With a early light of day start, we were up and on the trail by 6:50 a.m. in anticipation of a much longer day on the trail. The first steps away from the hut had us on a steep descend from the bluffs into the valley below. Shortly after the downhill was an opportunity to refill water after 7km up on the bluffs. We pushed on toward Malaspina Road and continued the now familiar up and down climbs of the SCT The earlier start kept us slightly cooler, but with the climbs we were quickly dripping in sweat once again.

​The night with the shelter to ourselves had us in good spirits with a rested and refreshed early start to beat the heat. The forecast called for blue skies and highs of 78, so we definitely needed to get a start to avoid the sweatfest of hill climb we had experienced on day 1. Leaving Bliss Portage, we continued to experience the rolling, rocky rough trails and found our pace to be much below our normal speeds. The switchbacks felt like rocky stairs cut into the lush hillsides. Some sections treated us to floors carpeted in moss and enormous ferns squeezing in on the sides of the trail.

A stop at overlook into the Okanover Inlet just south of Bliss Portage was a good first break. As we stood looking out over the inlet with the mountains rising in the distance and small islands of intrigue sprinkled throughout the water in a kayaker’s dream, we heard the familiar splashes of sea otters playing with their breakfast. We immediately realized an entire family of sea otters was resting on a small, shallow reefy area. A mother was surrounded by 4-5 otters all basking in the calm water and morning sun. We listened as they huffed to each other and were joined by the others after their rising.

​Sarah Point is the official starting off point for the Sunshine Coast Trail and its view of the ocean on the point did not disappoint. We found incredible views of the Salish Sea, a cool ocean breeze to keep the bugs at bay, and numerous tent pads with sweeping views in all directions. A small stream provides a steady water source about 200 meters around. In the middle of it all, one of the famous SCT huts sits sentinel over the point. These SCT huts are not as simple as Isle Royale’s 3 sided screened shelter, and not as crowded and filthy as the Appalachian Trail huts, but are rather well thought out cabin like structures with an open are for tables in the bottom and an open loft for sleeping above. The Powell River PAWS trail volunteers clearly take pride in their new backcountry areas and we found the huts to be almost dollhouse like in their look.

While this location was outstanding and we spend a few hours hrs beach combing and taking in the new Pacific Northwest views, we were antsy to get down the trail and begin our adventure and break in our bodies to the weight of heavy packs.

As spring unfolds and I am back to a bit of normalcy with my work schedule, I thought it was time to do a little reflection and recapping of our time in the San Rafael Swell this year. By no means am I a slot canyon expert, but I feel 1,000 times more experienced than before and can offer up some advice to those looking to try it for the first time. ​