New Shelters

#7 Tin Hat Mountain Cabin - Summer - Fall 2011

2011-10-27T01:30:00.000-07:00

A series of bluffs up the East Tin Hat Ridge presented better and better views the higher we climbed. This is the last open bluff before Tin Hat summit, a somewhat flat and large, though uneven rock outcropping. We decided to build the cabin here.

Looking southward from the cabin site you can see prominent Lewis Lake, and beyond that bits and pieces of lakes that make up the lower part of the Powell Forest Canoe Route that lies within the Horseshoe Valley. On the right, you see the Smith Range; in the central background Horseshoe Lake and Lois Lake appear hemmed in by Mount Troubridge. The ridge to the left (east) is the Knuckleheads.

Monty has discovered miniscule wildlife in the area. He is not scared of the little tiger at all. He is laughing at her and takes her picture.

Below follows a chronology of the construction of the hut which, complete with upgraded trail, took some 30 days over a period of about three months.

On Day One we flew up all the materials we needed. Quite a few lifts indeed. First thing we built were footing forms. Then we got right to it and mixed and poured cement.

After that was done we built a campfire and waited till the cook got serious. Notice the tripod with the camera covered by a baggy. It's Jim's and he would take periodic pictures always from the same location. We will make a separate post in the coming weeks.

Scott is the chef, with Andy the acting sous chef. Hm, what's for breakfast today? Looks like it was French toast with bacon. Terry is making sure no one recognizes him, especially the bugs.

All right men, well done. See the sono tubes filled with cement. Clever Jim, built temporary 2x4 supports that carried the weight of the floor and the walls while the cement cured and we kept building.

Yes, now that looks like it won't fall over just yet.

Another half wall has been thrown up. Richie gets ready to bring the next section.

Scott is poised slipping the west wall, and standing it up.

What's that Andy doing? He is always walking around anticipating what anyone might need. He isn't really doing a fire dance, drumming on one of the water barrels. Behind him lies upper Haslam Lake, and Mount Mahony. Terry is up on a ladder making sure the beam is seated just so in the notch of the yellow cedar post.

Richie is looking through the stairs into the crawl space. Look closely and you can see the temporary posts made out of two-by-four framing that hold up the whole building. Once the cement has fully cured cedar shims will be wedged into the steel brackets, thus transferring the weight onto the hardened columns. Eventually the two by fours will be removed.

Another evening rolls around. The crew catches its breath. The sun goes down. The garage in the background served as emergency shelter in case of downpours during the first days while there was no roof yet on the hut.

Here you see the shelf just down below the summit from where this picture is taken. The four walls are up and fastened together. The outhouse on the extreme left is up and functional. Tents are sprinkled about.

Today the trusses are going up...

...but now it's time for lunch: Terry, Jim, Scott, Andy, Richie and Eagle.

All the trusses are erected, awaiting the two-by-four strapping that will tighten up the roof and the building.

Now the strapping is on, and the crew is ready for dinner. Well, sooner or later.

The outhouse is bathed in early morning light. Looking north past the top of Goat Island, through Rainbow Passage, up Powell Lake, which is covered by low marine cloud.

The scaffold is built, and the strapping is ready to be covered. First a length of tar paper, which is then covered by a sheet of green metal roofing. The gable flashing came first.

The west roof is nearly done. Richie perches on top while Terry works off the scaffold. The rest of the crew is busy doing other work

That side is done and now we have to take down the scaffolding and re-use the lumber on the other side to build a scaffold there so we can cover that side of the roof.

West Roof done, Jim and the crew is taking a break.

...but not too long. Now a scaffold is built here and the strapping will tighten up this side as well.

Nearly done on the roof. The handcrafted door is installed. Boys, we are sleeping inside tonight. Never mind the garage. Terry jogs around the yard just for the fun of it. Now wasn't that fun?

Next outing Bob and Richie finish the roof, affixing the ridge cap.

Another grand day. The cabin is beginning to look like a cabin.

Freda Mountain, the view eastward from the yard.

Beartooth and the Rainbows, northward across Goat Narrows.

A relaxing evening. The bugs have gone on holidays.

As dusk fell, the moon rises over the Horseshoe Valley

Moonlight touches a tent in the foreground, and reflects in Nanton and Lois lakes.

What happened? Dinner again? Yes!

The cook dishes out yet another delicacy.

Have you ever seen such a wonderful sight? Some of the workers are not too tired to fool around just a little.

A carpet of dogwoods drapes itself over a boulder.

Two nurses from Vancouver were trekking on the Sunshine Coast Trail. They were the first visitors to sleep inside the cabin. Off early in the misty morning, they carried on to the next cabin, also just finished, over at Elk Lake.

The interior decorators are acting out a play called, Where will the furniture go?

Terry has moved his tent to the lip of the shelf. He is taking a close look at the double rainbow rising from the valley below.

Now he looks for the pot of gold over toward the Rainbow Range.

The porch and stairs are turning out to be a great place to hang out.

The last light of another productive day catches the hut and the tops of the Smith Range.

Next morning the sunrise falls on shreds of mist and Cut-block ST-822. The Stillwater Pilot Project provided for a trail corridor for the Sunshine Coast Trail in this section as it wends its way southward toward March Lake in the hollow, and Elk Lake up on the next ridge in the Smith Range.

Here the early morning mists are drifting eastward across the Lewis Lake ridge with its variable retention, and on down into the Horseshoe Valley.

To the north east Triple Peaks in the South Powell Divide displays a first dusting of snow.

Emily has taken a break from work and enjoys the views of Goat Lake and the Eldred Valley behind her .

Frogpond Lake is nestled into the centre of Goat Island, up the lake.

Pentstemmon grabs a foothold wherever there is a pocket of soil.

Bob and Scott await the end of the fourth expedition. Tired, but happy they are ready to hook up the camp kitchen.

Now almost all of the materials are used up. A view of the cabin from the summit. The Powell Forest Canoe Route expands below. That is a two-day paddle right there.

Eagle rips an old snag in half...

...fashioning two risers for the inside ladder that leads to the sleeping loft.


A large crew assembles one day and does a lot of odds and ends that need doing:

Gordon stands in front of the temporary ladder. He has dreams of something more artistic.

Brian relaxes by the campfire. The tripod awaits tomorrows group shot.

Ron is ripping cedar boards to use for finishing trim inside the house.

The new ladder is finished. Good job Gord. The finicky pellet stove is installed, the cloth pegs are ready to be put up on the wall. Please do wipe your feet before entering.

A frame has been attached to the pillars. Next they will be sheathed in with plywood, and battens.

A grand colourful sunset looking west over the Salish Sea.


Another crew was up for the day to finish the cement work on the front step:		Dipper, Eagle, Lynwood, David and Bill .

The steps are complete with a boot dirt removing brush and ancient moss. Yes, please scratch the worst of dirt off your boots.

A female cross-bill lurks around the bottom of the stairs looking for I do not know what.

