Category Archives: Day hike

Flora Peak, 25 Jun 2016

Day hike,

Phil A. on Flora Peak:
“Confident that the weather would clear up, your heroes set off to conquer Flora Peak in Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park. The hike was a good mix of mossy second-growth forest, alpine meadows, talus slope-scrambling, and ridge exploring. We also timed it perfectly, and the clouds parted as we reached to summit. No real snow except for a few north-facing patches. Rather than take the trail down, we ‘shwacked through the flower fields and got a fantastic view of Chilliwack Lake.

Elevation Gain/Loss: 1520 m/-1520 m
Distance: 12.7 km”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHGrxn5A1Ki/

Slollicum Peak, 4 Jun 2016

Day hike, ,

Phil on Slollicum Peak:

“In search of a snowy summit on a scorching day, four intrepid Wanderung-ers headed to Slollicum Peak. After muscling our 4×4 up to the trailhead, it was a 4-hour hike on a moderately well marked trail. We were greeted with blooming flowers, the odd stinging nettle, and babbling brooks. The summit was snow covered, and offered a great 360 degree view of the hanging Slollicum Lake, Mt Baker, Harrison Lake, and the countless surrounding peaks.

Distance: 13 km
Elevation Gain: 1440 m
More hike information on Club Tread”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGSCveWtuJE/

Diez Vistas, 4 Jun 2016

Day hike, ,

Bob H. on Diez Vistas:
“Three of us went for a moderate to fast-paced hike to one of the most popular hiking trails in the Lower Mainland.

The weather was warm, but it was nice and cool under the forest canopy. Diez Vistas is Spanish for ten views.

Most people doing this trail complain that there are only 3 or 4 views (how sad, right?!). Anyways, I promised my fellow hikers 10 views and I actually gave them 11.

Five of the original views are obstructed by trees now, but there are 5 more views that were never ‘official’ vistas, including 3 on the east loop, which most people don’t know about. The 11th vista is actually on the Lakeview Trail, which we took a shortcut to. We finished the hike in 4 hours.

For more info on this hike, check out this blog: http://www.buntzenlake.ca/diez-vistas/”

Original Vista No. 1 view

Elk-Thurston, 31 May 2016

Day hike, ,

Andy G. on Elk Mountain:
“Talk about a great day out – the views were expansive, the flower display was amazing (over 40 types of flower identified!), and the pie at Chilliwack airport a very welcome treat. Estafan, Julianna, and Michelle joined me (and we later bumped into Shawn near the first viewpoint) for a spectacular day of hiking on Elk. We even made it up to the viewless peak of Thurston, whose only saving grace was a patch of tiny glacier lilies!

A little bit of mud (no doubt from last Saturday’s rain), but the trail is otherwise in good condition and as steep as ever. No snow before the cairn on Elk, and only a couple of patches on the way to Thurston. There’s a new (to me) outhouse about 50 m up the trail. Best of all, I think the flower show will only get better over the next few weeks.”

Sumas Mountain, 23 May 2016

Day hike,

Andy H. on Sumas Mountain:
“Sarah, Anya, Adam & Sebastian joined me for a nice hike up Sumas Mountain on Victoria Day. Trail was in good condition with a number of muddy patches. Walked through the forest in and out of patches of fog until reaching Chadsey Lake, where light rain greeted us. A group or two of hikers by the lake and two fisherman – with no catch so far that day. We climbed up to the summit, having lunch at the eastern lookout – looking out on… mist! The clouds weren’t going anywhere so we headed back down to the car and on to the pub in Abbotsford for a celebratory drink before heading home. Great day out only an hour from Vancouver!”

Garibaldi Lake, 8 May 2016

Day hike, ,

Chris N. at Garibaldi Lake:
“Unlike the Cheakamus Lake trail, there were no blowdowns on the Garibaldi Lake trail at all! Snow patches started around 4.5 km and was largely continuous beyond the 6 km mark. It doesn’t look like many people had headed up to Taylor Meadows – hardly any tracks in that direction. Snow looked to be about 1-1.5 m deep at the lake. It was largely consolidated so snowshoes weren’t needed (and would have been a hazard in the narrower bits coming around the upper barrier lake). Microspikes will help but aren’t really necessary either. The snow gets a bit sloppy in the last 100m before the lake and around the lake edge. There are small pools of water around the lake edge and we ran into a few skiers coming off the Garibaldi traverse so I guess the lake is still crossable (though I wouldn’t risk it).”

