Stephen H. on the Sea to Summit trail:
“Carole, Elaine, Elisa, Ivy, Mary, and Sophie joined me for the first official Wanderung trip on the Sea to Sky Gondola’s Sea to Summit Trail. I think it’s safe to say we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It’s a great hike (no surprise considering it incorporates the once-quiet Upper Shannon Falls Trail). We parked at Shannon Falls, and took Andy’s advice in the newsletter and took the Wrinkle Rock Trail at the top. A few of us were surprised by how much we enjoyed the summit area. The views are spectacular and the lodge patio is the perfect place to relax after a good hike. It’s worth budgeting extra time; while the hike up took us four hours, we spent three hours at the top, mostly on the patio. The $10 ride down was fun too.”
Category Archives: Day hike
Tunnel Bluffs, 17 May 2014
Stephen H. at Tunnel Bluffs:
“Christine, Jaime, Jenn, Kristie, Louise, Thomas, and Tu joined me for a perfect day on this trail north of Lions Bay. We went the extra bit to the Loggers Creek Lookout, which is nothing special but still worth it. That was the roughest part of the trail. We had Tunnel Bluff Lookout to ourselves, and saw only one other party on the trail. Highlights included a bear skull. Highly recommended for this time of year.”
Martin Peak, 11 May 2014
Colleen C. on Martin Peak:
“The trip got off to a rough start when it was admitted that there were no cookies, in spite of promises made.
However, after that things just kept getting better and better. We were able to drive all the way to the trailhead (16 km east of Squamish, mostly up the Mamquam FSR). The snowshoes went on within the first 30 minutes at about 950 m. The skies cleared to a glorious blue with poofy clouds flying above gleaming white mountains. The sun warmed the snow which quickly soaked our boots, but the temperature was so high our feet stayed warm (albeit wet – why have waterproof socks if I always forget them?).
We followed a deactivated logging road for a couple of hours with stunning views of Garibaldi and Mamquam then headed up towards a promising bump below Martin’s west peak. There was no evidence of other humans, but animal tracks crisscrossed our path – hares, bears, bobcats (?), chipmunks, and ravens. Our lunch spot provided beautiful views from Tantalus to Meslilloet to Pinecone. We decided to do a loop back with some fun and easy downhill bushwhacking (except for one random step into a hidden snow trap that required a rescue – note to self, make poor stuck person agree to demands before digging them out of the quicksandy snow slush!) that quickly became very easy as we discovered another old logging road that led us back to our initial route.
This is a fantastic area with so much to explore. Just for starters there’s Watersprite Lake, Dreadnought and of course Martin Peak’s two summits. Expect to see at least one more callout to the area this summer!”
Tunnel Bluffs, 2 May 2014
Steve v. at Tunnel Bluffs:
“Freak warm weather conditions and a failed attempt to get a hike going the day before made me extra motivated to try to get some people out for a weekday hike.
In my callout I even said that I expected low turnout (i.e., one car), but – wow – was I wrong. On a weekday, less that 24 hours notice, 10 replies from eager hikers ranging from old hiking buddies all the way to visitors to Canada only here for a month.
Despite that range, we were pretty well matched, especially considering the steepness of the trail (I had not remembered it being quite so “Lynn Peak”-like). Tunnel Bluffs is mostly a forest trail with some nice mossy areas and a few pretty big trees, but the real payoff is the lookout at the turnaround point. The view is pretty good when you get there but do not stop there! I’ve seen this twice – to get the full 1/2 panorama you need to move down the slope a bit to the big rock shelf with the firepit (not dangerous just a bit closer to the edge) and the view really opens up to all the way from Anvil Island to Horseshoe Bay. Like Jenny from our group said, not as much work as some hikes for a view this decent.
It took us close to 4.5 hours but can be done in less. Overall, a great early season hike (snow usually gone by April) but make sure you go on a day that the view will be visible. You may even seen this trailhead and parking but not know it – it is one of those pullouts just West of Lion’s Bay on the Sea-to-Sky with the “cedar hat” info booths (super easy to get to).
(Note: we confirmed this trail is, in fact, Tunnel Bluffs Lookout, “Tunnel Point” is most likely a reference to the geography at water level.)”
Rainbow Lake, 13 Apr 2014
Eugene Y. at Rainbow Lake:
“The winter trail to the Rainbow Lake is a scenic snowshoe route that gradually ascends through an old-growth forest to a sub-alpine country within the Whistler watershed.
Apparently, the route is somewhat underrated by snowshoers, as we haven’t met any other people on the trail besides a lone hiker coming back from Mount Sproatt. Thanks to the watershed regulation, the area is free from snowmobiles, although we did encounter a couple of vehicles passing by the lake.
Practically the whole trail is still covered by deep snow, except for the first 300 m where it gets a bit icy. The trail is well marked and easy to follow, except for a portion between the 2 km and 3 km marks.
Shortly before the 6 km mark, the trail enters an open area that offered a panoramic view to the surrounding peaks. The suspension bridge after the 6 km mark is removed for the winter, so that we had to cross the creek over a snow bridge about 100 m upstream. Finally, after a short but relatively steep ascent, we arrived to the picturesque Rainbow Lake area, which was still under several metres of snow.