During the third expedition Grant and Terry came up for the day.They finished closing in the crawlspace with Don and Eagle and then packed their tools to descend back down to the parking lot to their ATVs.

The weather has been foggy if not downright nasty. The near-hurricane-strength storm howled through the night, and the little hut hung tight.


The sun is setting in the west, fog-filtered it shines across the face of Tin Hat upon the hut now finished on the outside.

The outside is complete, locally manufactured cedar boards show up as boards and battens, and shutters await the winter storms.

The breakfast, lunch and dinner table, oh, and workbench for magic and trickery on the mountain.

Another day trip comes to an end. Don, Bill, Wayne, Terry, Wes and Doug cut out and grubbed the new and improved trail up from the parking lot.

Morning light on the hut, and on the radio repeater on the Tin Hat summit.

The post must get through. Oceanview and lake view

The kitchen counter is finished. The cabinets are empty. Whatever you need up here on the mountain you need to bring yourself. This is a shared-use facility and requires self-sufficiency. PRPAWS does not supply anything but the building with its rudimentary furnishings. Please pack out what you pack in.

Come in. There is a stove and a table with benches for your comfort. Upstairs is a sleeping loft, but again you must bring whatever you need.

The front of the cabin all finished with railings and outside cooking prep counter.

Food prep area with wind screen wall behind it. Snow shovel.

The right side of the porch, ideal for an evening cup of tea, and a mountain view.

Jim and Gord assess the situation. The site is clear. The cabin is ready for your use and enjoyment.

The first dusting of snow on Tin Hat Hut at the end of October. Mike Massulo Photo

#6 Elk Lake Hut - Summer 2011

2011-07-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

Elk Lake is at about 850 m elevation and lies on the northern end of the Smith Range, along the Sunshine Coast Trail. It is a beautiful lake to swim in when it's hot.

Since PR PAWS built a picnic site here in 2001 it has become a favourite destination for hikers in the summer months...

... and in the winter months too. Most years there are several feet of snow up in the Smith Range that make for a good snowshoeing or cross-country skiing expedition. The Elk Lake Loop has two parts, one around the outside of the bowl for hikers, and another through the inside, a multi-use route, which also leads up to panoramic Blue Mountain.

Toward the end of June of 2011, PR PAWS partnered with the Powell River ATV Club to build the Elk Lake Hut. But 2011 - being a La Nina year - brought much snow to the West Coast, and kept it in the local mountains a month longer than usual.

Some members of the ATV Club became impatient and decided to help speed up access to Elk Lake by removing the last remaining patches of snow that stopped them from beginning with the project. Dave, Mario, JJ, Mike and Bob R.

First the old campsite that PR PAWS had built ten years earlier at this location had to be enlarged. The men removed trees and shrubs and leveled the site extensively.

Here some of them are taking a well-deserved rest at the old picnic table.
Gordie, Mike, Bob H, Jim M, Dave, Richie and Brett.

Getting the site ready included moving a boulder that was in the way of having a flat construction site. The men pulled out winches, chains, ropes, shovels and picks, and in just a few days the site was prepared.

Nice work, guys.

Dave, Bob R, Stu, Brett, Rien and Richie

They also found an excellent site for the new outhouse with good soil conditions - and dug down deep.

Bob R, Richie, and Bob B

Fly-day came and the ground-crew met with the delivery truck out on the old Alaska Pine Road past Mud Lake, and hooked up the materials in nets and slings to the helicopter that flew a couple of dozen lifts up to Elk Lake. Eagle, Brandon and Scott

Meanwhile back up at Elk Lake a tool box arrives out of a misty sky. Now construction could begin.

We just managed to get everything hoisted up before the skies closed in again that would have stopped delivery. Whew, got lucky again.

Terry and Jim

Right away the crew laid out the framework that would position six sono tubes above the footings. Elk Lake Hut, like the other five huts PAWS has already built on the Sunshine Coast Trail, has the same foot print and the same basic design.

The holes for the footings were dug...

... and soon they were filled with cement the boys had mixed by hand in the wheelbarrow. Steel rods were anchored in the cement and would bond the cement that would be poured into the sono tube forms - once they were attached to the wooden framework.

Bob B and Jim S

By the end of the next work party the forms were built, and the cement was poured and began its curing process that would last a few days before the crew would return.

When they came back they brought the sun with them and put up the yellow cedar posts they had found floating in the lake, and on the ground nearby- just perfect for the project.

After the posts were plumbed and in line with each other they were held together with 2x4 bracing, which served the dual task of scaffolding. Planks were affixed making the structure more rigid. From here the roofing crew would go on, erecting the pre-fabbed trusses for the roof...
Darryl, Jim M, Paul, Stu, Jim S, and Rien

Next the trusses were lifted onto the beams and stood up, and held in place with temporary strapping.

Note another half dozen or so lying on their side to the left, waiting to be erected on the following outing...

Presto: the roof is up and fully strapped, complete with gables.

And on another day the metal roofing sheets were screwed to the strapping. It's a big step when the roof is finished. Now you have a dry area under which to work.
Meanwhile Rien and another part of the crew had finished building the new outhouse

Now the floor joists were nailed to the headers for one half of the floor. That would be followed by the other half, scabbed onto the first. Building it in two sections like this allows the centre to be raised a hair so that any moisture that might end up inside the hut would drain away from the centre, and not pool.

Jim S and Stu

When both halves of the floor were built, plywood was installed on top of the joists.

Then the walls were framed in with their window openings.

Plywood was nailed on the 2x4 wall framing...

... and then covered over with tar paper, followed by locally milled cedar board and battens.

It wouldn't be too long before the outside of the hut was covered and windows would be next.

Stu, Rien, Bob R and Richie

The fire ring is safely positioned on a new cement pad.

The floors are painted, the counters are installed, the ladder heads up into the sleeping loft, the windows are in, and...

... ta dah, it's all finished. Richie, Terry and Bob R chuckle as Bob B is suspended for joy.

Time to relax. Time for a...

... swim.

Now isn't that a ting o' beauty?

Now open for all members of the public.

Awesome work guys. Awesome.

GRAND OPENING, Sunday, September 18th, 2011,

A few weeks later, during the grand opening, the food preparation counter was being field tested.

Yes, it works very well.

Linda and Karen make a nice presentation at the north window. Snacks before the dogs.

Ah, life is good.

Juice, cookies, hot dogs... What could be better than that? Well, maybe a swim.

The entrance is busy with people coming and going from the fire down near the dock.

Hats off, ATVers, you did a fabulous job. It was, and is, simply marvelous being able to work with you.

Thank you for everything.

A couple more friends drop by and join in with the fun.

The men are trying out a variety of techniques to get their dogs roasted just so.

It hardly even drizzled A-Tall.
Nobody said it was tropical.

But the cameras came out when they heard the fat boys decided to cool off.

Love that ladder at the end of the swimming dock that lets you get out before you freeze to death.

Well we have to go now.

