Hurrian P. at Wedgemount Lake:
“Wedgemount Lake is definitely more challenging when you’re carrying an overnight backpack. The eight of us set off to Wedgemount Lake because we heard it was snow free. It was a long steady uphill for most of the way, crossing a bridge over a river and a couple of rock fields. We stopped for lunch listening to the roar of a massive waterfall. After lunch we did the final push up the steep rockfield at the end, which was just as steep as I had remembered it. There was a great payoff at the top – the turquoise lake backed by the glacier. We found sites for our tents within a few feet of the river and had dinner and drinks enjoying the scenery.”
Yearly Archives: 2008
Heather Trail 19/07/08
Carollyne on the Heather Trail:
“Dorothy, Astrid and I backpacked in to Kicking Horse Camp on the Heather Trail in Manning Park, then went for a further ridge hike with day packs. Later, Christian and others, including two late sign ups I had no car for, joined us at the camp, before continuing on their shuttle trip to Cayuse Flats the next morning. Amazing meadows in bloom, sunset reflections on the snowy peaks, and great company made this a very rewarding trip. The campsite was busy, with several tired groups, who didn’t see the randomly placed extra camp spots in the trees (we only discovered later), continuing on to Nicomen Lake 9 km away. Biting flies and mosquitoes tried to make meals of us, especially at the camp. There is now a bear cache at Kicking Horse (great!). However, cooking smells from all the other campers cooking at their tents was discouraging. Saturday, the trail was very crowded to about 7 km with many large groups of daytrippers, but Sunday was peaceful with only a few hikers and groups of backpackers.”
Eagle Bluffs 19/07/08
Kamen on the Eagle Bluffs trail:
“This hike was originally set up by Paul Taylor but he had to drop out because of work commitments. Three of us met at Park Royal to drive to the trailhead about 10 minutes away by car in a quiet cul-de-sac in West Vancouver. After the initial (and fairly easy) stage of the trail, the trail started climbing steeply and didn’t relent until we got to the top. The trail was fairly well-marked but quite challenging and quite a few times we had to resort to using all fours to climb some of the more rugged sections. About 2/3 of the way up, we encountered a rocky section that we had to scramble over. After a short pause on the rock field, we pushed on up to the top. We were greeted with an amazing bird’s eye view of Bowen Island, the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast. The sun hid behind the clouds while we were at the top which was actually a relief. There were quite a few other people at the top who had hiked there from Black Mountain. After about an hour, we gingerly picked our way down which took almost as long as the ascent. We encountered two parties on their way up while we were hiking down; they were the only other people we encountered on the hike all day. All in all, a beautiful day for a hike with some great hiking partners.”
Joffre Lakes 18/07/08
Merewyn at Joffre Lakes:
“Andy, Maria, Andrew, Darcy and I had a fantastic weekend up at Joffre Lakes. Arriving at the Joffre campsite on Friday, we managed to snag lake-front property. We spent most of that first afternoon exploring and swimming. Day two, we scrambled up past the lake to the col between Tszil Peak and Taylor Mountain before dangerous-looking snow patches made us break for lunch instead of continuing. The trail to the col is fairly straightforward though there are some sections of ridge walking and large boulder scrambling that made a few of us who are scared of heights quake a bit in our boots and made even the climber in our group a bit nervous at times. But what a payoff – views of Two Goat Ridge, mountains as far as the eye can see, and even a lovely glacial pool to jump in before heading back down to Joffre. One piece of advice, visit Joffre Lakes during the week if you can as the tent village exploded on Saturday/Sunday. We had to shoo away a few inexperienced campers who were about to cook right in front of our tents but otherwise we weren’t too bothered by the invasion.”
Hollyburn Peak 14/07/08
Diana on Hollyburn Peak:
“Our group dwindled down to 6 by the time of the hike but it was an enthusiastic group and a terrific day with a mix of sun and clouds, the perfect temperature for a short but relatively steep hike. We were surprised by the amount of snow still on the trail, probably from about 1000 m upwards, slowing down our pace a bit as we tried not to go through the edges of the melting snowmass or slip and fall. But the snow did allow us to make a miniature snowman at the summit with a banana peel wig, mini-carrot nose and wasabi peas for eyes (and yes, we did dismantle it and pack out our garbage before leaving!) The views from the summit were well worth the the slog through the snow and occasionally through scrub & brambles to avoid muddy/swampy patches on the trail, presumably wet from melting snow.”
