Sechelt airport

Today was an exciting day. In between visiting numerous studios & galleries during the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl, I took some time to attend the official opening of the Chapman Creek Trail. This new trail is a very important connection in what will be the Suncoaster Trail connecting Langdale to Earl’s Cove…80km by highway and much longer by trail. What is important about this trail is the new bridge that crosses Chapman Creek…the only non-highway crossing of the main watershed here on the Sechelt Peninsula.

The trail was actually christened in July during BC Bike Race. Volunteers raced to have the bridge installed just days before 500 riders hit the Coast for the prestigious race. Today was a beautiful fall day to dedicate the trail and to honour the many, many volunteer hours that went into building the trail.

The forest is watching

This section of trail runs from the Sechelt Airport near Wilson Creek to Selma Park. Today I only hiked the first section which is about 20 minutes from the airport to the bridge. It is a beautiful, fairly easy hike…just some uneven ground and a bit of a hill at the very end as you return to the airport. From the airport, it is a short distance to the B&K Road network of trails which is a prime mountain bike area.

downstream from the bridge

the highlight – the bridge itself

We’ve had a bit of rain the last two weeks, so everything was a deep rich green. Lots of ferns, moss, and thick vegetation. Pine needles rained down and covered the trail. There are some very large old stumps from the original grand forest that I am guessing was logged 70-100 years ago.

upstream from the bridge

Chapman Creek is also home to the Chapman Creek Hatchery which is a bit downstream from the bridge. Here, millions of salmon are released each year and are now returning to spawn. Here is a short video clip to try and share the power of the water.

I had the most amazing experience this week with my new friends Greg & Dana who own Fly!, a local air service. They are based at the Sechelt Airport and available for scenic tours, taxi service, and flight instruction. We had a beautiful sunny day and had a fabulous tour of the Sunshine Coast.

We flew north over Sechelt and over Sechelt Inlet, Salmon Inlet, and crossed the mountains to Jervis Inlet. We then came down over the Skookumchuck Narrows, Pender Harbour, and down the Georgia Strait coastline over Secret Cove, Halfmoon Bay and back to Sechelt.

This 2nd picture was the highlight of the day. This lake is about 2,500′ completely surrounded by forest. At the near end of the lake, there is an amazing waterfall that tumbles into Jervis Inlet below.

Sechlet really is the “land between 2 waters”. The Georgia Strait is in the foreground and Sechelt Inlet lies behind the town.

4 of us went up in a 4 passenger Cessna. It was very interesting to be able to see all the dials and gauges while we flew.

It is amazing the different perspective you get once up in the air. I know I live in the forest, but you tend to forget the immensity of this forest until you get above and see the vastness. There are just so many trees!

Fresh new snow on the mountains!

Safe approach back to the Sechelt Airport.

What a great trip! I would highly recommend a trip with Fly! the next time you visit the Sunshine Coast.

To see these areas on a map, click here.

Category: Sechelt airport

Chapman Creek Trail – Oct 21, 2012

Fly! Sunshine Coast – September 30, 2009