Chris on Mt Seymour:
“Cara, Dean, Ivy, Joss and Trudi joined me on a trip up Mt Seymour. Even at 10 am, the parking lot was cold. There was a fair amount of running water on the trail from the recent rainy weather but no mud and no water got in my light trail shoes. We didn’t see any rain but we had a couple brief intervals of light snow (!) and visibility dropped to 100 m when the clouds moved in. The clouds tried to lift when we got to the summit and we saw a brief bit of sun on the way down but it remained cool most of the day. The estimate of 5 hrs for this trail seems very leisurely and stronger hikers will be able to do it in less than 4 hrs even with lots of breaks. The km markings on the signs seems wrong most of the time – two signs about 500 m apart both noted 1.6 km to the summit.”

Susie D. at Tricouni Meadows:
“What a beautiful day for a hike. It felt like a gift from the gods. We saw a red fox on the way to the trailhead – an unusual sighting, at least for me. Once we’d negotiated the logging road, it was on with the boots and gaiters and into the mud holes. They actually weren’t quite as bad as usual, probably due to the fact that the road had been closed by a rock slide for the previous month. We hiked through the pretty meadows and forest alongside the creek that drains Kathryn Lake, and stopped for a snack to admire the beautiful blue of the lake and the island in its centre. Peaks all around – beautiful meadows – rock hopping to reach the second lake – what more could you want? We enjoyed the second lake so much that we elected to stay there and bask in the sun rather than continue to Cypress Lake. Maia impressed us by taking a swim. On the way back to the car we fulfilled Cheryl’s 5 year dream of seeing a bear while out on a hike. The bear was just where you want to see one – on the other side of the creek, minding his own business, turning rocks over and looking for grubs. Thanks to Astrid, Maia and Cheryl for the good company.”

Carollyne at Garibaldi Lake:
“Nine familiar and new Wanderungers had a great hike to Garibaldi Lake and Taylor Meadows in sunny, crisp and exceptionally clear weather. A Helm to Rubble Creek trail run was just finishing when we got there, making the parking lots almost full. A few glowing runners were still on the trail for the first 30 minutes, but there was enough room for everyone. There were great views, including from the Barrier viewpoint. No snow was seen at the lake level or on Black Tusk, although Panorama Ridge had a heavy dusting of fresh snow. Two backcountry hikers who had been up to Helm Glacier said it was very icy, but it looked beautiful from the lake. There seemed to be more backpackers than day hikers – busy but not crowded. Fall colours made up for the absent flowers. An exceptionally good day with great company.”

Laura at Lake Ann:
“Four bubbly hikers left from the Sexsmith Park-and-Ride to meet up with the remaining two hikers in Abbotsford near the border. It was a fantastic group to travel with and everyone got on well (we laughed till our faces hurt). Reminder to me for the next hike at Baker: Check on the Harley Davidson website for conventions south of the border – we had a 50 minute wait at the border and there were 50-60 bikers all trying to get through as well… Some of them were even queue-jumping, but who were we to go and sort them out??

The weather was glorious, the snow had all but vanished except for a small patch near the lake, and the blueberries were everywhere (so we feasted). The trail was in good condition, albeit a few slippery mud patches from recent rains. A bear was spotted nearby, so this prevented us from taking the trail to the Lower Curtis Glacier. This being the last weekend in September, there was no US$5 fee for parking, something offered ever year. On checking with the rangers, the park will stay open until the first significant snowfall, and the Monday prior to us getting here they already had snow that had to be cleared from the road. Take clothes for all conditions when travelling here. It is a long day to drive and hike here, but everyone on this trip will tell you how it was well worth it. Thank you to David our driver – what a trooper!”

