you certainly deserve the recognition! Here's a link to the IMBA site article for more information.

Sep 19, Interesting Tetrahedron Trip Article

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:06:30 -0400

I was poking around on the Internet this evening and came across this interesting article written by Larry Pynn, with photos from Ron Watts. Secret Slopes is a chronicle describing a winter trip into Edwards Lake and Mount Steele cabins. Note: This is a large file so will take up to a minute or so to open. The photos are outstanding and it is so well written that it made me want to head straight up on a trip. I can't wait to try out some snowshoeing in the area this winter and maybe try an overnight stay.

Sep 11, Soames Hill Trails

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:57:08 -0400

Soames Hill aka Knob Hill is located just 5 minutes from the Langdale ferry terminal and downtown Gibsons. Beautiful views from the top.

Sep 11, In the News!

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:08:02 -0400

This week’s Coast Reporter had two interesting articles that relate to trails/mountain biking and might be of interest to you. One is an article (first in a series of four) written by Lydia Watson called Bike school students head to class. This article talks about the unique Mountain Bike Operations Certificate Program offered at Capilano University here in Sechelt. Lydia has a very unique and knowledgeable viewpoint as she teaches in the program, and along with her husband Gary, owns and operates Off the Edge bike shop in Sechelt. The second article is about the TEDx Event being held at Chatelech Secondary school on October 1st. If you’ve never heard of TEDx it “was created in the spirit of TED's mission - ideas worth spreading. The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.” The Sechelt event’s theme is “The Nature of Creativity.” How does this relate to trails and/or mountain biking? Well one of the speakers will be Jay Hoots. Jay is very well known in mountain bike culture, teaches Park/Trail Design and Building in the Capilano University Mountain Bike Program and, among other things, has experience building over 24 community skills parks. He will be speaking about the creative process of designing sustainable Mountian Bike trails. You must apply for tickets at the website. As there will be a limit of 100 people at this all day catered event, a ticket lottery will be held to determine who will attend. For more information and to read the full articles, go to the Coast Reporter website.

Sep 7, Sharing the Trails

Wed, 7 Sep 2011 20:15:05 -0400

Yesterday I was poking around on the Internet again and came across a blog at the online Singletrack Magazine website. This fella from the UK was talking about how much pleasure he gets from showing off trails that he rides and knows so intimately in his own local area. He also talked about going to someone else's "local" and riding with them and how trails "take on a different quality when they’re shown to you by someone who knows them intimately, whose enthusiasm infects the ride, who can thread together a perfect combination of climbs and descents that you know are the right way to ride them." This really resonated with me and made me realize why I've taken so much pleasure in hiking, biking, gpsing and mapping over the last 8 months - even the computer work it has required to get the website up and running. It's because when you have a passion for something and you're proud of it, you want everyone to know about it and love it like you do. The Sunshine Coast, with its fantastic and friendly communities, hundreds of beautiful trails and most amazing natural environment is well worth taking pride in and I can’t help but want to share it with locals and visitors alike.

Sep 2, And the Winner Is...

Fri, 2 Sep 2011 10:59:51 -0400

The verdict is in - the most romantic trail on the lower Sunshine Coast is Mount Daniel. Apparently sweat encourages romance...or maybe it's just the fantastic views from the top! I also heard back from the young woman who had tweeted that she got engaged on one of the hikes from the Bikes and Hikes page. Turned out it was Mount Daniel. So I guess it really is the most romantic. Some other honourable mentions are: Francis Point in Madeira Park, Ruby Klein Traverse (part of the Suncoaster Trail), Hidden Grove out Sandy Hook way (I hear there is a "romance bench" at the lookout) and Soames Hill in Gibsons. Something all of these trails have in common is a glorious view from the top. Next week I'll do a poll that will appeal to the bikers and plan to ask which trail is the most popular downhill ride.

Aug 30, Most Romantic Trail on the Lower Sunshine Coast?

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:31:32 -0400

The other day I was poking around and came across a tweet by a young woman who had recently visited the Sunshine Coast. Apparently she had just gotten engaged on one of the trails from my Bikes and Hikes page. She even linked back to my page, but she didn't say which one it was. This got me thinking (which is always dangerous)! Out of all these trails, which one was it? So now I'm asking you. Which trail do you think is the "most romantic" between Egmont and Langdale? Scroll down to the bottom of this page and under the New Comments heading put your answer into the Add a comment field. Majority will rule and if I get enough responses and a clear winner I will add the title "Most Romantic" to that trail/hike on the website.

Aug 29, Bachelor Lake Hiking Route

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:55:30 -0400

Bachelor Lake is just one of many lakes in the Tetrahedron Provincial Park and has one of four cabins built by the Tetrahedron Outdoor Club.

