Sunshine Coast Trail + Princess Louisa Inlet Boat Tour - Set 1

Jocelyn Timmermans
Jun 14, 2024
4 min read

June 5-8, 2024

Bit by bit I'm doing parts of the SCT, especially those listed and described in the 103 & 105 Hikes in Southwest BC books. One of these days I hope to have done all of it.

The Louisa Inlet was a magical nook tucked between high cliffs from which countless narrow waterfalls cascaded. Chatterbox Falls was the largest, winding it's way through the valley that separated the cliffs.

Day 1: Most of this day was devoted to travel time, involving two ferry crossings and driving the Sunshine Coast to Lund at the end of the 101 Highway.

When about 20 trucks infront of me in the ferry line came to a standstill, we knew our chances of getting on the 9:50am sailing were nil. So when a traffic controller walked up to my van and signalled me to break out of the line and proceed, I didn't immediately grasp what he meant. Us? I had just told Denise and Charlotte that it's happened more than once that we were among the last few to board. This time we were the very last! Our van was narrow enough to fit into that last space.

At Earl's Cove for the 12:55pm sailng. Both ferries were 50-minutes long; Horsershoe Bay to Langdale + Earl's Cover to Saltery Bay

In the quaint town of Lund we just had to stop in at Nancy's cafe for those home-made blackberry cinnamon buns. We were surprised to see a palm tree.

I've rarely seen a Devil's Club with such large fruits. They're poisonous for us humans but the bears love them.

The air was scented with perfume from the wild roses.

We were here last November when we took a water-taxi to Savary Island.

After driving about 20 minutes north on the Sarah Point gravel road, we boon-docked by the Wednesday Lake trailhead. Charlotte made a delicious alfredo dinner with zucchini noodles and ground turkey. Yum! A young backpacker stopped to talk, looking hopefully at the cooking food. We'd met him back at the ferry. He was on his way to hike the SCT.

Day 2: Wednesday Lake Loop in Malaspina Park on the SCT

Stats: 14.07 km / 641m gain / 382m high point / 4:20 hours MT

Foxglove

We did this loop clockwise. Not far into the hike we had to take our boots off and wade through this marsh, sucking in our breath as our feet made contact with the cold water. We were determined not to let a bit of water stop us. It felt refreshing afterwards.

A beaver dam.

The beavers were busy.

We were on a deactivated FSR all the way to the lake.

Wednesday Lake.

At the lake we turned right onto the Sunshine Coast Trail. The one sign warned that there was no water for the next 7km and the other said it was 4km to Manzanita Bluffs & hut.

Arbutus tree

Manzanita bush

By the time we got to the hut, we were good and ready for lunch and a rest. Denise had a about 20 pounds in her backpack so she could train for her upcoming trip.

Views of Savary Island that we'd hiked last November. Vancouver Island is in the background.

Bear-grass

More Manzanita bushes.

Back at Saltery Bay.

north

In Egmont we checked out the harbour.

Then we drove about 7 minutes to the Sunshine Coast Tours location at Garden Bay.

Charlotte was excited to see that this was the place of her memories from long ago when she stayed in a cabin there with her kayaking group.We had dinner in the pub/restuarant overlooking the harbour. It was so tranquil in the evening sun.

We stayed in a nearby campsite where the donkeys brayed loudly and Charlotte got to hold the pet one-eyed rooster.

Day 3:

The day dawned clear and sunny. With weeks of rain and cold weather behind our backs, the timing was perfect to see waterfalls.

It was a 2-hour boat ride to Chatterbox falls, in a small 12-seater boat with a constant flow of very informative narrative from the captain.

Boating north up Jervis Inlet. Mt. Churchill to the distant right.

Mt. Crerar -- northeast.

Soda Creek Falls.

Mt. Frederick William -- west.

Petroglyphs.

northwest

east

Nearing the end of Jerivs Inlet, we had to turn right into Princess Louisa Inlet.

Seals basking in the sun.

The captain had to give it a bit more gas to get through the mouth of this inlet where the current was quite strong. Malibu youth camp it to the right.