Hiked September 6, 2025
Quick Overview
| Distance/ Elevation | 6.5km, 336m | ||||
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| Water Sources | Saltery Creek (KM177) | ||||
| Other Sections |
FAQ/General Trail Information SCT Day 9: Golden Stanley to Fairview Bay |
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| Facilities |
Fairview Bay Hut: Fully enclosed hut with covered front porch. Picnic tables, benches, fire ring, composting outhouse, bear cache. Ocean access for swimming. Phenomenal sunrises. A bit of a walk to seasonal water source. Saltery Bay Southern Terminus Kiosk: Large parking area. No facilities at the trailhead, but there was a porta-potty at the ferry terminal a short walk away. |
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Katie got up early to enjoy a few minutes of solitude as the sun came up over the Bay. Ryan and Pluto joined in shortly after 6:30AM and we all enjoyed the lovely sunrise as we ate breakfast. The sun crested the mountains and shone pink and orange through the light morning cloud cover. The smoke had abated somewhat, but the haze really added to the colour of the morning.
We packed up after the sun had risen well above the trees. With hardly any food remaining to fill our bags, it didn't take much time to chuck everything in and hit the trail.
The trail started as a lovely seaside hike. We wound up and down headlands as we worked our way along the coastline, soaking in the flat-calm ocean views and enjoying the shade of crooked Arbutus trees. We watched the ferry sail past us inbound to Saltery Bay as we neared Ahlstrom Point.
The KM markers ticked by as we hiked up and away from the coast to join the BC Hydro road that cuts past the base of the power lines slung between Powell River and Nelson Island. The road was rough and we were a little worried about the sharp crushed gravel cutting Pluto's paws, but he didn't seem bothered. After a couple kilometres on the road, we were pretty happy when the route diverged down to softer trail again.
At Pirate's Cove we passed by another pair of hikers, who were slowly packing up their tent after their sleep at the Cove. They were headed towards Fairview Bay with the intent of doing some day hikes around the area; they'd found the first section of trail they'd hiked to be much more difficult than they expected, so had abandoned their initial plan of hiking a much longer section of the SCT. We thought they made a really smart judgement call, and it served as a good reminder that it's important to make reassessments throughout any adventure and not push past your abilities. We continued on way shortly and started the final ascent of the trail.
Our final climb led us up and over a headland between Pirates Cove and Rose Beach. After nearly 200 kilometres of hiking, our legs made quick work of the ascent. We soon found ourselves sailing downwards, with the ferry terminal and other docks hoving into view between the trees.
The rest of the hike absolutely flew by. We reflected on the journey that we'd had, how we were feeling now, and what we couldn't wait to do once we got off the trail (spoiler alert: it was take a shower!). We both remarked that we felt like we'd be capable of just continuing to hike, feeling very in the groove. Though it is certainly easy to feel that way when you're hiking with a nearly empty pack, too...
After we passed the 177KM sign, we were shocked at how quickly the parking lot and SCT Southern Terminus kiosk appeared in view. We scampered on quickly, excited to take a photo with the final 178KM sign... to find there wasn't one! Ryan was a little bummed, but overall we were too high on our excitement to be bothered – we were done!!!
Our Sunshine Coast Trail hike saw us walk a total of 192.6 km with an elevation gain of 8,627 m, the longest trail that either of us has ever done to date. Completing our thru-hike of the Sunshine Coast Trail was a huge achievement for us and an absolutely incredible experience.
Stay tuned to find out if we do more long-distance hikes in the future!
Total distance: 192.6 km
Total elevation gain: 8,627 m
FAQ/General Trail Information
SCT Day 9: Golden Stanley to Fairview Bay