Aug 28, Healthy Families BC Walking Challenge

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:26:38 -0400

The Healthy Families BC Walking Challenge invites you to post your favourite walk/hike in your community. The five communities with the most postings – one from each population size category - will win $10,000 to upgrade a local walking trail. One of the five winning communities will be selected by a random draw to win an additional $50,000! They also have random weekly draws for smaller prizes. I just won a $50 gift certificate for running/hiking shoes! Let's see if we can win $10,000.00 for one of our Sunshine Coast communities! Here's their website address.

Aug 22, Pender Harbour Trail Map

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:49:19 -0400

the Pender Harbour area is the most northern end of the lower Sunshine Coast. It has beautiful trails and many crystal clear lakes.

Aug 22, Pender Harbour Trails

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:47:30 -0400

Although not plentiful, Pender Harbour trails are some of the best on the lower Sunshine Coast.

Aug 17, Mt. Elphinstone Adventure - Conclusion

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:13:02 -0400

Now this saga takes a turn for the worse because I realized that it was past 4 pm and I was probably a good 2.5 to 3 hours from my car. I hauled out my cell phone to call everyone and tell them not to worry and, you guessed it, no service. Great, now what? I realized that the viewpoint on the shoulder of the mountain would likely have service so I stuffed my phone in my pocket and took off as fast as I could. At about 5:15 I arrived and tried calling again. Dialed my friend's number first, but the call wouldn't go through. Moved to a better spot and decided to call my home and leave a message for my husband. The call went through, rang 3 times and just before the message machine came on, my phone died. The battery was dead! Oh, oh. Now I was in real trouble. Everyone expected me home at around 5 pm. Well there wasn't a darn thing I could do at this point except get down as fast as I could. I made pretty good time down to Sprockids, but at this point I was tired and it was around 6:45 and I still had a good hour to go. I decided to go back on Hwy. 102 so made my way over and headed back across to the B & K. Got back to my car at 7:45! At this point, I decided to just get home as fast as possible and make my calls from there. As I was heading up one of the last roads to home (and after passing all the hot rods heading back to Sechelt after the rod run), I passed my husband heading down the road. He stopped, I stopped and he screeched back up the road to me. He was mad! Why hadn't I phoned? What was I thinking? He was worried sick! He was on his way to the police station to report me missing... Yikes! I was in big trouble. By the time we both got in the door, he had cooled off a bit and I came in quietly knowing he had a right to be angry. I was the one who had made a series of pretty stupid choices - one of them taking an under charged cell phone with me and the other taking a detour to check out a trail I knew nothing about. The next day I told my 23 year old son about it on Facebook. He messaged me back, “Tsk, tsk!” and then “Sounds like something I’d do.” Hmm, now I’m thinking he comes by it honestly. When I told my 19 year old daughter the story her response was, “And did you learn anything from this mom?” I did. My kids are so different from each other! Click here to see the Mount Elphinstone Summit Trail route page.

Aug 16, Mt. Elphinstone Adventure - Part 3

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:09:14 -0400

When I got back down to the trail intersection I made the brilliant decision that I would go check out the Dakota Creek Roads trail. I thought maybe it would take me over to an area closer to B & K and I could make my way back to the car that way. I should never listen to my "lazy" little voice. It almost always tells me to do the wrong thing. I should've just persevered and gone straight down, but then I wouldn't have been able to gps this other trail and maybe I would’ve found a better way out...anyway you get the picture. This trail wound through the forest and across some boggy, grassy meadows. Interestingly for mid August, there were still pockets of snow up at this elevation and some of it was quite deep. Finally I came out to a logging road. Unfortunately, after following the logging road for 20 minutes I realized I was really way out in the boonies and at that point I admitted defeat, turned around and had to retrace my steps back to where the trail started. I added a good 1.5 hours to my trip and an extra 300 feet of climbing by taking this “short cut.” Just as a side note – this trail does appear to be a viable alternate route in to the Mount Elphinstone Summit trail. However, the logging road has been deactivated and has several very deep gullies that would be difficult to get past in a vehicle. The road is also partially washed away in a few spots making it slope away to the “abyss”. Passable with care. I noticed that an atv had been on the road recently based on tire tracks I could see, but they were not able to get right to the trail head. Probably got to within about a 10 minute walk. Right at the trail head there are logs piled up across the road and there is a sign here pointing to the trail and marked Mt. Elphinstone Trails. The trail itself is marked with red markers. To be continued (the last segment)...

Aug 15, Mount Elphinstone Summit Trail Route

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:38:26 -0400

Mount Elphinstone is one of the highest peaks to hike to in the lower Sunshine Coast area. Beautiful views from the top.