Come and visit Elk Lake some time, and enjoy this shared-use facility. Like with the other huts, it's pack in, pack out. Nothing is provided but the shelter, so whatever you think you will need, you will have to bring it. And you will have to take it out again with you, too. Thank you.

Elk Lake Hut from the air.
Enjoy in good spirits and in good health.

Photos by Richie Bird, Terry Roberts and Eagle Walz

#5 Manzanita Hut - Winter/Spring 2011

2011-06-13T20:27:00.001-07:00

From Site Location to Grand Opening

A view westward from Manzanita Bluff with Lund lowlands in foreground and snow-capped Vancouver Island in the distance.

It is here on Manzanita Bluff in the Gwendoline Hills that PR PAWS planned to build its fifth hut on the Sunshine Coast Trail. It is doing so with the help of many, but in particular its funding partner Island Coastal Economic Trust (ICET). PR PAWS provides volunteer labour, while ICET provides matching funding to cover the costs of the building materials and their transportation to the shelter sites. The maximum number of matching dollars PR PAWS can access is $160,000 for the 8 wilderness shelters. 5 down, 3 to go. The volunteers are unpaid but generate matching funding at the equivalent of $15 an hour. The funding goes exclusively to cover building materials and transportation. Combined, a number of trail projects on Vancouver Island have received several million dollars.

PR PAWS already had a campsite with outhouse and picnic table nearby on Manzanita Bluff that has been in use for about ten years. We knew this was a good location for a hut because it was a day's hike from the start of the Sunshine Coast Trail at Sarah Point and had a fabulous view in an old growth setting.

Scott dances through the broken rock and brush, while Don agrees with the assessment that this will be a good building site after they finish leveling it.

Always a highlight of the working day: Roasting smokies for lunch and telling jokes and tall tales. Andy insist on using a crooked stick, rather than the sophisticated grill Don is readying.

On a subsequent outing John, Ron and Scott pose for a picture at the end of the day. A couple of danger trees leaning over the building site have been felled and the area is beginning to look a little flatter.

One weekend in mid-January World Canada Youth joins PAWS and helps clean out the overgrown old forestry road that will improve the access for all the work parties that will be required to complete the hut over the ensuing months. Once we reached Manzanita Bluff we made a fire under the tarp and hunkered down for lunch and laughter.

At last, after the approach and the building site were prepared to our satisfaction we called the fly day at the start of February 2011. Courtenay transported the posts in his ancient pickup truck, while all the other materials were unloaded from the delivery truck. Lyn admires the custom grille from under his umbrella, and Bob stands ready to unhook another lift.

Here goes Matt in the magnificent flying machine taking the gable end up onto McPherson Hill, on which Manzanita Bluff is situated. That day the moisture-laden skies were overcast, but held off by and large until the flying was done.

View southeast from the old picnic table and campsite, evidence of the first round of improvements to the Sunshine Coast Trail, of putting picnic tables, outhouses and tent sites in strategic locations along the 180 kilometre long trail. Three K Bluff rises in the middle distance, beyond which lies Rieveley Pond Hut, a day's hike away.

Now that the site has been prepared and tidied, and the materials are all on site, we begin with locating the corners, transiting, and nailing the framework in place that will hold the sono-tubes for the foundation.

Mace Point on the eastern end of Savary Island appears attached to the Lund lowlands in the distance.

Laurie builds a cement footing form out of rock that will contain many buckets of concrete and anchor the building solidly in all manner of weather. As the footing firms up the sono-tube gets filled to the appropriate level.

Terry, Bob, Scott and Don all take turns at doing one aspect of building or another, from getting the heavy bags of dry cement and the exactly correct amount of water poured into the buckets, while someone mixes it with the paddle and the drill. This is definitely a step up from when we mixed cement in a wheelbarrow on our first hut at Fairview Bay. Yes, we now use a generator that powers our tools. Someone else carries the buckets of mixed concrete over to the footing forms and pours them.

Here is the cement footing and pillar that Laurie had worked on earlier. Now it is filled with concrete and has a metal post anchor embedded at the top to which one of the six cedar post will be permanently attached with lag bolts.

Some days later, after the cement has cured, the posts are erected, plumb and in line, and are held in place by 2x4 bracing, some of which doubles in duty as scaffolding for access to putting the roof up.

Eagle is up on the scaffolding, cutting a notch on the outside of one of the posts with a chainsaw. One of the beams will be nailed into this notch with heavy spikes. Nice plumb, square and level now.

The orators hold discourse at the end of a productive day. Hot air rising above the flames.

The basic main floor structure is complete. The posts and beams are braced. Planks are affixed to the scaffolds, and already some of the trusses and a gable is lying on top, ready for erection the next day out. That was one good day's effort.

Harvey and Don go back to the materials store for another truss. The ground crew can hardly keep up with the demand. The roofing crew throws up the trusses lickety split.

Lunch is about the only time these characters are still. Here Dipper, Jim, Don, Scott and Lyn chow down in the lunch shelter. It was one of the first things set up on site to allow the crew to get out of any downpours, and have a place to have a dry lunch. It came in handy once or twice.

Ain't she looking sweet, boys! Time to finish her up.

Another truss please.

Before long all the trusses are toe-nailed in and kept upright and parallel with temporary strapping. Meanwhile Scott and Jim are nailing down the floor upstairs.

Bob and Dipper ensure that all the strapping is nailed to each and every truss. Good work, men.

The tools are packed away, the site is cleaned for the day, and we head home hey, hey.

They can hardly believe that there is a shelter emerging from their very hands.

Next day, Jim and Eagle are up on the roof fastening insulating roofing paper to the trusses, and then screwing metal roofing sheets down onto the two-by strapping.

Bobby Cash at your service. You wanted some more screws?

I must say it's a fabulous view from up here.

Now that the roof is finished the scaffolding is coming down, though we still need bracing until the gussets are installed to ensure stability of the structure.

On a sunny day, looking westward across the Salish Sea toward Campbell River on Vancouver Island. This bench was the first thing PR PAWS built up here on Manzanita Bluff a few years after completing the route of the Sunshine Coast Trail.

Looking through the hut from the back yard. Floor joists lie ready to be nailed in place on the next outing.

A few days later the gussets are nailed on. They were also made from cedar slabs we had sawed with a chainsaw from poles cut in the lowlands.

Next came the floor joists that later were made rigid with blocks staggered between them.

Don, Bob and Bill are having a laugh. Tuco looks perplexed. What are they laughing about? Is cutting blocks that funny?

Lyn swings Little Blue, a rock hound's pick that works wonders in leveling rocky sites. That terrace is coming along nicely. Soon we'll be able to build a picnic table in this very spot.

One day it wasn't sunny or warm. A sudden cold front hammered the hillside and brought huge snowflake howling horizontally through the wall-less shelter. Another day a downpour did virtually the same. Did I say shelter? That wasn't a shelter that couldn't shelter us from the elements on the side of the mountain. We needed walls and windows to the wind. We needed a shelter that sheltered.

