By: Aya Kristina Engel
Photos:
Aya Kristina Engel,
Crystel Clear &
Jodie Hon
Aya’s bio
Kristina has been a professional circus acrobat for seven years. She’s lived a wild life on tour, now she has now finally settled in Vancouver. She is a herbalist, yoga instructor and always eager to get into the mountains in her spare time. West coast passions include; hiking, kite surfing, acro yoga, SUP boarding and general shenanigans. Catch more of her @ https://www.instagram.com/ayakristina
Aya Kristina Engel
Six-day hiking trip & SUP in BC
The objective was to combine a multi-day paddleboard trip with multi-day hiking on the Sunshine Coast. I had been to the area before, scoped the terrain, calculated the kilometres and prepped the gear. I just needed the perfect adventure lasses, and Crystel Clear and Jodie Hon are two of the most badass women she knew. On June 2nd, 2021, we three women and a dog set out from Vancouver towards the Sunshine Coast to complete a six-day paddleboarding and hiking trip in the backcountry of British Columbia.
Powell River canoe route is 57km, eight lakes, and five portage loops that take roughly five days. It happens to intersect the Sunshine Coast trail, a 180km backcountry trail with the most amount of free huts in Canada, 14 to be exact. The upper Sunshine Coast is a mecca for adventure enthusiasts. The plan was to paddle two days, intersect the trail, climb the highest peak, camp up top, hike down and paddle two days out. Easy enough?
The trip began at the Mowat Bay Park boat launch at the south end of Powell Lake, one of the largest lakes on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. All three of us had inflatable Jobe SUP touring boards and multiple large dry bags stuffed with tents, camping supplies, clothes, food for six days, and whiskey. Nala (the ideal adventure mini Australian shepherd) was the first to jump on a paddleboard and wait impatiently for her paddler to join her. The air was warm, the stoke was high, music was playing from our waterproof speaker, and not even Crystel dropping her phone into the lake within an hour of takeoff could ruin our good moods. But if any divers are looking for a new iPhone 12, we have a local tip for you.
The first day we paddled eight kilometres to the Thornton Bay campground, a small secluded beach campsite with flattened tent spots tucked away in the forest. One of the benefits of paddleboard touring versus backpacking is that the weight capacity is much higher, meaning that you can pack a bit more luxuriously. Crystal decided we were having five-star meals on the beach. Six courses later, including fresh garlic jumbo prawns sautéed over the fire, we ate like queens that night. Full bellied, we laid on the beach and watched the stars, completely happy. Knowing there was nowhere else, we’d rather be.
ten women
We paddled 11 kilometres to the Fiddlehead Landing hut intersecting the Sunshine Coast Trail the next day. Upon arrival, we met two women who were mid-way on a gravel bike touring trip and five women who were beginning a multi-day hike down the Sunshine Coast Trail (arriving by water taxi).
We celebrated that the only people at this backcountry site were ten women and that we had arrived three different ways. We locked our paddleboards together, stashed our extra gear in the hut, and switched our gear and minds over to hiking mode. Only a few kilometres down the trail and beside a nearby stream, we found the perfect beach to set up camp for the night, falling asleep under old-growth giants to the sound of the running creek.
The following day we set off to hike to the peak of Tin Hat, which is approximately 10km and 1200m elevation gain. The trail was steep, but the hike through oversized luscious ferns, vibrant green moss, and towering giant cedars was well worth it. Once again, the luck gods were on our side, and we arrived at Tin Hat Hut just as the storm blew in and found the hut to be warm, dry, and empty. We got cosy for the evening and watched the show of thunder and lightning surrounding us, knowing that we would be sleeping dry that night.
the tallest peak
In the morning, the storm passed, and the clouds rolled by to expose one of the most beautiful 360-degree views we have ever seen. Tin Hat is the tallest peak on the Sunshine Coast Trail, and surrounding us, we saw mountain ranges, lush green valleys, and crystal blue lakes, including the one we had paddled down. That morning, we took our time to admire the view, drank our coffee, and eventually meandered back down to Fiddlehead Landing, finding the hut empty and our gear safe.
After another peaceful sleep in the wooden A-frame hut, we began our fifth day paddling back towards the town of Powell River. We stopped for the night at an unmarked beach that was too beautiful to pass by approximately halfway back. We had this white sand hideaway all to ourselves and took advantage of the extra time in our day to hike our way to Inland lake, only a few kilometres away, for a quick visit. We spent our last night around the beach campfire recounting our favourite moments from the trip, our incredible luck with empty huts and weather, and sharing gratitude for one another.
The following day, we paddled back to Powell River to finish our sixth day, bursting with happiness and appreciation for the beautiful nature surrounding our home and the friends who wanted to explore it with us. While this is a popular backcountry destination, we are sure to have been the first to do it this way, and we highly recommend it!