Overall, we found this to be an excellent snowshoe route, on par with the one to the Elfin Lakes but more secluded and with a much easier access to the trailhead.”
Elfin Lakes, 23 Mar 2014
Eugene Y. at Elfin Lakes:
“The upper portion of the road (the last kilometre or so) was a bit icy in the morning, although it seemed to be passable for SUVs with winter tires. However it was just too slippery for our Nissan Sentra and Mazda Protege, so we had to use chains. This proved to be tricky, as one of the chains got loose and wrapped around the driving axle(?) on the way down. The parking lot was almost full when we got there around 11:45 am.
The trail was well packed, so some people just walked in their boots and didn’t use neither snowshoes nor microspikes.
It was partially cloudy – a perfect day for photographers, however the sunscreen and sunglasses were really essential.
We walked at a leisurely pace for about 2.5 hours, while enjoying the views and taking pictures. Ellie found a perfect spot for lunch about facing Mt. Garibaldi and Diamond Head. As people were getting tired and the lakes were still about 3 km away, we decided to cut the hike short. On the way back we had plenty of opportunities to socialize with fellow hikers from other clubs.
It was a really beautiful day to be on the trail. Thanks to everyone in the group for staying together as a team and contributing to the success of the trip. Special thanks to those of you who were helping with chains, it was such dirty work!”
Singing Pass, 1 Mar 2014
Dennis K. in Singing Pass:
“After a long hiatus from Wanderung, but not hiking, I decided to post a callout for this day hike of Singing Pass & the Musical Bumps. I have to admit it’s quite an ambitious objective for all but those in great fitness. Seven other people signed up for this hike. Unfortunately, two of them dropped out, one due to a legitimate illness, the other due to inclement weather?
The trail was in great condition. All the way to Singing Pass it was generally firm snow, but still had a bit of cushion underfoot which was ideal for snowshoes and skis (unlike the hard-packed concrete conditions you sometimes get on Seymour/Hollyburn). Although the BC Parks websites posts warnings for creek crossings, these have long been covered by snow.
I was lucky to get a really good group that was in great fitness and we were making great time as we approached Singing Pass. Unfortunately, one of our group was not feeling well and had to turn back. Two others joined her. Myself and two others continued to Singing Pass but since visibility was poor it was judged not worthwhile to continue over the Musical Bumps. Instead, we turned back and joined the others in the Village for a well deserved beer and a meal. All in all I was happy I got out. Rain or shine I never regret getting out for a hike. Thanks for all who joined me and made this a fun day.”
Unnecessary Mountain, 20 Oct 2013
Will on Unnecessary Mountain:
“Two people came along with me on a very unpromising-looking Sunday morning. A few kilometres up the road to Cypress Bowl we broke into the sunshine and were above the clouds in the warm sunshine all day.
We took the Howe Sound Crest trail over St Mark’s Summit and on to Unnecessary, stopping for lunch in between Unnecessary’s two main summits and continuing towards the Lions until we hit our turnaround time.
There are lots of ups and downs on this trail and it’s rough in places. But the forest lower down is beautiful, and the part along Unnecessary was lovely: hiking on granite slabs among fall colours, with great views all around.”
Elfin Lakes, 15 Oct 2013
Kamen at Elfin Lakes:
“They said it couldn’t be done but we slowly motored our way up to the Elfin Lakes parking lot in my 2WD 1989 Mazda 323. The road was a little bumpy in places but, as long as you take your time, you will get there just fine. We hit the trail around 11 am and enjoyed a brisk pace as stunning mountain vistas revealed themselves to us as we started the gradual ascent. After passing Red Heather and turning onto the hikers’ trail, it became quite muddy which quickly turned into solid yet crunchy snow with isolated patches of bare ground. There were very few other hikers on the trail and we mostly marched in silence. We reached Elfin Lakes after just about 2.5 hours and explored the area thoroughly as we thought it would take a good deal longer to reach than it actually had. The way down was a little tougher as the sun had melted through the top layer of snow so it was slushy on the way back and slowed us down a bit. Got back to the car almost 2.5 hrs after we left and enjoyed some well-deserved food & drink at the Howe Sound Brewery.”
Wedgemount Lake, 26 Sep 2013
Will at Wedgemount Lake:
“Five hikers squeezed into Andy’s car and piled out at the trailhead, starting up the trail just before 9 am. Two weeks ago it still felt like summer: this morning it felt like winter was just around the corner, with ice on the trail from the boulder field onwards. The gradient kept us warm enough, though, and we got up the headwall in a fairly leisurely 3 hours. Cook, Weart, Wedge, Parkhurst, and Rethel looked properly spectacular with a dusting of snow under blue skies.
We had lunch on the promontory overlooking the west end of the lake, then wandered alongside the lake for a closer look at the glacier. A quick snack at the hut and we were back down the trail and at the car by 6 pm.
Thanks to everyone for coming out, especially Andy for driving.”