Laying plywood outward from the raised centre-joist we nailed first one half of the floor and then repeated the same process on the other half. That ensured a good fit and an easy easy trim at the far ends of the floor.

Angie and Bob finish cleaning up the landscaping. Tuco is listening attentively.

Lyn and Bob get ornery with a root that had remained until now in the middle of a high-traffic area in front of the entrance to the hut. It just had to go. Here, let me help you yank it this way.

And it did just go.

Landscaping fiend Angie takes a break before getting serious about moving more dirt and rock and rounds of firewood. Once this area is cleaned and leveled we can start to think about bringing six foot sleepers for the picnic table to be constructed right where she is sitting.

Next outing the crazed amigos haul six foot rounds. The planks are already there. Go picnic table, go.

Well, all right then, we spiked this together before the drizzle turned to sleet. Smokies anyone? I've got the wiener stick.

Another view of the new picnic table on the new terrace built specifically to accommodate it and a fire-pit. Note that the garage/come lunch tent no longer houses the two-by-four picnic table. It has already been moved into its permanent location on the main floor of the hut.

The walls and windows were a no-brainer after the snow and rain squall episodes. The east wall is framed in to take a recycled sheet of glass (patio lites) from an old sliding glass door.

The south wall would take four more sheets. Plus a happy crew calling it another fabulous day.

Kevin is GPSing sections of the Sunshine Coast Trail that have been rerouted in a couple of spots going through private forest land. Fortunately Island Timberlands showed willingness and community spirit by providing some buffers for the SCT in the re-locations that work fairly well for the trail. Much appreciated, ITLP.

Ron is busy installing the blocks for the treads of the ladder that leads up from the main floor into the sleeping loft.

Monty gives it the stamp of approval. We found more old growth nearby on the side of the mountain.

The plywood is on the the south and east wall. The shutters are on the gables.

The windows are in. Yeah.

And now the board and batten is being applied on top of the plywood covered walls.

Richie is cutting small pieces of wood needed inside to do finishing carpentry, such as the cooking counter.

Ron really took objection to this one stubborn root that stuck out in the middle of the trail to the outhouse. Who could be more stubborn than that? Well Ron could.

Approaching signs of spring. A rising wall of cloud over Vancouver Island does not come this way and for a good many days this spring there was always a hole in the clouds that showed blue and let down the sun onto Manzanita Bluff. Some kind of nifty micro-climate.

Karen relaxes for a while during one of these first few warm days of spring. Everywhere else you might have had rain clouds letting go. We were experiencing the miraculous Manzanita effect.

Eagle and Scott are putting up the rain gutter for an emergency supply of fire suppression water collected in a barrel that is connected by a downspout to the gutter.

Just in case it ever rained.

Dipper is taking a momentary breather before resuming fixing up his new trail that hooks up to the outhouse.

Eagle, Scott and Dipper chuckle at lunch.

The Canuck Nations reached even into these far away parts.

Brian pre-cut all the cedar boards in town and we assembled them on site. The outhouse works very well.

Time for another terrace. Dipper and Scott finish leveling the site, banking dirt and rocky debris against a line of larger rocks on the lower side of the tenting pad.

Don holds the finishing saw with relaxed authority. Yes, sir, this pony wall and fitted arbutus entrance post looks mighty fine. Another pony wall runs the length of the north wall. It is cosy inside now, even in a storm.

Willie and Terry lounge on the completed benches, made from left-over lumber. What - you have a few more two-by-fours? I'll make another bench. After all this is bird-watching country.

A fair sized work party says good by to Manzanita for another day:
Joe, Don, Eagle, Jim, Richie, Bob, Bruce, Terry and Bob behind the camera experience the satisfaction of having accomplished something worthwhile on this day.

Close up of the fire suppression set-up.

The downspout can be lifted out of the funnel that is installed in the removable lid of the barrel in case the overflow water in the nearby bucket is insufficient. This water is only meant for emergency fire suppression. Not for washing dishes or anything else for that matter.

We thank the visitors to the hut for their cooperation in this matter.

View of South Copeland Island adjacent to the lowlands. Only the beginning of Thulin Passage is visible. To the left is Major Rock, and beyond lies Hernando Island, with a glimpse of Vancouver Island in the cloud and haze.

View from the entrance of Manzanita Hut of the main floor, which is now painted. Ladder with arbutus railing straight ahead, and kitchen counter partially visible to the right. Picnic table now painted brown in the living room area. Metal comment box in the far corner.

Now the L-shaped food prep counter is covered with a metal sheet, making it easier to keep clean and adhere to food safe standards in the bush.

Scott muses the Grand Opening. Five months of work. About 900 volunteer hours in total. Let's see. That will generate enough matching funding from Island Coastal Economic Trust to cover the cost of the materials and their helicopter transportation. Hmm. That's good.

Hope the weather will be fine. We might see a few dozen hikers.

At the Malaspina trailhead a good crowd has gathered to hike in the long way to Manzanita Bluff for the grand opening. That is very promising. It had threatened to rain in town in the early part of the morning. At departure time, more and more people arrive, and follow in on the well marked trail - into the heart of the Gwendoline Hills

Janet on the way to Manzanita Bluff. Grand Opening ahead.

To our great surprise, loads of people turn out to get up on the trail via a logging road that made for a shorter hike. Nevertheless, even on the shorter approach there still was a hill to be climbed, and that is not easy if you are in a TrailRider, or walking with an injured foot and a walking cane.

When all was said and done at the end of the day, I had a hard time keeping up with the contraption. From the looks of it the riders were having a lot of fun.

Even Lita made it to the top. And so did babies and one soon-to-be-born. It was a grand day.

When hikers arrived at the hut they had a look around, had lunch, and investigated the building and the surroundings.

They also visited with each other. There were many people who were new to the trails.

Finally, when all had arrived Eagle greeted everyone on behalf of PR PAWS while Betty Wilson, elder-in-waiting, spoke to the assembled in her native Tla'Amin language and also welcomed them in English.

Then it was Barry Janyk's turn. Barry is Mayor of Gibsons, and also Chair of Island Coastal Economic Trust (ICET), which is the funding agency that provides matching funding to PR PAWS' volunteer labour in the context of their Sunshine Coast Trail Enhancement Project. He congratulated the volunteers for creating a world-class recreation/tourism facility. He also mentioned other trails being funded on Vancouver Island and the Lower Sunshine Coast. He had brought with him his three year old son who also hiked up the mountain.

Some of the audience had benches to sit on...

...others stood for a good view, and others still found a comfortable spot to sit on the ground, or on a stump.

Surrounded by old trees they listened to the speeches.

After the speeches the plaque commemorating the event was unveiled. Al Baronas, the CEO of ICET stands with Eagle Walz, president of PR PAWS, below the plaque at the entrance to the hut. PAWS is grateful for being able to access funding through ICET that pays for building eight shelters on the Sunshine Coast Trail. Indications are that they will be popular with the local public and visitors to this community. Inquiries about the Sunshine Coast Trail have increased dramatically this year over last at the Powell River Visitors Bureau.