Cheakamus Lake, 7 May 2016

Day hike, ,

Chris N. at Cheakamus Lake:
“I always think of Cheakamus Lake as an easy stroll suitable for hikers from 1 to 101. So I was surprised to find several substantial blowdowns across the trail. Some of the logs are up to 1 metre wide and, given that these were tall trees, going around them would be even more difficult. There are 4-5 trees across the trail before the lake and a few more beyond that. Otherwise the trail is in good shape and there’s no snow at all. There were a number of campers heading to Singing Creek and beyond but no-one camping at the north end of the lake. We ventured beyond Singing Creek for about an hour along a rough trail to the remains (just foundations and some rusted metal) of a tiny cabin.”

Orcas Island, 29 Apr 2016

Day hike, Multi-day, , , , ,

Stephen H. on Orcas Island:
“Three glorious days in the San Juan Islands. Rasham, Ino, and Anna joined me on this no-reservations car camping trip south of the border. Day 1: Hiking to Turtlehead rewarded us with stunning views of the Salish Sea. Day 2: A grand loop up and down Mounts Constitution and Pickett granted us more spectacular views, forest walking, and a visit to a stone tower on the former summit. Day 3: We did a short walk to Cascade Falls before hitting the ferry back to Anacortes. All of these hikes are highly recommended. Our original plan was to camp at Mountain Lake. It was full, so we took a spot at the Midway campground by Cascade Lake, which had flush toilets. One trip highlight: seeing the broken soda fountain overflow with root beer on the ferry over. Another: a barred owl hung out with us at camp for a bit. Also: all the pop music we listened to all weekend.”

Mt Kelly, 17 Apr 2016

Day hike, Snowshoe,

Phil A. on Mt Kelly:
“Lured by blue skies and warm temperatures, we set out to conquer Mount Kelly and the ridge to Nordheim Peak in Manning Park. We attacked from Allison Pass (N49° 06.924′ W120° 51.805′). The road had snow from the get go. After getting off track due to some fallen trees we had to bushwhack back on course. At the end of the road, the trail through the woods to the peak of Mount Kelly was slightly difficult to follow due to inconsistent flagging. Once at the peak, the trees thinned out and we easily navigated along the snow-covered ridge (which progressively slushed up in the spring sun). We then walked almost to Nordheim Peak to luxuriate in the sunshine before heading back.

Total elevation gain: 1400 m.
Snowline: Dependent on the side of the mountain, but the road was covered from the road/trail up. Snowshoes necessary.
Distance: 18 km.
Total Time: 7.5 hrs including lunch, breaks, and faffing.”

Kennedy Falls, 2 Apr 2016

Day hike, , , ,

Bob H. at Kennedy Falls:
“This is a great hike with two points of interest. First, is the big cedar tree, which has been estimated at over 600 years old; the second is Kennedy Falls. Don’t let the length and elevation gain of 170 m fool you for this hike. There are many ups and downs on this trail making the cumulative elevation gain 750 m. The length of the trail is 5 km, so the return total is 10 km. The trail traverses the west slope of Lynn Valley and you will find the big cedar tree 3.3 km from the start; also of note – the big cedar tree is less than 100 m from Lynn Creek. The cedar tree is massive and the only reason I think why it was spared from the saw in the early 1900s, when the whole area was logged, is that there was no saw large enough! The end of the trail marks Kennedy Falls, which is spectacular and fills the air with wind, mist and rainbows. There is a new parking lot at the trailhead on Mountain Highway, which fills up fast, so get there early. This is a very popular mountain biking area.

Blog post here: http://www.buntzenlake.ca/big-cedar-trail-and-kennedy-falls

Full Flickr photo album of hike here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskxGD5Pg“

Group at the big cedar tree