Brandywine Mountain 13/07/08
Andrew R. on Brandywine Mountain:
“After a couple of days of re-scheduling two of us finally got out to Brandywine on Sunday. It was almost a no-go when we reached the road to the trail-head only to find it has been blocked! The new access is via the Callaghan Valley road 30 seconds further down the highway (from here you can join up with the old road). The road is in good shape and we had no trouble getting to within 700 metres of the trailhead (any truck or 4×4 could reach the trailhead proper). At a leisurely pace we reached the meadows in 1 hour 45 minutes and then continued to the north end of the meadows where we started the ascent to the summit ridge. The meadows still have a bit of snow but not as much as I was expecting and I think they will be completely clear within a week or two. After a long climb up steep snow slopes we made the summit ridge for eye-popping views of just about every mountain in the area (the stegosaurus-like Mt. Fee is especially impressive). We scrambled the ridge for a bit but stopped just short of the summit as we were running short on time. The descent from the ridge back to the meadows (650 m vertical) was one long bum-slide. 1:15 hours up… 5 minutes down! All in all a great day out with great weather and great company.”
Capilano Canyon 13/07/08
Dana in Capilano Canyon:
“Dare I say my first organized (and last-minute) hike went very well! Seven of us ventured out on a very warm Sunday morning for Capilano Canyon on the border of West and North Vancouver. Well-maintained trails led us to our first viewpoint of the granite cliffs on the east side of the canyon, and Cleveland Dam made a great place for refueling with snacks and water. Our route back took us past the fish hatchery and across a small bridge. As a short hike, not too much more to report besides the very warm weather which likely made this hike quite suitable in terms of length/difficulty. Great company and a great way to spent part of the day.”
Lightning Lakes 13/07/08
Carollyne at Lightning Lakes:
“Although a group of four dwindled to two by 7:45, Daniel and I had a great day at Lightning Lakes. We made good time and had lunch in the shade of the cottonwoods at the end of the Thunder Lake trail. The beautiful blue-green lakes are almost constant companions all the way. Between Strike and Thunder Lakes, the trail revealed an astonishing number and variety of alpine flowers – as well as the huge rockslides. It was well worth the extra 6 km. On an otherwise hot day, a strong breeze kept us comfortable and kept the few black flies, deer flies and mosquitoes from being bothersome. A few canoeists, two tubby boat fishermen and four small groups of hikers were the only people we saw until the kids jumping off Rainbow Bridge near the end of our hike. With frequent photo stops and lunch, the hike took 7.5 hours.”
Radium Lake 12/07/08
Tyler at Radium Lake:
“We got to Chilliwack Provincial Park at 10 am. We were going to park in the maintenance yard but it was full so we parked our cars in the day parking. We set off down the trail and over the bridge to Radium Lake trailhead with Kate, Heather, Bob, Gerard, Joey, Ribeka, and myself. The trail more or less follows the Radium Creek drainage, crossing the creek a few times, but there is a nice network of bridges and a suspension bridge made up of duct tape and old rope, so fording is not necessary. The trail is well marked to Radium Lake. We arrived at the lake and noticed there were tents all over so we set up our tents on the other side of the lake. We were able to find a dry spot by the creek.
Awesome campsite as it was lake property. Radium Lake is a shallow lake with an emerald green color. There used to be a shelter there, but the roof has long since caved in, so it’s no longer useable but exciting to see. On Sunday morning we decided to leave our gear and go on a day hike up the mountain to Mt Webb. I really recommend this hike to the peak as the views are to die for and you can see Mt Baker and other peaks in the USA. When leaving that day I found out the wind took three of our tents and blew them into the creek. I got it the worst as all my gear was soaked. I was able to dry everything out but my sleeping bag was a bit damp. We didn’t leave camp till 4 pm and weren’t down the mountain till 7 pm. Everyone got down safe.
The weather up there was amazing with no snow, but some still around the peak of Mt Webb.”
Mt Frosty 12/07/08
Ahmad on Mt Frosty:
“Five of us did Frosty’s east peak in 9.25 hours. The trail is well-graded, scenic, and has all types of terrains. It goes through old trees, many flowers, a wide and open alpine area, rock slide, and a peak. At the campground, there are many mosquito campers who were eager to meet us. The shelter is primitive and the creek beside it seems that it will dry up soon. The peak is quite wide. It fits 20 people easily and it has superb views. We spent 1 1/2 hours hanging out there. At the end, some of us took a quick swim in lightning cold water in Lightning Lake. Thanks for Keith and Ryan for their snow report of the trail. No much snow left now. We encountered few patches on the way.”