Carollyne on Mt Seymour:
“Five of us headed up. The weather: disappointing – low cloud that turned into fog for most of the hike, so no views were to be seen until we were back at the parking lot. The black flies: intense!!! The view of Seymour from Vancouver: deceptive – there’s still a lot of snow up there. By the time you reach First Peak, it is solid snow except for larger rock outcrops such as the peak itself. Another hiker returning from Third Peak reported that from Second to Third is all snow. Due to the weather mostly, we decided First Peak was enough for today. The inspiring conversations and harmonious group (Nuria, Marisa, Holly and Melonie) made for a great hike however, regardless of the conditions.”
Tag Archives: North Vancouver
Mt Fromme 30/10/11
Chris M. on Mt Fromme:
“Two people joined, but transit let one down. So it was just Andrea and I who spent 2 easy hours splashing up and down a creek on Fromme. It was relaxing and fun for both of us to search out little water treasures and try to capture them on ‘film’. We each had some shots we were happy with. And rubber boots were a blessing. There will be another trip here…”
Mt Seymour 04/12/10
Chris M. at Pump Peak on Mt Seymour:
“Three snowshoers and 2 skiers started up Seymour at 2 pm. The parking lot was crammed but the trail wasn’t too crowded. We went up the southwest face of Pump Peak. Laurie, Irina and Dan walked and slid back down, while Glen and I enjoyed a few turns. The evening light for all of us was magnificent.”
Coliseum Mountain 22/09/10
Erez on Coliseum:
“No takers, so I went by myself. Very long trail (I hiked from Lynn Valley), and it’s mostly climbing through forest. The trail becomes interesting once you get to the ridge between Lynn and Seymour valleys. I saw a mama bear and her 2 cubs. The trail is very well marked and snow free.”
Baden-Powell Trail 06/03/10
Steve on the Baden-Powell Trail between Deep Cove and Lynn Canyon:
“With one participant out sick and a no-show behind us the cross-over went off without a hitch. Two cars starting at opposite ends of this trail was an interesting twist on this fine day. The team coming from Deep Cove had few crowds at Grey Rock in the morning and a smooth journey the whole way, with even time for a swim. My team, coming from Lynn Canyon, had a 60 person club behind us (Vancouver’s Korean hikers), which we quickly outpaced.
The meeting in the middle was joyous as the nature-loving, quiet team (mine), and the “wild and crazy” team for the cove merged near the Samaritan trail. Lunch was short-lived as we had to get ahead of the 60 person pack again, only to find that the trail from Deep Cove to Grey Rock was teeming with dogs, smokers, and Lululemon gear. I’ve never seen so many people on that rock.
For me this was the first time starting at that end, and I found it easier to navigate some of the troublespots, but no easier on the ups and down (I thought it would be more downhill- and hike times were about equal). I think I prefer the “traditional” direction better.
We wrapped up with a snack at Honey’s doughnuts.”
Mt Seymour 27/09/09
Su-Laine on Mt Seymour:
“Beautiful day! Seymour was a lovely hike as always, and almost bug-free. There were plenty of people on the trail but it wasn’t so crowded as to be annoying. Bandidas Taqueria near 12th and Commercial is my new favourite post-hike place (https://www.bandidastaqueria.com/). Good food, and as it’s near the Broadway and Commercial meeting spot, the people who need to go somewhere else don’t have to stay for dinner.”
Mt Seymour 30/08/09
Carollyne on Mt Seymour:
“Four of us had a great day on Mt. Seymour. Few cars were in the parking lot when we arrived at 9:45 and the trail up and peaks were quiet – for Seymour on a sunny weekend. There were a few mosquitoes in the shady spots, but no bugs bothered us elsewhere. Haze, perhaps from wildfires, somewhat obscured the views at the top. There was a distinct, if faint, smell of smoke in the air. On the return, the trail was quite busy with people going up. A highlight was watching a black bear feeding on blueberries about 30 minutes up from the parking lot. The trail took 4.5 hours round trip at a fairly leisurely pace plus a very leisurely lunch. We left a now full parking lot and had drinks and appies on Commercial Drive before heading home. Great company made the day even better.”
Mt Bishop 30/08/09
Peter B. on Mt Bishop:
“Three of us biked for one hour along the nice Seymour Valley Trail, waded through Seymour river, climbed up to Mount Bishop for 3 hours (with a 1h stop at Vicar lakes and 1h on the summit) and down for 2 hours and biked back for another hour. The trail is very steep, quite bushy but well-flagged and there is no shortage of ropes. We all liked the upper parts (the lakes and summit) much more than the first 2 hours through the forest. There were many blueberries and blueberry-loaded bear poo. We also saw a bear from a distance (probably eating blueberries or …).”
Hanes Valley 23/08/09
Andy in Hanes Valley:
“This has been on my to-do list for some time so it was great to collect a group of six and see the valley up close. We began in Lynn Headwaters and ended on Grouse Mountain. Beyond Norvan Falls (where the creek was just a trickle) the forest soon changed from devastated second growth to a much nicer unlogged forest, complete with some fabulous bright orange fungi. Crossing Lynn Creek was easy on the biggest logjam I’ve ever seen. We broke out of the trees at the helipad where we stopped for lunch before making our way up through the boulder field. The sheer cliffs of Goat and Crown Mountain were quite spectacular and the open nature of the boulder field made for rewarding rest stops with views back to Coliseum and Burwell. We contemplated tackling one of the nearby summits, but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view), the clouds hung around the summits of Goat and Crown mountains which dissuaded us from adding more elevation gain. So up the muck-and-chains bit we went to join the Goat Mountain trail, and were back at the gondola less than an hour later, pausing only to sample a few of the local berries. To our surprise we had no more than a 10-minute wait for the gondola ride down. The trip took 7 hours end to end. A great day out – thanks everyone!”
Crown Mountain 11/07/09
Su-Laine on Crown Mountain:
“Ow, my legs hurt. Other than two sections of moderate scrambling, the statistics on this one make it look like a moderate 9 km hike from the top of the Grouse Mountain Skyride. There are several climbs and descents each way, so although the overall elevation gain is only 455 m, in total you’re probably climbing over 1000 m, and I found it a lot more tiring than another 1000+ m hike I’d done a few weeks ago (Eagle Bluffs). Maybe it was the hot sun, or maybe the fact that the trail requires so many damned deep knee bends for smaller people like me.
I’d posted this as a 5-6 hour hike but it ended up taking us about 8.5 hrs, including breaks and half an hour off-trail when some of us missed a marker. The off-trail part took us down some slippery rocks and wasn’t fun; other than that the scrambling was fun. It was good to be in a group so we could spot each other and learn from others’ techniques. The summit is snow-free but we had to cross a couple of patches of packed snow lower down where hiking poles were useful.”