Dory on Mt Gardner:
“I couldn’t ask for better companions to this hike than Emma and Joss. We were a quarter way up in a dark yet mild morning when the organizer took the wrong turn into the Loggers Trail. It was an hour later at around 11:00 when we reached a dead end. Great team work brought us back to the Skid Trail which turned out to be a great workout. Reaching the South Summit completely exhausted, we were unable to find the trail that leads to the North Summit. (which is located just a few metres away). The decision to have lunch at the South Summit was fantastic as it helped us regain our smile and mental capacities… We reached the North Summit at 14:00 for the ultimate payoff as the skies cleared up and the glorious view was for us to enjoy. “

Michelle on Alouette Mountain:
“An all or nothing trail. Although there are some attractive portions of forest trail, this hike offers little to look and and no views (save one look out) until your end destination panorama. The trail is well marked with signs/markers and is obvious in summer until the final summit approach. However if you do not know the trail and the ground is under snow, there are no markers for you once you reach the end of the trail between two rock bluffs. Simply scramble up the rock bluff immediately to your left until you reach the top. Our small chatty bunch leisurely arrived at the summit after just over 4 hours. Nice views of Alouette Lake, the Needle, the lower mainland and mountains, mountains, mountains.”

Susie D. on Mt Laughington:
“This hike has been on my “want to do” list for a long time, but for years access was blocked by a gate. Now the gate stands invitingly open, and we could check it out. Access is by a 4×4 logging road off Chilliwack Lake Road. The road is in good shape, but anyone thinking of doing this hike should be aware that the directions in 103 Hikes are not reliable. Check out the Club Tread trail wiki instead.

What a gem this trail turned out to be! It starts through an alder tunnel, then after a short way on a logging road it’s into the bush on a sometimes hard to find trail. However it’s well flagged, and we didn’t have problems. Soon you’re up on a rocky knoll, with unbelievable views over the Lucky 4 Group, Williams Peak, Slesse, and many other peaks. The trail meanders up and along a ridge, sometimes traversing side slopes, sometimes going up and down and then up and down and then repeating. Some lovely little meadows, and all the way VIEWS! VIEWS! VIEWS! The lunch bump provides an interesting view of Cheam and the Lady – you can clearly see the Cheam trail.

This was a fantastic hike, not difficult, tons of blueberries and did I mention views? Fall colours are just starting. Thanks to John, Susanne and Elodie for treating me gently on my first callout!”

Dory on the BCMC trail:
“The well maintained BCMC trail supplied our group with some great exercise and fun. It took us roughly 90 minutes to reach the top as this time around it was more crowded than usual due to the phenomenal weather. Once on top we spent some time watching the Grizzly Bears and then took the Skyride down. It is important to note the efficiency and time accuracy of public transport, I was impressed. And as promised – thank you Megan!”

Heather at Brew Lake:
“Heather, Bob, Seigfried, Phil, Robin, Ming and John took advantage of a beautiful day to hike to Brew Lake on Sept. 7th. I had not done this trip in fifteen years, and didn’t realize that it’s been taken out of the new 103 Hikes edition. There’s been some logging in the area, never the less, it’s a beautiful, varied hike, although not a very well-used trail, and a fair bit of altitude gain to get to the lake. After parking at Brandywine Falls, we hiked south along the railroad tracks for about 30 minutes, then found the little strip of pink tape marking the overgrown entrance to the trail. The first part is fairly steep through varied forest, with very random markings which led to a 20 minute detour when we got side-tracked across a rock slide area. After that there’s a more gentle mid-section with drier, more open areas, and beautiful pine trees. Then we got to a very steep, rocky slide area with interesting cliffs and the views getting impressive as we went up. By the time you’re on the lookouts over this steep area, there are sweeping vistas of the Wedgemount area, Blackcomb, Whistler, Black Tusk, Garibaldi, and all the way down to the Chief in Squamish. The fourth section is a varied sub-alpine mix leading up to the lake, which is in a beautiful, open bowl. The hike took us longer than expected, so we didn’t go farther than putting feet in the refreshing lake, but the ridge rambling would be amazing around that area. It really merits an over-nighter to explore it. With quite a few breaks, the total time took 8.5 hours. Also, there were almost no bugs! Fall hiking is amazing! Thanks for the great company and to Bob and John for driving.”