Stephen Hui Books, Hikes

55 beautiful hikes in B.C. and Washington to add your list

Statlu Lake. Photo: Stephen Hui
Statlu Lake. Photo: Stephen Hui

What’s on your hit list for the hiking season?

55 hikes in B.C. and Washington to add your list

My second book, Destination Hikes In and Around Southwestern British Columbia, offers 55 trails for your consideration. Add those to the 105 hikes in my first book, and that’s 160 trips — enough to keep anyone busy for a while.

It’s time to take the wraps off the table of contents for Destination Hikes. What follows is the full list of 55 hikes featured in the new book, due out May 11 and now available for pre-order.

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Stephen Hui Hikes

Hiking the Enchantment Lakes: 9 magical sights in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Crystal Lake. Photo: Stephen Hui
Crystal Lake. Photo: Stephen Hui

While reservations for Berg Lake and the West Coast Trail are hot tickets for hikers in British Columbia, a backpacking permit for the Enchantment Lakes is one of the most-coveted prizes in Washington.

Found in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, near the Bavarian-themed tourist trap known as Leavenworth, the Enchantments are a constellation of stunning alpine tarns situated in the Central Cascades. Every year, the U.S. Forest Service holds a preseason lottery (February 15 to March 1) to allocate the majority of overnight permits for the peak and (snowy) shoulder seasons (May 15 to October 31).

Day hikers require a permit too, but it’s free and available at the trailheads — no reservation necessary. Both out-and-back and crossover hikes are possible; a privately operated shuttle service helps with the latter.

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Stephen Hui Hikes

Hiking the Tatchu Trail on Vancouver Island

After experiencing the North Coast Trail and East Beach Trail, I felt a yearning to return to the wild coast of British Columbia. Backpacking the remote Tatchu Trail on Vancouver Island fit the bill.

This essentially unmarked coastal route traverses the Tatchu Peninsula in the territory of the Nuu-chah-nulth people, covering 32 km (20 mi) on the west coast of the island. Access is by air or water; we opted to floatplane in and out from Gold River with Air Nootka.

From Port Eliza, we trekked northwest to Rugged Point in five days, encountering no other hikers or even kayakers. Things got off to a wet start upon disembarking the floatplane, when my backpack fell in the ocean as we transferred gear and ourselves from dock to shore using an inflatable dinghy. Then it rained as I hastily separated my soggy and dry clothes.

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Stephen Hui Hikes

Hiking the East Beach Trail on Haida Gwaii

East Beach. Photo: Stephen Hui
East Beach. Photo: Stephen Hui

I often say that my most memorable backpacking trip was the 10 days I spent on the 178-kilometre Sunshine Coast Trail in B.C.

The East Beach Trail, which is found in Naikoon Provincial Park on Haida Gwaii, is second on the list. Running from Tlell (Tllaal) to Tow Hill (Taaw) via the East Beach (GaahllsGagas), Rose Spit (Nee Kun), and North Beach (Gaatguusd), this remote coastal route covers 89 kilometres on Graham Island in Haida Nation territory.

Our hike lasted six days. We camped at Cape Ball River (MaaGan Gandlaay), East Beach lumber pile, Oeanda River (Xuuya Gandlee), Cape Fife (Sk’aw Gandalaa), and North Beach.

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Stephen Hui Books, Hikes

Hiking the Sunshine Coast Trail in B.C.

Tin Hat Mountain. Photo: Stephen Hui
Tin Hat Mountain. Photo: Stephen Hui

The Sunshine Coast Trail extends 178 kilometres from Sarah Point to Saltery Bay, via Powell River, in Tla’amin Nation territory.

Four sections of the SCT are highlighted in my new guidebook, 105 Hikes In and Around Southwestern British Columbia: Fairview Bay (Hike 86), Walt Hill (Hike 87), Confederation Lake (Hike 88), and Manzanita Bluff (Hike 89).

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