Finishing Touches on Manzanita Hut

2011-06-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

The work party were at it again putting the finishing touches on the Manzanita Hut before the Grand Opening on Sunday, June 12 @ 1:30. The Hut is a work of art.

Eagle, Scott, Bob and Bill having a much needed rest after all their hard work.

I can't wait to see the Hut for real.

Appleton to Rieveley Pond SCT section (Km 34-35)

2011-06-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

Last week the loggers working on a cutblock near the section of the SCT from Rieveley Pond to Appleton Canyon inadvertently felled trees onto a hundred metre long part of the Sunshine Coast Trail that runs along the edge of the cutblock boundary, made traverse very difficult.

Some trail volunteers (Ron and friends) appeared on Thursday and marked and cut a reroute around the top of the felled trees so as to provide an alternative to hikers.

Today the loggers finished pulling out the trees they had felled into the forest and pulled them into the cutblock setting where they belonged. The trail is good to go now and the loggers will walk the trail Monday morning again and make sure there are no branches left on the trail. Thank you to Ron and crew, and thank you to the loggers for pulling out the trees and removing the obstruction. The trail is free again for all pedestrian traffic.

A Preview of the New Hut at Manzanita Bluffs

2011-05-30T20:09:00.001-07:00

#5 Manzanita Hut - Winter/Spring 2011

2011-05-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

A variety of spring flowers grow along the newly reopened Sunshine Coast Trail section from Malaspina Road to Manzanita Hut, such as coral root (illustrated) and lady slippers. Currents and manzanita bushes are also in bloom.

The local weekend hiking club - fit as fiddles - admire the Rhododendron Grove in the Gwendoline Hills on the way to Manzanita Bluff Hut.

Island Timberlands, the owners of the private wooded property, had conversations with PR PAWS resulting in a tree retention area to protect the vibrant forest garden, and sections of the Sunshine Coast Trail. Thank you Island Timberlands LP, this community appreciates your accommodations.

Crossing the 50th parallel at the Three Notch fir the trail angles westward up to Manzanita Bluff, and the fifth of the huts PR PAWS has built over the last year and a half.

A grand opening is scheduled for Sunday, June 12, 2011, and everyone is welcome. There are two ways of reaching Manzanita Hut, which, it must be emphasized, is located on a bluff in the Gwendoline Hills at 300 metres elevation. The first and longer way (5.3 km) is via the Gwendoline Hills section of the Sunshine Coast Trail beginning in the S-curve on Malaspina Road. This approach takes between two and three hours, with an extra hill thrown in at 3-K Bluff.

A shorter way begins off Sarah Point Road, exactly 2.1 km north of the Lund gas station. Turn right onto Rowe Road and follow the most worn track which will also have square orange markers along the way to guide you. It is a 4 kilometer long hike, including the Spire Access Trail, which connects to the Gwendoline Hills Trail (SCT) one km below Manzanita Hut. We will attempt to provide transport part way on Rowe Road for those that need it most, but that will not eliminate the 2 km long ascent on the trail.

#4 Mount Troubridge Log Cabin - Fall 2010

2011-04-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

Mount Troubridge Log Cabin -
Fall 2010

View from Mount Troubridge with Saltery Bay below, and Nelson and Hardy islands, as well as the south end of Texada on the right, and Sechelt Peninsula on the left.

We took delivery of the building materials and the previously shaped logs for the log cabin. The shell was dry fitted in Hogan Log Homes yard nine rounds high, then disassembled and loaded onto a truck. Next the truck drove over logging roads to a staging area as close as closed as possible ot the building site up on Mount Troubridge.

There all the materials were unloaded and then put into nets or slings, and hooked up to the helicopter that could lift 1000 pounds.

Then the materials, the equipment, the food, the team of expert builders and the PAWS volunteers were all dropped at the building site that we had already cleared beforehand.

We set up the garage, the tents, the mosquito screen gazebo, and outdoor kitchen such as it was.

On the first expediton, we had built the framework for the cement footings and pillars, and mixed and poured by hand the concrete.

Next we very carefully anchored the beams, on top of which came the joists and the plywood floor.

We also put the outhouse together.

Here is a supply of food for one of the expeditions.

The kitchen and socializing area on a night when the mosquitoes had gone to bed early. We tried out the new pellet stove that was destined for the inside of the log cabin.

On the next expedition Wiley surveys his domain. The first round was in place.

Wiley is either telling a joke, or giving instructions. No flies on him.

Four rounds were up. Dave and Wiley were moving the numbered and previously shaped logs into their proper places.

Terry measures carefully. Measure twice, cut once.

Wiley, Lewis and Dave take a deserved breather. Now they are looking for the volunteers to give them a hand lifting the large 8 rounder into the place.

At the end of the day it's time for a little relaxation.

All the logs are in place, including the long ones at the top that will provide the overhanging loft, and covered porch.

Here is one of the most difficult tasks: Pick up the heavy gable truss, lift it up onto the log cabin shell and nail it standing into place. When that was done, we breathed a sigh of relief.

The gable end is up and in place, and so are a couple of the other trusses.

One after another the trusses are lifted up and nailed into place.

Things are starting to come along. Half a dozen trusses are bunched up together, ready to be moved into their places and nailed to the top logs.

This is another view of the same stage.

And here another.

Eventually we got to the point when all the interior trusses where up, and then finally the other gable end truss. You can also see how the scaffolding is attached to the bottom edge of the trusses, extending about five feet beyond the ends of the trusses. Planks are temporarily nailed to the two by fours and make the structure rigid and safe

Terry, Jim, Dave, Wiley and Lewis pose on a nearby view bluff at the end of one of the early outings. Below you can see Scotch Fir Point, with Texada in the background.

Approaching Jocelyn Pond from the air you can make out the log cabin with the trusses in place.

Next followed the roofing metal sheets.

There Bob and Ron are carrying the double glazed windows that will help keep the cabin warm in the winter time. They also have mosquito screens to keep the bugs out in the summer.

The basic structure is complete, but we still have loads of things to do, inside and out.

The crew of one of the expeditions is relaxed at the end of the outing. Here we have left to right, back row: Brian, Terry, Bob, and Jim. Front row: Scott, Eagle and Ron.

We are almost ready to pull out this time. All the back packs and empty water containers are put into a net, which will be attached to the helicopter and carried out to the staging area.

Both Jim and Don are working on the outdoor furniture and the posts and railings of the porch and stairs. We are using native materials found on site to give it that funky, authentic look.

Bruce and Brian are busy insulating the large sleeping loft that you can stand up in. The cabin can sleep up to a dozen people in a pinch.

Here is what it looked like next day after they were finished with the application of the tongue in groove siding, and the installation of the chimney coming up from the pellet stove located downstairs.

The food prep and cooking area on the main floor.

More food prep area out on the porch, complete with sink.

Now the porch is all done, ready for coffee and such.

