Monday, January 20, 2014

Sunshine Coast Trail

I was in Powell River on the Sunshine Coast for Christmas and on Boxing Day we went for a short hike along an awesome trail just off of Highway 101 towards Lund. I'm not entirely sure if this trail is part of the official, famed, "Sunshine Coast Trail" and I couldn't track down the information. Maybe it's a secret spot known only to locals. Regardless, if you can find it, I highly recommend it!

The trail weaves through what is mostly second growth forest but it's still spectacular.



If you're not a hardcore hiker, this is a perfect trail as it's mostly on flat ground. There are numerous wooden walkways and bridges over small streams throughout.



This was one of the more curious discoveries. I have no idea who put this bucket here, if it's a leftover from loggers of years past or a recent addition but I love that nobody has removed it.


There was moss over almost everything in this forest. In some cases it hung down off of branches over the trail in giant dew-drop sprinkled drapes.


In other places, it covered fallen trees and logs like 1970's shag pile carpet.



There's a beauty that comes from trees that have been left behind where they fell.



Most of the trees are second growth Douglas Fir but there are remnants of the original growth.


This giant managed to survive countless storms and loggers to remind us of the massive scale of the forest that once stood here.


I've taken numerous photos in forests before and could never really capture what was in front of me. Every time I've been disappointed by the results. I wasn't able to capture the scale or beauty but on this occasion I think I finally found success.

I'm not sure if it was the light, the location, better equipment or that I'm simply a better photographer... Maybe it's a combination of all of the above. Regardless, with so much forest in British Columbia it's extremely gratifying to finally get some decent pictures of something that makes up such a large portion of the part of the world I call home.


These last two images are my favorites. The image above does a great job of conveying the scale of the forest while the one below is simply steeped in mystery and magic.


As with the last post, all of these images were captured with the fantastic Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 and were shot mostly wide open and with minimal post-processing.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed this taste of West Coast life.

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