Tag Archives: Lions Bay

Mt Hanover, 21 Aug 2016

Day hike, Scramble, , ,

Dean C. on Mt Hanover:
“Wanting a day trip for a change, this past weekend saw Remi and I hike up from Lions Bay to Mount Hanover on Aug 21. We left the HSCT before it descended to Brunswick Lake and made our way over mostly open terrain and talus slopes to the famous ‘two gullies’ of Hanover. The Scrambles book says the left gully is easier, however after talking to my intrepid dental hygienist on the scene (a chance encounter with Joanne) who took the left, Remi and I took a deep breath and climbed the right gully, thankful the bottom step had ‘some’ rope and lamenting the final pitch having none. That sealed the deal on descent choice – we weren’t going back down that way. Threatening clouds greeted us on top so we had a quick snack and started down-climbing the five steps in the left gully. Overall they weren’t too bad and we felt we made the right choice in the end. The rain held off and we made it back 8:20 after starting, which was longer than I had hoped, however it’s hard to travel fast on this particular route. 17.6 km and 1,880 m cumulative elevation gain.”

IMG_9144

Mt Harvey, 23 Jul 2016

Day hike, ,

Erin P. on Mt Harvey:
“Three of us tackled Mt. Harvey on Saturday. We arrived in Lions Bay to find the meagre 5 or 6 parking spots at the trailhead already taken. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find there are actually quite a few parking spots around the village without the dreaded tow-away signs. Do be careful not to block driveways, etc.

This trail has a well-deserved reputation for being relentlessly steep. We powered up at a good pace, grateful for the cooler weather. Near the top, the bugs were out in full force, and we wondered – what can they possibly eat when there are no hikers? I would bring bug spray if doing any of the Lions Bay hikes in the near future.

After lunch near the summit we headed down, enjoying the views of Howe Sound on the way. Despite the many cars in the village, we only met 3 other parties on the trail. Our total time was about 6.5 hours. Thank you Eugene and Laurel for joining me on my first callout!”

Mt Harvey, 19 Apr 2015

Day hike,

Gabriela M. on Mt Harvey:
“Initially the hike was planned for Rainbow Lake but fortunately I received an email with a link to a post informing that a bridge that crosses a creek hadn’t been put up yet so I chose Mount Harvey instead. It was 5 of us in total and we started the hike around 9 am. Quite the steep hike but we did well. Snow became visible, but not enough to be of any inconvenience just before the trail opens up to the big view of the Lions. We then continued onto the final push to the top of Mount Harvey and I found that poles were quite useful here with the snow we had to walk across. The scrambling was snow free and the view at the top was phenomenal. Our descent went well and we enjoyed a meal/drink in North Van. Great outing.”

Mt. Harvey, April 19, 2015

Tunnel Bluffs, 7 Mar 2015

Day hike, ,

Markus at Tunnel Bluffs:
“Tu Van, Marianne, Ted and Michelle joined me for a beautiful day of hiking to Tunnel Bluffs. Along the way, we stopped at 3 or 4 of the view points along the way enjoying varying degrees of view. Trail is mainly dry with a couple of muddy spots. The dryness did make the hike down a bit slippery so if you plan on doing this before the next rainfall, poles would be recommended.”

Mt Harvey, 27 Jul 2014

Day hike,

Stephen H. on Mount Harvey:
“What a tough hike. Mark, Yasuyo, Ino, Jacqui, Jenn, and Michelle joined me for the steep slog. Thankfully, there’s lots of shade until you get to the ridge. We were rewarded with a largely empty trail (everyone was over at the West Lion) and sweet views. Great, tiring day. Too bad they don’t serve iced coffee at the Lions Bay cafe.”

Tunnel Bluffs, 17 May 2014

Day hike,

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.”

Tunnel Bluffs, 2 May 2014

Day hike,

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.)”

Tunnel Bluffs, 19 May 2013

Day hike,

Stephen H. at Tunnel Bluffs:
“Chris, Colleen, Ida, Ivy, Leane, Sebastien, Semiral, and Teresa joined me for a great hike up the well-marked Tunnel Point Trail near Lions Bay. The most dangerous part of this hike: walking across the Sea to Sky Highway to and from the trailhead. Lots of viewpoints provided plenty of opportunities for breaks, and the destination, Tunnel Bluffs Lookout, proved to be a spectacular perch overlooking Howe Sound.”

Hat Mountain, 14 Apr 2013

Day hike, Scramble, Snowshoe, , , ,

Pardeep on Hat Mountain:
“Hat Mountain, what a beauty of a summit! Roberto M., Mark J, and I chose the Tunnel Point trail which starts opposite of viewpoint pullout along Highway 99; the viewpoint is North of Lions Bay. The trail was in great condition and offers many views of the ocean and islands. The trail connects up to the FSR that runs North-South. We headed generally North, until the trail starts ramping up to the East towards Hat. We chose the South Ridge approach, but based on my compass bearing, we were more so on the West ridge; the South and West ridge system is pretty broad.

The snow was quite steep in many sections, and it would be helpful to have an ice axe. Just below the summit, there was a short section of technically steep snow, at least in my opinion. The views though… Holy Moly! Windsor, Gotha (Peak 5400), Coburg, Hanover, and the beautiful North Face of Brunswick; any which way, it was fantastic. I would highly recommend this as a destination; it’s an obscure mountain that doesn’t seem to get much attention. I would also like to give a huge thank you to Weedwhacker over at Club Tread. This guy volitionally maintains the Hat Mountain trail. I can say without hesitation, the trail markings and small maps provided are the best I’ve encountered. His efforts make reaching the summit a breeze. Thank you!”

North Face of Brunswick

Mt Harvey 30/12/12

Snowshoe, , ,

Chris M. on Mt Harvey:
“A year-end hike up Harvey with the promise of blue skies dancing in our heads. Parking at the Lions Bay TH is down to 5 spots! – silly locals. The logging road was a mix of ice & hard-packed snow. The first 20 minutes of the trail were the trickiest. Crusty, icy and post-holing. Once past that it was much better, but hard work! Luckily we had a strong group. Four of us shared trail-breaking duties. It was treat to turn around at one point and see the four ladies (Desiree, Katie, Dorothy & Quirine) right behind me. Pierre-Andre & Simon finished out our group of seven. Still it took us a while to crest the ridge as there was so much soft snow to plough up through. We decided to enjoy the stunning view of the West Lion, have a bite and come back down. We then had a great time at Pastameli’s in West Van for some half-price pizza! (Sunday dine-in special.)”

The White Lion