We have enclosed the crawl space on three sides. This ought to keep some of the weather out.

We're done. The tools, equipment, shelters and packs have already been taken care of.

Don, Bruce, Scott, Jim and Eagle are ready to go home. All of us at Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (PRPAWS) hope the cabin will be enjoyed by many people in the coming years. It is a shared-use facility. While it is free, PRPAWS welcomes donations that will help us maintain the huts we are building. You may donate on-line on the homepage of our website: http://www.sunshinecoast-trail.com/
We also want to thank our major donors from BC Hydro and the Island Coastal Coastal Economic Trust (ICET) for providing the funding for the log shell, the other materials and the transportation. PRPAWS and friends provided the hundreds of hours of donated labour. Please enjoy Troubridge Cabin in good health and good spirits.

#3 Rainy Day Lake Shelter - Summer 2010

2011-03-19T05:33:00.000-07:00

Rainy Day Lake is tucked into a bowl at nearly the 400 m level on the south slope of Mount Troubridge. You will find Hailstone Knoll, not quite a peninsula, on the eastern end of the lake. The PR Parks and Wilderness Society built a trail down from there to the swimming hole at the foot of the bluff.

When first scouted the knoll it was a tangle of nearly impenetrable vegetation, and was not generally favoured as a shelter location. But eventually it revealed its beauty and suitability.
Jim agreed to make a fire and have lunch. He stood where the shelter was constructed later.

Scott and Don got into the action and had fun with the come-alongs, only breaking three wimpy ones before clearing the site of stumps that would be in the way of the shelter.

After a few tiring outings the site was open enough to build the shelter. The smoke rose from the same spot that Jim had stood on a few weeks earlier (see earlier picture).
Double-click the picture on the right and spot the hewers of wood and movers of rock take a well-deserved break. Note that Rascal is dog-tired too.

However, the site was so rugged, and had such tenacious bedrock that it convinced the men that only blasting would level this site.
So, instead, we decided to build a wooden floor.
Subsequently, PAWS built the framework for the foundation and the sono-tubes. A couple of BOMB Squad guys came out too.

Some days after the cement had cured, Brian put his carpentry skills to work.

For the Rainy Day Lake project we had invited the Powell River Rotary Club to join us after the foundation was in.

They came out at the beginning of June and put up the posts, and beams, the bracing and the scaffolding...,

... and presto, next came the trusses. The heavy gable-end truss was slid up first and erected, nailed, braced, and followed by the others...

... one after another in fairly quick succession.

Joyce was having a good time. The ground team had to hold tight till the roofing crew was ready to heave up the truss. By the end of that work/fun day all the trusses were in place, and the crews were tired.

The short, sharp rise up to the knoll got the sledge and drill routine going. The men were cutting and whacking steps out of the rock to make the going easy.

That was a fabulous day. Let's come back next Sunday, they said.

The following outing saw the floor joists go in and the strapping go up. Wayne and Scott developed an excellent system with the ground crew supplying materials.

Loft with a view toward the lake. The strapping was done, yeah.

The PAWS crew partnered with another group at Rainy Day Lake. The Powell River ATV club came out one day and started putting up a hall of fame.

But first they had to joke around some more.

Is Terry ever going to make it out of there? He doesn't seem worried.

Ah, there he was at the far end. Note the elegant hockey stick and the wooden puck. This team's ready to play. Yup, another good day in the bush.

Thanks guys. It's a lovely hall of fame.

The Rotarians had made a fire for hot dogs at lunch time, and had all the fixings, and libations. Plus more for at the end of the day. Thanks very much for everything.
Just when we were ready to tidy up and go home we had our first visitors. They had come from far away - members of the British Army testing their mettle on the Sunshine Coast Trail. I think there were six of them, and they'd been hiking on the SCT four or five days. They had just come over the snowy top of Mount Troubridge and down this side to Rainy Day Lake - and they were rather frapped, and unaware we were even here. Their eyes popped out. A loft to sleep in - but it got better. Thanks to the Rotary folks there were plenty of hot dogs and cool drinks to go around. Now who would believe them that back on the base?

On Fathers' Day a small group came out to do some painting , and putting up a few gussets, and such. Happy Fathers' Day.

A few days later another small crew headed up to put up the railings.

Things were shaping up indeed. Now there were shutters in the gables.

An eagle alighted on a nearby tree, and watched us curiously for quite some time, once in a while calling its mate across the bay.

The end toward the lake has a picnic table, and also a bench that can be moved to suit the occasion.

The other end beyond the ladder has pony walls and the food prep counter.

John's happy with the outside picnic table we built in the camping area below the shelter on Hailstone Knoll.

Monty headed down to the swimming hole, inspecting the trail he helped build. Not quite in the mood for a dip though. Time to wash up and call it a day.

The cooking counter is covered with an aluminum sheet, which should make it easier to keep clean.

The mailbox on the post contains the log book.

Please make an entry. We'll start it off.

#2 Rieveley Pond Shelter - Winter/Spring 2010

2011-03-18T03:24:00.000-07:00

During the late winter and early spring months of 2010, while we were building the Rieveley Pond shelter, a number of us made the acquaintance of the Killer Grouse, and have tales to muse about.

Rieveley Pond as seen from the small bluff on which we located the second of our shelters.

There were a few trees we had to cut to get a large enough opening for the shelter. Then we weed whacked the salal,

and began exposing the stumps which were inside the footprint of the shelter site.
What chance does a stump have if Mr. Wombat takes an interest in its removal?

Jim makes sure the foundation is square and just so, while Scott and Don contemplate the height of the sono-tube.
We are preparing to mix the cement by hand. Monty is telling a tall tale, while Richie gives it some thought and Lyn laughs in front of the stack of concrete bags.

The last of the bags has been mixed in the wheelbarrow, and the cement is getting tamped down. It was quite a whirlwind operation with two crews mixing in two separate wheelbarrows at the same time.

We also scouted some charred cedar poles in the bush, which we cleaned up with a draw-knife and a sputs. They will be the posts to sit atop the cement pillars.

The PAWS foundation crew has completed its job and is ready to turn over the operation to the Bloody Old Men's Brigade (BOMB Squad), with whom we have partnered on this shelter. Together with Jim they will take it from here.

Days later the BOMB Squad arrives in full force. The posts are erected plumb, and are ready for the scaffolding - and for the beams to be placed on top of them. A few Thursday work parties later the trusses are up, the roof is on.

Before the pony walls and the picnic table were installed we had the first visitors. These lads from Atlantic Canada were here hiking the Sunshine Coast Trail. A few days into their trek, they ran into a late season April blizzard and chanced upon the shelter. They happily slept upstairs in the loft, and left a message in the log book in the comment box.

The old swimming dock juts out from the opposite side of the pond.

The amazing pit toilet is a stone's throw from the shelter.

Andy and Joe are enjoying their lunch on the emerging picnic table.

Alex is putting the finishing touches on the new picnic table, also crafted from native materials found on site. Ron and Roger look at the detailing approvingly, while Andy studies a round.

