Paul on Mt Strachan:
“The plan had been to approach Mount Strachan via Strachan Meadows, or the ‘back side’ route. A fellow Wanderunger reported that two weeks ago, when his group took this route, there was still a couple of feet of snow along the steepest section of the approach rendering it slightly treacherous. Therefore we elected to change the route up and take the Baden Powell/Old Strachan Trail route. We stuck to the original plan of returning via the ski runs. A couple of notes:
1. If you are taking the Baden Powell/Old Strachan Trail route and using Dawn Hanna’s Best Hikes and Walks of SWBC as a guide, ignore her trail directions which are (to put it mildly) misleading. Follow these directions instead:
–take the Baden Powell Trail east from the park map at the down hill ski area parking lot
–the Old Strachan trail (not labelled as such) is on your left, about 15 minutes along the Baden Powell, at it’s first junction. It is marked by a wooden sign which indicates that the Baden Powell continues east. You want to turn north (left) and take the unlabelled trail (unlabelled as opposed to unmarked — it is quite well marked). There is some blow down directly at the entrance to it, and a fair bit of blow down all along the trail, none of it that difficult to negotiate.
–You will encounter one more trail junction. Go left rather than right.
–Trail then will take you to the first summit of Strachan if you choose to follow it all the way. It coincides with a ski run a couple of times. At either point you can elect to leave the trail and continue on the ski run which also ends up at the south summit.
2. Summits. Strachan has two summits, south and north. The views from the north summit are much more impressive than those from the south (the view of the Lions is unimpeded), and so it is well worth hiking the extra 20 min or so it takes to get from south to north summits.
3. Strachan Meadows route: state of the trail. I hiked down the back of Strachan a little ways to check trail conditions. I could see snow, but it looked to me as though most, if not all, of the snow had melted away from the trail itself. Probably soon ok to take the Strachan Meadows route.
4. Ski run return. In past years the only available ski run to return by was a blue one (beginners’ run) a series of gradual switch backs ending you up at the down hill ski parking lot starting point. We found ourselves on a newly created run, the Bowen, an advanced run and obviously quite steep. We decided to try our luck rather than doubling back up, and a couple of us found sections of it a bit tricky to negotiate. Recommend sticking to the blue run for the return, if you plan to return via runs (and before you begin the hike checking the ski run map at the parking lot to orient yourself).
5. Timing. Saturday was the first time I’d hiked to Strachan by the Baden Powell/Old Strachan trail route. It is significantly longer than the Howe Sound Crest/ Strachan Meadows route. Allow 7 hours for the round trip (it took us about 6, including an extra half hour of needless hiking before we determined the location of the Old Strachan Trail.”
All posts by andy
Mt Seymour 13/08/08
Chris M. on Mt Seymour:
“After work Wednesday, 4 of us headed up Seymour. Started hiking just before 5. The others were willing to let me lead them `off-trail’ and we scrambled up the south face of Pump Peak. I think they enjoyed it. Then over to 2nd Peak and finally two of us went to Seymour summit for some picture time. Great weather and down before dark.”
Brandywine Mtn 10/08/08
Ahmad on Brandywine Mountain:
“Eight people accompanied by rain and clouds got to the summit of Brandywine. The trail to meadows is well marked but it has many roots and slippery in some sections. The trail to the ridge appears and disappears across its 400 m elevation gain and requires some type of navigation aid to select the best route in whiteout situation. It would be better if the weather was clear. The ridge itself has quite a considerable number of cairns and is easier to navigate. The entrance of the logging road that leads to the trailhead is closed but there is a way to get to it. You have drive 1 km further north and turn left on Callaghan Way. After 200 m turn left again. You will see a white building shortly and select the left logging road and after 1 km, it connects to the Brandywine road. Perhaps the road closure was the reason that we didn’t see anyone on this hike. The whole trip took 10:30 hours including a considerable number of breaks.”
BCMC Trail 10/08/08
Hurrian on the BCMC Trail:
“Six of us set out (including a first-timer — welcome Omid) up the BCMC this morning. The cool weather was perfect for the ascent. As usual the BCMC was more peaceful and friendlier than the Grind. At the top we stopped for lunch and a chat. Afterwards a couple people carried on to Goat Mountain and one took the Skyride down. The big adventure on the descent is that we stumbled upon the fabled Flint and Feather trail. As per legend it did have stunning views over Vancouver, few hikers and short scrambles down a few cliff faces. It also had hikers with very proprietary attitudes about the trail. (They told us not to tell anyone about the trail and not to walk down this trail as it causes erosion. The trail was surprisingly easy to find. First you start down the BCMC trail and then xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx…… This section has been censored by the Flint and Feather Protection Front (FFPF) — Do not attempt this trail. Do not talk about this trail. Ostracize those who do not follow these instructions.“
Petgill Lake 10/08/08
Maia at Petgill Lake:
“Thanks to Tim’s feedback to the hike call-out we (Eric, John, Ming, Maia) knew that it may be difficult to access either one of the two trailheads to Deeks Lake because of the Sea-to-Sky highway construction and our plan B was to do the Petgill Lake hike. There is no pullout at Deeks Creek. About 4 km later there was a sign `Deeks Lake trail 1000 m’ announcing the other trailhead, but all we found after 1 km were two seemingly lost hikers on the highway and no pullout for the Deeks Lake trail.
