" Great book. Has a little bit of everything (places to hike, kayak, day tour, etc.), super informative and practical (conditions of camp sites, pubs to go to or avoid, etc.), and has awesome factoids about local flora/fauna and Aboriginal culture on the margins. Great for anyone interested in the BC outdoors! "
Frida Fantastic at goodreads.com
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Vanilla Leaf
While modern adventurers smear their skin with toxic chemicals to keep pesky bugs at bay, natives of the Pacific Northwest took a less carcinogous approach. The fresh-squeezed juice of common Vanilla Leaf was applied to fend off mosquitos and black flies. Dried leaves, smelling faintly of vanilla, were hung in bunches about the longhouse for the same purpose. A potion of boiled Vanilla Leaf was used to wash bedding to eliminate bed bugs and mites and as a hair treatment to fend off lice and fleas. Look for Vanilla Leaf at trailside in heavy forest wherever moisture accumulates.
Powell River Visitors Bureau has produced a brilliant map of the entire region detailing, not only the Sunshine Coast Trail, but the Powell Forest Canoe Route and Desolation Sound. The full-colour map includes topographic information, logging roads, and other routes of interest to mountain bikers, horseback riders and hikers. Key scuba diving, kayaking, climbing and camping locations are also highlighted. Click the link above to obtain a free copy of this excellent resource. Registered users can download a high resolution scan of the map in PDF format from the downloads section of the BC Car-Free website.
Map: Geological Survey of Canada 1:50,000 series sheets for the trail are 92 F/15 & 92 F/16.
The community of Powell River has it all, a remote, multi-day canoe route, a kayaker's paradise and now a 175 km bush trek. For info on the first two, follow the links: the Powell Forest Canoe Route and Desolation Sound. The latter Sunshine Coast Trail is the most recent development and, though complete, upgrading is expected to continue for some years yet.
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Known as "The Hulks," a flotilla of WWII era transports rings the deep water booming ground adjacet to the Powell River paper mill, providing protection from the bluster.
The entire trail is marked with bright orange squares though more detailed signage will be gradually added. Some campsites are rustic in the extreme but then again that's why we go there. The trail is so new in fact that this author has yet to hike its entire length. I did however live in Powell River for five years and have tramped and camped throughout the region including many of the areas embraced by the new trail. Since that was well-before the trail was ever conceived the description below will be necessarily scant.
Though on the British Columbia mainland, Powell River is an isolated community sandwiched between Desolation Sound to the north and Jervis Inlet to the south. The Sunshine Coast Trail runs from land' s end at Sarah Point southward to the end of the road at the Saltery Bay ferry terminal. Ferries connect the mill town with Comox on Vancouver Island and, via the Sechelt Peninsula, to the Lower Mainland. Twice-daily bus service provides a car-free link from Vancouver. Refer to Getting to the Sunshine Coast for full details.
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