Don enters the cooking/dining area enclosed on three sides by pony walls.

The shelter is pretty well complete at this stage. We had a fair number of two-by-fours left over and so we knocked together an extra bench.

This is a deluxe outhouse (pit toilet) complete with solar lighting. Lovely job, men.

Another look at the foodie nook. Don't forget to make an entry in the log book as it helps us demonstrate the usage of the shelters by hikers from all corners of the globe.

The sleeping loft with the trap door that will provide a sense of security to those who aren't used to our benign bush.

A view from the loft with shutters ajar. Below is the fire pit and benches around it.
All together now, lets hear those songs accompany the melodies of the frogs in the pond.

Here is the BOMB Squad crew. Thanks guys, great work.

#1 Fairview Bay Shelter - Fall 2009

2011-03-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

Over a period of several months in the summer and fall of 2009 the Parks & Wilderness crews hiked, rowed or paddled out to Fairview Bay to hew a clearing out of the bush large enough to accommodate the footprint of the first of the eight shelters/huts we committed to build within the Sunshine Coast Trail Enhancement Project.

PRPAWS received a grant for material and transportation costs from Island Coastal Economic Trust (ICET).

School District #47 (Powell River)and Powell River Model Communities for persons with disabilities are participant partners that are building a large facility on the Sunshine Coast Trail at Haywire Bay on Powell Lake.

One of the first things we did, heading into the rainy season, was level an area for a tent pad, its eventual purpose, and string a tarp over top for the time being. The weather can be changeable, and it's nice to stay dry in a squall.

After that we pulled stumps and leveled the building site to ready it for the the footings of Chateau Fairview Bay.

We hired the John Alfred, a large barge that was able to lower its ramp on the beach, then used its crane to unload the building materials for the shelter.
That truck was going up the inlet on the same run.

Soon enough, it was all unloaded and began making its way up the hill.

Wasn't much if you said it fast, but we were tuckered out at the end of the day. Just ask Charlie and Ron.

Once the footing locations were determined,

we built a rectangular framework out of two-by-fours
to which we attached sono-tubes. Then we mixed cement and poured it into the pillars and footings, and let them cure under cover.

When we came back a week later the posts were next on the list.

Jim and John made sure everything was plumb, level and square. The posts were connected and held in place with braces, parts of which would also morph into scaffolding for planks...

to help us put up the trusses and complete the roof.

Sheet after sheet of roofing metal
was screwed onto the strapping.

On the back side too.

Wes drove wicked spikes into the trusses and beams.

Numerous times the Island Girl water taxi service donated transportation for the crew.

Somewhere along the way one always seems to be caught eating.

You burn a few calories being out and about.

Scott and Don building the inside "dining" table. They used free plans off the internet.

The new ladder is already heading up to the sleeping loft.

Speaking of sleeping loft and insulation pads...

Brian applies the finishing touch, while Scott admires the craftsmanship.

Ah, what a day.

After the final expedition we bring back our tools, and surplus materials. Bob has brought a skiff we can load everything in.

Chateau Fairview Bay awaits your visit near the mouth of Jervis Inlet and at the foot of Mount Troubridge.

The massif rises 1300 vertical metres above sea level. All you have to do is follow the Sunshine Coast Trail through old growth temperate rainforest. Call in at Rainy Day Lake, an hour uphill, or carry on to the summit. Not much to it if you're a goat.

Back in Saltery Bay, Andy unloads the last of the tools. We are ready for a celebratory ice cream.

Manzanita Walls & Landscaping

2011-03-11T17:14:00.001-08:00

The rocky sidehill calls for a fair bit of site accessibility attention. Here the beginning of a smooth path around the front of the shelter is growing into being. First big rocks are gathered and moved into place on the lower edge of the path-to-be. When they are high enough to be level with the upper side on the right, we backfill with more rocks. Next we fill the gaps between the large rocks with smaller and smaller rocks, then rake dirt on top of that.

The path-to-be is wider now, and fairly level. Not finished yet, though navigable. Some more fine-tuning in the coming days, and it should be nice and smooth.

We employed the same process to build a terrace with built in firepit. This spot will be just large enough for a picnic table fashioned with a chainsaw from blowndown native cedar and pine.

We have to get the sleepers onto the terrace. Oh man, these pine logs are heavy as pigiron.

Here at Neanderthal University we pride ourselves for using the most up-to-date methodology,

and thinking outside the box...

Wow, was that a schlepp!

Hours later the picnic table hunkers next to the firepit on the terrace.

Those buffalo sausages are de rigueur. Harrhh.
Now we are ready to head home.

During the next expedition, Ron dips a two by four and snags a ladder. What a catch.

The shutters are installed, the south wall is framed in...

... and so is the east wall.

That will help keep out the howling southeasters up here on the bluff. The north and west walls will remain open, protected from the elements by trees and orientation of the slopes.

After the break we erect the entrance pole and pick up all the tools and the day's detritus.

Manzanita Floor

2011-03-07T11:46:00.001-08:00

March 4 - A cool but dry Friday sees us putting in the floor joists and headers. As long as you kept moving, wore your gloves and layers - it was just fine.

Next the blocks were fitted in between the joists and the subfloor tightened up in a hurry.

Peas in a pod - the bros.

Only Tuko isn't laughing. Ah, the value of a good friend.

By the end of the afternoon snowflakes started flying horizontally, carried by strong winds rushing up the mountain side. Two thirds of the floor is nailed down.

Despite the whistling snow squall the boys are happy with today's work. Time to head out.

A couple of days later a crew is back on the bluffs. They finished the floor,...

...started with tidying up construction materials, woody debris,..

...and began building smooth paths and terraces on the rocky, sloping terrain to make getting around outside a pleasure rather than a demanding task.

Stand clear, mounds moved here.

Manzanita Roof - Part 2

2011-02-26T05:06:00.001-08:00

First we lay a six inch strip of roofing paper along the edge of the gable, topped by a thin strip of wood. Then gable end edge flashing gets screwed into the cedar fascia boards.

Next comes one full width sheet of roofing paper. The ground crew passes up a sheet of metal which is slipped under the edge flashing, and screwed down.

This process repeats itself, paper, metal,

paper, metal, till we reach the far end.

We leave two panels at the far end so as to facilitate installation of gable fascias and edge flashings.

This is what the loft looks like after installation of south-facing half of roof. Like in the other shelters we have built, it too will provide safety and security for up to a dozen hikers.

On the following outing we replicate the work done on the north-facing half of the roof, and again leave a couple of panels at the far end. We cover the hole with a tarp to allow the building to dry out.

Today's crew is happy. The roof is all up, the fascia boards, the flashing, the ridge cap - All done.

A feller buncher is working in a setting some distance from the trail. Island Timberlands provided much appreciated extra trees for the trail buffer near Spire Junction with the Sunshine Coast Trail.

Don is preparing the gusset location on one of the posts. Half of them have to wait for another day. The hut is taking on clean lines.