Aug 15, Mt. Elphinstone Adventure - Part 2

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:09:39 -0400

The trip up was fairly uneventful after all the bear encounters. Ran into a couple coming down the trail and stopped to chat a bit. Turned out one of them recognized me from the website which was kind of weird! I warned them about the bear and we went our separate ways. After about another 40 minutes of hiking, at 3100 feet I caught up to another hiker. Stopped again for a chat and although he was going to stop and go back, he decided to join me for a bit seeing as we both thought that the altitude at the top was around 3400 feet. So, really we should only have another 300 feet to go! Turned out we were wrong - 3400 feet and no summit in site. Did finally get to a shoulder on the mountain where there was some view (first view of the day!). Carried on through a boggy area and then my new hiking partner decided he'd had enough and was heading back down. We said goodbye and good luck and went our separate ways. A short while later I came to a junction that I had not expected. There was a trail going off to the left and marked Dakota Creek Roads. Hmm, maybe on my way down I'd check it out. The final slog to the top was the steepest of the hike. The going gets tough from here on and reminded me of getting near the top of Grouse Mountain on the Grind. It feels like you start climbing almost straight up. Before the top I stopped to have a drink and eat a few bites of my sandwich. This was not an easy feat because the bugs were ridiculously bad. Little black flies and mosquitoes trying to get in my nose, mouth, eyes, hair. Luckily I had a hat, but they were up around my hairline and I lost count of how many I squashed. Disgusting and annoying! I am sporting lots of new, itchy bites. Energy restored I decided to get moving. I came out onto a rocky bluff that someone had marked with a little Canadian flag and I thought, "Finally, the summit!" Turns out it wasn't quite the top (just over 4000 feet), but for me that was it. I could see the trail wound around and probably up a bit more, but I didn't really care. The dogs and I had another quick bite to eat, and took some pictures. It was hazy in the distance and I knew they weren't going to turn out great, but better something hazy than nothing at all. The view from here really is quite spectacular. You can see for miles and miles with Vancouver glittering in the distance and all the little islands in between. Worth the climb, but the bugs weren’t letting me enjoy it! Time to head back down. To be continued...

Aug 14, My Mt. Elphinstone Adventure - Part 1

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:34:48 -0400

Friday was the day! I finally decided enough procrastinating. I was heading out and doing the Mt. Elphinstone hike. I checked a couple of write ups about the hike, looked at my map and tried to decide where to hike from. As far as I knew, I had two choices. I could start at the bottom of Sprockids or I could drive up to the end of B & K and take one of the trails over to Sprockids. Clever, lazy me, I decided to do the B & K thing. By the time I got there it was about 11 am. Plenty of time to get up the mountain and back home to watch the Rod Run with my husband at the fire hall. Like a responsible person, I called my friend Mona and told her where I was going and how I was getting there. I also called and left a phone message for my husband to let him know what I was doing and if I wasn't home by 5 pm to go without me and I'd meet him. So off I go - dogs trotting along happily with me. I realized very quickly that probably by going to the end of B & K would add a good hour or more to my hike, but at least I wasn't starting with straight uphill! I took Yellow Trail to Sprockids. So far, so good. We turned left onto the white trail at Sprockids and hadn't gone far when I could see one of my dogs getting a bit antsy and checking out the bush on the left. Sure enough, not very far ahead was a bear. Luckily, he trundled off into the bush and I was able to keep Nick and Honey from chasing after him. We kept going. Passed the orange trail entrance and a short while later got to another trail marked with yellow markers and a trail sign saying Summit Trail. Yeah, now we could really get down to business. Not far along the trail my dogs got antsy again. God, not another bear! Yep, there it was plodding up the trail ahead of us. I was starting to wonder if someone was trying to tell me something and should I maybe not do this hike today. However, once I've got something in my head I don't want to stop so I decided to ignore my sensible “little voice” and carried on - singing loudly to scare the bear away (and anyone else who might've been nearby). As we went, I knew the bear couldn't be too far away and sure enough there he was looking up at me from about 10 feet down the trail, just behind a stump. He looked at me; I looked at him and decided to just keep going. Luckily, that was the last we saw of him! to be continued...(tomorrow)

Aug 13, Pender Hill, Pender Harbour

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 00:13:45 -0400

Best view in the Pender Harbour area. Steep hike but only 20-30 minutes, well worth the effort. Take a picnic for the view at the top, you'll want to

What's Happening on Sunshine Coast Trails?

May 25, Mobile Apps, Trail Map and eBooks

May 20, News and Events for Sunshine Coast Trails

Jan 27, Sunshine Coast Trail Strategy - Press Release

Dec 28, Sunshine Coast Trail Maps Go Mobile