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Plans afoot for another Sunshine Coast Trail hut north of Powell River

If authorization is given, facility will be built near Sarah Point
Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society
Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society is proposing that a new hut, similar in design to the one constructed in the Stanley Creek area in 2016 [above], be built at kilometre eight of the Sunshine Coast Trail. Contributed photo.

Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (PRPAWS) has applied to qathet Regional District (qRD) for support to build another hut on the Sunshine Coast Trail.

At the qRD’s planning committee meeting on Tuesday, April 9, PRPAWS president Eagle Walz outlined the need for another hut on the trail during a delegation to the meeting.

Walz said he was using data from Tourism Powell River, indicating the importance of the Sunshine Coast Trail to this region. He said tourism, and the Sunshine Coast Trail in particular, are very important to the economy of Powell River.

“It is growing rapidly, at a rate of around 20 per cent a year,” said Walz of the trail’s usage. “Some 8,000 people from out of town in 2018 indicate that the numbers were quite significant.”

Use of the Sunshine Coast Trail is now in the same order of magnitude as usage of the West Coast Trail, according to Walz.

Many of the people who come to Powell River and want to use the Sunshine Coast Trail often find themselves arriving late in the afternoon, and by the time they get out to Sarah Point, which is the beginning of the trail, they find they cannot get to the first hut by nightfall, according to Walz. The closest hut to Sarah Point is about 16 kilometres from the trailhead, over hilly terrain.

“They can’t make it to the first hut and that is the reason we are applying for permission to build another hut at kilometre eight of the Sunshine Coast Trail,” said Walz.

This hut will be similar in design to most of the other Sunshine Coast Trail huts, in particular like the one at Golden Stanley. Walz said there are 15 huts on the trail, and hopefully, two more coming.

“I hope to have your support in helping this growing economy and it has an impact on many businesses in the Powell River region,” said Walz.

Later in the planning committee meeting, the committee carried a motion that it recommend to the qRD board that it support the issuance of an authorization for the Bliss Portage Hut located on Crown land in Malaspina Inlet, Electoral Area A. BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development will make the final decision on the authorization.

Walz said funding for the hut will come from Powell River Community Forest. He added that PRPAWS will be building four new composting toilets along the Sunshine Coast Trail this year.