So we proceeded to Petgill Lake; easy parking and a well-marked trail. It starts with a steep rocky-rooty section until the first lookout and then levels off, follows a partially overgrown logging road for a while and goes back into more softer, steeper grounds and up and down a bit. We arrived at the lake after two hours of hiking at a moderate speed and decided to walk around the lake before having lunch, which made us discover the viewpoint about 10 minutes from the lake looking down onto Howe Sound. We ate and cooled down and were not really eager to go swimming; it was windy and overcast. Returning to the lake we tried the water and – surprise – it was really warm, so swimming got back on the agenda and was very pleasant indeed. We arrived back at the car after 6 hours. Driving back we checked again at Bertram Creek/Deeks Creek and it really is unclear where one could leave the car and where the trail starts.”
Mt Seymour Potluck 09/08/08
Eric A. on Mt Seymour in Lynn Canyon:
“Three of us enjoyed wonderful food and great company. We decided that Mt Seymour was a little too soggy for our liking so we decided on a nice walk at Lynn Canyon. We enjoyed some great middle eastern cuisine as well as chocolate and strawberries. Blueberry pie was also served.”
Johnstone Strait 09/08/08
Sandra kayaking in the Johnstone Strait and Broughton archipelago:
“Our group of 8 headed out for a great 6-days on the water around both the Johnstone Strait south of Telegraph Cove and north through the Broughton Archipelago (as far north as Insect Island and Echo Bay). We got a little of everything… Half the time there was beautiful sunshine but we also had a day of rain. The winds picked up for sections of our days (including one “exciting” crossing with waves from both current/wind, and also from the wake of a cruise ship!) but we also had wonderfully calm days. Campsites ranged from amazing island set ups with wooden structure outlines ready for tarps & tree swings to simple clearings in the woods. We had lazy easy days and a couple long paddle days.
Highlights from the trip included seeing porpoises everyday, orcas half the days, visiting First Nation reserves/abandoned communities, campfires every night, amazing food, freezing dips in the ocean (did I mention the WARM campfires?!?!), navigation practice during early morning fogged-in paddles & hunting down camping areas amongst the islands and the distance we got from the crowds of Johnstone Strait. Good times on and off the water!
Joffre Lakes 09/08/08
Chris at Joffre Lakes:
“Somehow, I picked the worst weekend weather-wise this summer for an intro-to-overnighting hike. Even before we left on the drive up, our group of 10 had been whittled down to 6 – Colleen, Ivy, Jana, Peter, Roy and me. The skies looked ominous but when we reached the trailhead, the sun was trying to make an appearance. The trail was in good condition as we made our way steadily up. We had an extended break at the second lake where the ubiquitous Dean stumbled upon us. Just before the 3rd lake, the rain started and quickly turned to a drenching hail (dunno how that worked but it was hail and 2 minutes later I was soaked). For the rest of the trip, the weather oscillated between rain and almost rain. The worst of the rain was reserved for when we set up the tents. Before supper, some of us went up to the edge of the Matier Glacier and listened to it creaking slowly forward. The next day dawned wetly but we all enjoyed a couple side trips before returning to camp at lunchtime and packing up. The trail on the way down was distinctly wetter than before which slowed some of us down. The weather only started looking up again when we drove back into Vancouver. Monday is, of course, beautifully sunny. Figures.”
Mt Webb 03/08/08
Ahmad on Mt Webb:
“We started our hike at Chilliwack Lake campsite at 9:40am. It was sunny and the lake was so inviting to get on Mount Webb’s top by its reflection on the lake but the seven of us chose the hard way. The new trailhead adds an extra 3.5 km to the old trail. When we got to the first bridge, we found a warning sign about its safety. The main structure seemed old but fine to me. We crossed it one person at a time. The other two bridges were slippery but solid. It took 3:30 hours to get to Radium Lake. We didn’t stay very long at the lake because of the countless mosquitoes. The route to the col doesn’t have many markers but it is fairly easy to follow. I found the col offers better camping spots than Radium Lake at this time of the year: less mosquitoes, better views and there is still a creek running nearby but that may not last long. Getting to the summit was easier than I expected. It was mostly hiking with a couple of scrambling spots. The trail is not marked so it could be confusing where the trail is especially on the way back so it is a good idea to take your time. The summit was amazing – one view better than the other. The whole trip took 10:50 hours.”
Buntzen Lake 03/08/08
Stas at Buntzen Lake:
“7 of us made it to the trail, and had a nice stroll through the woods and a great swim in the lake. Lots of berries were found on the way, identified and enjoyed by the group. A wonderful day out.”