Carollyne at Lightning Lakes:
“Although a group of four dwindled to two by 7:45, Daniel and I had a great day at Lightning Lakes. We made good time and had lunch in the shade of the cottonwoods at the end of the Thunder Lake trail. The beautiful blue-green lakes are almost constant companions all the way. Between Strike and Thunder Lakes, the trail revealed an astonishing number and variety of alpine flowers – as well as the huge rockslides. It was well worth the extra 6 km. On an otherwise hot day, a strong breeze kept us comfortable and kept the few black flies, deer flies and mosquitoes from being bothersome. A few canoeists, two tubby boat fishermen and four small groups of hikers were the only people we saw until the kids jumping off Rainbow Bridge near the end of our hike. With frequent photo stops and lunch, the hike took 7.5 hours.”

Ahmad on Mt Frosty:
“Five of us did Frosty’s east peak in 9.25 hours. The trail is well-graded, scenic, and has all types of terrains. It goes through old trees, many flowers, a wide and open alpine area, rock slide, and a peak. At the campground, there are many mosquito campers who were eager to meet us. The shelter is primitive and the creek beside it seems that it will dry up soon. The peak is quite wide. It fits 20 people easily and it has superb views. We spent 1 1/2 hours hanging out there. At the end, some of us took a quick swim in lightning cold water in Lightning Lake. Thanks for Keith and Ryan for their snow report of the trail. No much snow left now. We encountered few patches on the way.”

Melanie at High Falls Creek:
“Several photographers with a hiking problem and a few hikers went to High Falls Creek. Dawn Hanna’s description was not exaggerated at all; there were superb views of the Squamish Valley and Tantalus Range. Encountered the other Wanderung group at several of the viewpoints. Bit of scrambling with ropes and chains to assist, walk through the forest, boulder field and then logging road. There is one beautiful view of the Squamish River Valley that you can see from the logging road that makes it worth walking back this route. Stopped at the pub at the way back. Great company and special thanks to Laura for pointing out the best viewpoints!”

Michelle on Sumas Mountain:
“A MUCH nicer trail than anticipated. Very nice forest hike under canopy the entire way to the slice of summit views at the Eastern Lookout. The trailhead is marked as the Centennial Trail and the trail well marked – although one blow down snag (marked with several ribbons) obscures a trail fork shortly before the lake (just after the creek with the rope guide). Half our crew took a leisurely swim in Chadsey Lake, a satisfying lunch spot before pressing on to the summit (about an hour away). A patch of blooming wild strawberries was discovered at the Eastern Lookout and lots of monarch butterflies. On return instead of another swim in the lake we kept going, to the beautiful little creek that is shortly before the lake on ascend and refreshed ourselves (Beth showered in the waterfall and I plain laid down in the shallow rock chute of the creek). An incredible variety of flowers (carpet like in places), and an equally incredible amount of bugs (it was a blood bath). A perfect hike for the day with good company.”

Diana at Brothers Creek:
“Eight of us found our way to this trailhead hidden within the British properties on the north shore. We never found the yellow gate as described in the Dawn Hanna book, but did find an access to the Baden-Powell, and knew the trail intersected with the Brothers Creek trail, so we were able to get on the right path without difficulty. It was a lovely and tranquil hike, well shaded in an old growth forest and a few rewarding views and rest stops along the way including the tranquil Lost Lake, where we met the only other two hikers all day, who had just indulged in a nice swim. The creek was flowing relatively quickly with some scenic rapids and a couple small waterfalls. The trail was generally very well marked, in great condition, although there were a few slippery parts on the way down and a few of us had some minor spills. There was also a view overlooking Burrard Inlet and downtown Vancouver where someone had left a single lawn chair to soak in the view. We recommend that the next group of hikers on this trail carry up a second lawn chair so that two may sit and enjoy that view in style! Thanks to Andras and his new fancy Garmin GPS to introduce some of us to geocaching (although we never did find the supposed hidden item).”

Carollyne at Alice Lake:
“Dorothy, Dana, Maia and I chatted our way to Debeck’s Hill and along the Four Lakes trail at Alice Lake. On a cool, sunny with clouds day, most of the time we had the trails to ourselves. Great views of the Tantalus Range through the clouds, and of lakes with water lilies coming into bloom. Especially refreshing was taking a break at the Cheekye River. Maia went for a good swim in Alice Lake. Fawn Lake was also tempting with its bathwater temperature. A good hike for those recovering from injuries or new to hiking with 200 m elevation gain on Debeck’s Hill. A more attractive destination than expected and great company made for a perfect Sunday.”

Sandra at Rainbow Lake:
“You would have never guessed it was a rainy day on Saturday with the enthusiastic group of 13 that headed up to Rainbow Lake. This was a planning / get-to-know-each-other hike for the August Cape Scott / North Coast Trail adventure… so perhaps it was suitable to see how we all faired with soggy conditions! Despite some mud and slippery & tilted walkways, the trail was almost entirely clear of snow. However, the ice on Rainbow Lake was still breaking up, with more snow on the ridges surrounding it. The trees around the first section up the gravel road were nicely overgrown, making the road more “trail-like”. The mosquitoes were definitely starting to come out at the lower elevations.”

Michelle on the Brothers Creek trail:
“Impressive old growth stands and lovely waterfalls tucked away right in residential West Vancouver’s British Properties (who would have thought?). There is still a significant amount of compact snow on the portion of the trail leading to Lost Lake, despite the heatwave of last week (and the fact that it is now July and this is a low elevation hike). We continued the trail from Lost Lake towards the outermost set of falls in an attempt to make a loop down to Blue Gentian Lake and then return via the main trail. The trail continued under snow in sections and there are some blow downs. However it should be noted that we likely traveled 1/2 to 2/3 of this arm, until we reached a Trail Closed sign – presumably the blow downs get worse and have not been cleared.”

Hurrian P. on Alouette Mountain:
“The four of us hiked up to Alouette Mountain on Saturday morning. The first section was a steep climb on a well-marked trail. The trail became more rugged as we ascended and at times it looked like there had been relatively little upkeep on the trail this year. Several times we had to spread out to find the next marker on the trail. There was snow for the last few hundred meters of vertical. When we finally made it to the top, there was little to say for a view besides a cairn and a sense of satisfaction. The rain started coming down heavily but we kept warm by rambunctiously running/sliding/stumbling down the snowy section at the top. Thanks to Eric (my new nomination for the Wandie for driver of the year) for tolerating four wet and dirty hikers in his car for the ride home.”