Manzanita Roof - Part 1

2011-02-26T02:37:00.000-08:00

The ground crew slides the locally manufactured trusses onto the edge of the beams where the roofing crew takes over.

Truss after truss is positioned in place, tipped up, and slipped under the temporary strapping...
... then it's fastened to that, and toe-nailed to the beams.

At last the gable truss is erected and braced. Now it's time for the permanent strapping to tie the roof all together.

But at the same time as the strapping and blocking is attached, another part of the crew begins to nail down the plywood floor inside the trusses.

The strapping is finished, wire mesh runs the length of the peak, and the loft floor is down. Time to call it a day. Just one more nail for good measure.

On the way down to the trucks the crew takes a look back and likes what it sees...

Manzanita Posts and Beams

2011-02-22T04:08:00.000-08:00

A couple of blown down cedars had been trimmed and debarked in the valley, then flown up with the other materials.

Before lunch the posts were up held in place by the braces, looking skookum.

The scaffolding was taking shape. Doubled up planks were already installed on the north side. They would provide a safe walking surface from which to work on the beams, and after that the trusses and the rest of the roof.

But first it was time to go for lunch at the garage. The picnic table, destined for the hut when it's finished, has found a temporary home out of the elements.

The scaffolding continued while the rain mercifully was holding off.

At last the beams it was time for the beams. Almost anticlimactic for the day, but it sure pulled everything together, and started looking like the beginning of a building.

The crew poses at the end of a full day's work. Ready for the roof next time.

Manzanita Hut Foundation

2011-02-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

During the first week of February we took delivery of the building materials for the Manzanita Hut.

And then we had them flown up to Manzanita Bluff.

We had two dozen lifts, and that's the only way to get the materials up there because only the Sunshine Coast Trail leads up to the bluff - no roads.

Next day we built the framing for the footings and the sono tubes that form the pillars.

Once the cement was poured we left it to be cured for a week.

Manzanita PAWS-Canada World Youth Expedition

2011-01-17T20:49:00.000-08:00

On Saturday PAWS met up with 19 Canada World Youth. Dave donated the use of his 20-seat bus for the day, and Gerry volunteered his time to drive it. We also had vehicles to carry tools and personnel. We had brushed out Rowe Road already beforehand and so it needed picking up twigs and branches, and then another going over with loppers and snips and hedgetrimmers. Within 4 hrs we had cleared the road, plus the access trail to boot.
Next, we hiked up to Manzanita Bluff for a somewhat belated lunch. Luckily we had a large tarp to string up and give us shelter to do the hot dog extravaganza in relative dryness, as the rain had just started to come up. We had a lot of fun, and thank the Canada World Youth for their big help, and the volunteers and supporters for theirs.

Manzanita Hut Location

2010-12-16T16:55:00.000-08:00

Eagle, Jim, Scott and Don at Manzanita Bluff work/fun party.
A week later during site clearing and preparation the PAWSters have a break for lunch. The pre-Christmas days have been wet and howling, but that day we had a tarp up and a fire going, and tales taller than Manhattan.

Mount Troubridge Cabin

2010-11-25T18:21:00.003-08:00

After more than a dozen expeditions up to Mount Troubridge, PR PAWS has completed the cabin which is already being used by mountain hikers - and snowshoers of late.

Here is Elephant Lake after the first snowfall. You pass by its shore and then begin to climb gently.

On the way up through the OGMA (Old Growth Management Area) you get a glimpse of Vancouver Island.

In the distance you see Comox Glacier decked out in white, and above the fluffy marine clouds that drift along lazily, burning off as the day goes on.

The new OGMA trail to the cabin is almost complete, but requires a couple more days to finalize: some benching on the upper old growth slope near Bishop Creek, which of course will have to wait till June or so next year when the snow is gone once again.

Meanwhile, we will continue to use the old approach up from Elephant Lake up to Elephant Bowl Vista, where you turn up onto the semi-alpine and fairly open plateau. Some people have come up from the Rainy Day Lake side, parking underneath the Plutonic wires. That works well in the winter, as the snowline is higher there, up to the summit four to five hours, then down the other side for about half an hour, westward 200 metres past Jocelyn Pond to the cabin.

Please sign the log book and keep in mind that the hut is a shared-use facility. There is easily room for half a dozen overnighters, but you have to bring your own stuff. Hogan Log Homes of Powell River built the log shell in their yard south of town. The logs were flown up by Oceanview Helicopters. Wiley Hogan, his son Lewis and co-worker Dave worked together with PAWS to erect the log shell up on the site. They stayed on and volunteered to help put up the trusses and the roof as well. It is a beautiful building, tight - a testament to Wiley's excellent craftsmanship - and is well insulated, with a sleeping loft that stays warm all night.

Enjoy in good health and good spirits, and ensure the door is closed firmly when you leave again.

Rainy Day Shelter

2010-10-26T22:15:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, October 23, a friend and I (using a cane) hiked in to the Rainy Day Shelter. The day turned out to be beautiful, warm and sunny.

The view from the shelter is also very nice.

I didn't get pictures of the the outhouse and barbecue and picnic table that are situated below the shelter on a flat spot. There are also nails in the trees by the picnic table for hanging a tarp for shelter from the rain or stormy weather.

It is a wonderful spot to spend a few days hiking around and using the shelter as the base camp.

Elephant Lake Bowl on Mount Troubridge

2010-10-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

View of Elephant Lake Bowl from the rim of the upper plateau. En route to the Mount Troubridge Hut, the Sunshine Coast Trail passes by Elephant Lake on the left ascending through ancient forest. Pant Lake (to the right) is apparently the historic name - although this has not yet been verified - given to this other of the two Elephant Lakes. In the last few decades these two lakes have often been referred to collectively as the Elephant Lakes.

The bowl is an area of enchanting old growth studded with interconnected ponds that drain into Elephant Lake, and from there into Pant Lake. The creek flowing out of Pant Lake is named Scanlon Creek which hurtles down a steep canyon past Brooks Lake and into the remote southeast bay of Lois Lake. The names Brooks and Scanlon are derived from the founders of the Powell River paper mill that was established at the beginning of the 20th century.

Troubridge Hut

2010-10-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

Mount Troubridge Hut

2010-10-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

Mount Troubridge Hut is located in an old growth wilderness setting just below the 1300 metre summit to Jocelyn Pond.

Logan Homes created the log shell that was then reassembled on the foundation built by PRPAWS. Over a period of 7 three-day expeditions PAWS construction teams built the rest of the hut.

The Hut was built with the financial help of ICET and BCTC.

The hut is ready for use now. Here is the front porch for early morning coffee in the sunshine, or a soiree after a hike through the old growth along vistas that wow!
It is a shared use facility and the loft will sleep a half dozen comfortably and more in a pinch.

orignally posted by Eagle

New Shelters

2010-10-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

This shelter is at Rieveley's Pond. There are many more shelters now along the trail and will soon be posted on this blog page.