Andy G. on Mt Strachan:
“A very peaceful and completely view-free hike on a cloudy day. A bit like the first time I called out this hike ten years ago! No matter – the beauty of the forest and the flowers kept our attention from start to finish. Emily, Janavie and I walked past Yew Lake to pick up the HSCT as far as Strachan Meadows, then Christmas Gully up to the north summit for lunch. From there we went over to the south summit to pick up the trail back down. We took the shortcut near the Hollyburn Giant to save a bit of time. It took us 5.5 hours car-to-car including nearly an hour for lunch.
The trail was snow-free and mostly mud-free, apart from the section between the Baden-Powell trail and the north-side turnoff to Hollyburn. Rocks and roots were slippery after the recent rain, and all the bushes were sopping wet. As were my shorts after a few minutes of hiking through all this…
A surprisingly-large number of flowers were blooming, including sundew, deer cabbage, purple asters, pink heather, white heather, northern starflower, sitka valerian, some very early queen’s cup near Yew Lake (otherwise lots in bud), bunchberry, rosy twistedstalk, coralroot, partridgefoot, lupine, Indian hellebore (just in leaf right now), alaska violets, yellow violets, and various berry bushes. I think that covers it 🙂
Black flies were annoying once on Strachan summit and down through the marshy meadows, but mosquitoes were mostly not a problem – just a few here and there.
All in all, another great day out in the mountains!”
