Ben v. on Silverdaisy Mountain:
“This trip consisted of three very distinct phases. Phase one was a pleasantly dry series of fairly steep switchbacks. We made it up to the snowline around 1200 metres in short order. Above the snowline, we quickly lost track of the trail and entered phase two, which can be characterized as an attempt to find the path of least resistance through the forest. We did pretty well considering that this route was almost devoid of any markings. On the whole trip, we saw a total of two signs, three markers, and just a handful of flagging tape. GPS was useful for navigation up to the valley’s end. Phase three was the payoff. We walked a mellow open ridge to gain the last bit of elevation to the summit. The sky was clear and the views were many. Thanks to Bill, Doug, Marisa, and Rishi for joining me on this trip.”
Category Archives: Day hike
Petgill Lake 29/04/12
Stephen H. at Petgill Lake:
“Jordana, Kandace, Simon, Andy, Siegfried, and I headed for Murrin
Provincial Park on Sunday morning for a hike to Petgill Lake. Our
group included four Wanderung first-timers. Great viewpoints and
gullies en route. We hit snow as we neared the lake – enough snow to
prevent us from finding the final viewpoint. The lake was snow-covered
too. Trail conditions were good, and we only encountered a few other
parties on the return.”
Cheakamus Canyon 28/04/12
Melanie in Cheakamus Canyon:
“The highlights of this trip were: great company and conversation, good weather, views of the canyon, Markus trying to season the train tracks, Donna enjoying her beer, and Ahmad running the first Livetrails app test. The road was not in very good shape and we had to park the car just past the y-junction and walk for the remainder of the road. This last minute call-out filled up very quickly and there seems to be lots of demand for more hikes and organizers!”
Hollyburn Peak 14/04/12
Markus on Hollyburn:
“Lots of snow still up on the hills and it’s packed. You can get away with yak-trax or spikes until you reach the ski area boundry and then you will definitely want snowshoes. The roads were clear as was the view. All in all a beautiful day for being on the mountain.”
Round Mountain 24/03/12
Andy on Round Mountain:
“Maria and I joined Carollyne on her trip up to Round Mountain and Paul Ridge. Getting to the parking lot was straightforward for a 2wd car with tire chains. The road was icy beyond the chain-up area (though it had melted by the afternoon) and compact snow from the top of the hill near the overflow parking. Snowshoes were not necessary as the trail was packed firm – only beyond the Red Heather shelter did we put them on so we could venture into the untracked powder. The snow was perfect and despite the popularity of the area it never felt crowded. We found a (very) sunny spot on the shoulder of Round Mountain and sunbathed for an hour, while taking in the views of Garibaldi, the Tantalus Range and the Sky Pilot group. On the descent we had to watch for huge snow bombs melting off the trees – we had one close call which could have been unpleasant. We ended the day with fine refreshments at the Howe Sound Brewpub and were treated to the sight of Venus, Jupiter and a very thin crescent moon over Howe Sound on the drive home. A grand day out but beware the hungry whisky jacks…!”
Hollyburn to Strachan, 26/02/12
Alex P. on Hollyburn and Mt Strachan:
“Ten Wanderungers took part on a great Sunday afternoon snowshoe trip in the sun via the Hollyburn-Strachan traverse loop. The group included the 3 Dans (Dan, Daniel, and Danny), Hilda, Rita, Sigrid, Sophie, Brad, Callum, and Alex. Bluebird day that it was, both the parking lot and the Hollyburn trail were rather packed. Once we ventured past Hollyburn and descended onto the Hollyburn-Strachan trail we left the packed crowds behind and were rewarded with solitude with Nature the rest of the way. The big dump of fresh powder Friday made for an extra workout but was gentle on the knees. Saturday allowed for the snow to settle reducing the avalanche risk to low. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions. The powder made sliding down Hollyburn loads of fun. I am pretty sure that Sophie woke up a few hibernating bears with her scream as she slid down. There is sufficient snow that most of the trail markers are covered so diligent route-finding was important. Callum and Danny did most of the trail-breaking up the steep slopes. We were all very appreciative of their hard work while we stayed back and suntanned. The views from Mt. Strachan looking out to the Gulf Islands and the high mountains all around were spectacular!”
Slhaney 11/02/12
Stephen H. on Slhaney:
“Allan, Andrew, Douglas, and Mark joined me for this hike in Squamish. We headed up the Stawamus Chief trail and kept going to the snowy top of Slhaney. Along the way, we ended up taking the older, eroded, more interesting branch of the trail, which has two excellent viewpoints offering a look back to the Chief. The last bit is a rough and steep route. With snow and fog on top, we couldn’t figure out which bump was the actual summit. All in all, the hike was worth all the effort. Good conditions, with snow only really at the top.”
Mt Seymour 27/01/12
Michel on Mt Seymour:
“We started our snowshoe excursion with an unexpected foggy and windy day. We rapidly got warm going uphill. The trail was fairly packed with some fresh snow on top. The view was blocked during our way up and we couldn’t see a thing arriving at the end. We came back down a litte bit to take a lunch break away from the windy conditions. On our way back, the wind died down and it cleared up so we could have a nicer view coming down. The trip went according to plan, except for the weather, and we finished the day in a local coffee shop with great company throughout the day. A great first experience for us! Thanks Perry for organizing this trip.”
Alice Lake 07/01/12
Stephen H. at Alice Lake:
“Rebecca, Colleen, and I headed up to Squamish for a pleasant rainy-day hike in Alice Lake Provincial Park. We set off on the Four Lakes Trail, enjoying the easy walk through the lush forest. Finally, we broke a sweat ascending DeBeck’s Hill. Unfortunately, fog obscured any of the reportedly superlative views. All in all, it was great 3.5 hours in the woods.”
North Shore Exploration 07/01/12
Chris M. exploring the Ballantree area:
“Rui, Chris & Celia agreed to wander with me, above British Properties. We started at Ballantree Park. Fairly quickly we left the trail and headed up through easy forest. We found a few old mountain-bike trick constructions. We also found a few twisted trees (which we decided must be caused by lightning). We turned west and made it as far as Brothers Creek before turning around and heading back. At first on the Baden-Powell but then back off-trail. Though we continually crossed over unmarked footbeds and trails. Instead of the rain in Vancouver below we had light snow fall on us all morning.”
