Alma's Sunshine Coast Field Report: A Weekend of FRAPs, Tax Collection & Absolute Sends 🐾

Filed under: Treats Earned. Words by: Alma. Edited by: nobody, she runs free.

Welcome back to the blog. This week I took the humans to the Sunshine Coast for a proper adventure weekend, and I am pleased to report it delivered on every front. Two days of trail, zoomies, a cheese incident I will not apologize for, and one black diamond descent I will be thinking about for the rest of my dog days. By the end of it, I had personally gotten through an embarrassing number of FRAPS bars, because every good trip requires proper fuelling and I take my job very seriously. Let's get into it.

Friday: Arrivals, Acquisitions & Treaty Number One

First stop: Sunny Running Co. in Gibsons, the Sunshine Coast's newest running specialty shop. The humans loaded up on Xact Nutrition bars (Canadian made, just like me 🇨🇦) and Precision Fuel & Hydration supplies. I sat outside looking flyand immediately negotiated a FRAPS bar before we'd left the parking lot. Treat number one: signed, sealed, consumed.

We headed to Roberts Creek Beach, right beside the pier and the famous painted mandala. The humans contemplated art. I contemplated several high-speed laps of the beach, and felt extremely alive. Then the humans drove to Smitty's Oyster House in Gibsons Harbour for oysters on the water while I held down the fort and rested with great intention. I may have also negotiated a second FRAPS bar out of its wrapper while they were gone. Unconfirmed.

Saturday: The Day I Became One With the Forest

After a very effective staring campaign, we were up and moving. First: sauna at Hideaway Creek in Roberts Creek, barrel sauna, cold plunge, hot tub, forest all around. The humans came out restored. I did perimeter checks and ratified another FRAPS bar because that wellness energy is contagious.

Then Sechelt, for a big run the scope the Coaster Marathon course, a trail race built right on the Coast, by and for the trail community. The creeks were running hard with all this April goodness, which meant FRAP season was in full swing and I treated every single crossing served as a FRAPS bar checkpoint. The humans kept running. I stopped, splashed, drank deeply, caught up, and repeated this approximately eleven times. The bars were flowing. Nobody was keeping count. This was by design.

The highlight: bombing down the Big Tree Trail to stand at the base of what is believed to be the oldest Douglas fir on the Sunshine Coast. I led the whole way, arrived first, and sniffed the tree for a long time. The humans arrived shortly after, out of breath and ready to negotiate. Another tax signed, unsealed and delivered at the base of the oldest tree on the Coast. Honestly, a historic moment.

Saturday Afternoon: The Cheese Incident

Brickers Cidery in Sechelt has thick grass and excellent sunbathing conditions. The humans built a charcuterie situation while I settled in beside them, having already retired several FRAPS bars across the morning. Old cheddar was present. I want to be transparent: I ate some of it. Not my usual tax category, but my policy is flexible and the opportunity was clear. I lay in the sun afterward, closed my eyes, and dreamed about squirrels. Deeply satisfying.

Sunday: Mach Alma

Bikes out. I respect a bicycle. Two wheels, decent speed, chaotic energy compatible with mine. The humans think they are fast. They are not. I wait for them at the top of climbs with total grace and zero eye contact.

We were deep in the B&K trail network in Roberts Creek, starting at Kat Trak, a 2024 memorial trail and already one of the most special things in these woods. Tight bermed corners, small drops, spectacular bridgework and flowy ridge runs, plus a dog bowl at the top rest stop. I used the bowl, issued tax via sustained soulful eye contact until treats materialized, and finished what I believe was FRAPS bar number 1,000 of the weekend.

Then Mach Chicken. A B&K black diamond legend, fast and flowy at the top, getting bigger and faster as it rips through the trees. The humans sent it on two wheels. I sent it on four legs, ears flat, full commitment, pure undiluted Alma from top to bottom. 

Sunday: Sea Monkeys, Cider & The Last Patio

Post-ride we rolled into Sunday Cider in Gibsons, an outdoor cider bar with a gorgeous forested picnic area and, living on-site, Sea Monkey Coffee Co., a plant-based coffee trailer with an excellent latte situation. The humans caffeinated. I sunbathed and conducted a quiet audit of the remaining FRAPS bar supply. The audit was not encouraging. I was not sorry.

One final stop at Tapworks Brewing, Gibsons' nautical-themed brew pub with a rooftop patio and beers named One Sailing Wait IPA and Crispy Buoy Craft Lager. We met several other four-leggeds on the patio, exchanged boops generously, and shared what I can only describe as the final diplomatic FRAPS of the weekend.

The Ferry Home

Big shoutout to BC Ferries for the designated outdoor pet area on the upper deck, paw prints on the stairwell and all. You barked, they listened. On the pet deck we met Loki from Lion's Bay, a true adventurer and generous FRAP sharer. The sail back was perfect.

Then the Sea-to-Sky. Asleep before we de-ferried, dreaming of Mach Chicken and old cheddar and the oldest tree on the Sunshine Coast, surrounded by the wreckage of what had once been a very well-stocked FRAPS bar supply.

Zero regrets. Every treaty earned.

Alma out. 🐾

📍 The full list: Sunny Running Co. · Smitty's Oyster House · Hideaway Creek · The Coaster Marathon · Brickers Cidery · Kat Trak · Mach Chicken · Sunday Cider · Sea Monkey Coffee Co. · Tapworks Brewing · BC Ferries

🍫 Fuelled by: Xact Nutrition 🇨🇦 · Precision Fuel & Hydration · FRAPS bars (supply: critically depleted) · Fresh creek water (FRAP season: open)