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Mount Strachan

June 27, 2015Non-Buntzen Lake Hikes, North Shoreadmin

Mount Strachan is located at the Cypress Mountain Ski Resort. The route follows the same path as the route to St. Mark’s Summit for about 3 km, until you reach Strachan Meadows and enter Christmas Gully. I didn’t see a sign for the turn off, so it’s always good to have a GPS device with you. The hike up to the turn off is a well defined and well used trail. During the climb through Christmas Gully you’ll have some steep sections with some fairly easy scrambling. When you reach the saddle between the north and south peaks, you can choose to do both or just go onto the south peak, which is slightly higher. On this day, we skipped the north peak and did the south peak. After admiring the views on the south peak, we made our way down and saw the remains of a 1963 military plane crash – photos below. The trail starts right by the Cypress Lodge and you can park near there.

The stats:

Distance: 7.3 km (return)
Time: 4.5 hours (with lots of breaks)
Low point: 917 m
High point: 1435 m
Elevation gain: 518 m
Trailhead: 49° 23’ 45.3” by 123° 12’ 14.8” (Google Map)

The route:

Strachan Meadows…

Entering Christmas Gully…

Climbing Christmas Gully…

Looking down from Christmas Gully…

View from top…

Lions peaking through…

Another view from the top…

View coming down…

Plane Wreckage…

Plane Wreck Memorial…

Plaque…

Trail coming down…

★★★★★★★★★★★

Before heading out on your hike, make sure you are well prepared. This means, having the TEN ESSENTIALS. It is also important to leave a trip plan (route details and estimated return time) with someone you trust.

Bring your smartphone, fully charged and put it in airplane mode while hiking. I always bring back-up battery packs for extra piece of mind. It is highly recommended that you bring a GPS device; I use my smartphone with a GPS app (Backcountry Navigator). The GPS will work in airplane mode. Learn how to use it before your hike.

For anyone new to hiking, there is a rule to which hikers follow; it is called “Leave No Trace” or LNT. The concept is generally to pack out what you pack in and respect nature, so all future visitors can enjoy what you have enjoyed.
To learn more about LNT, please check out this BLOG by a certified LNT Trainer.

★★★★★★★★★★★

Dogs at Buntzen Lake

June 23, 2015Buntzen Lake Blogadmin

Many people walk their dogs at Buntzen Lake and the dogs enjoy it.
Below are some tips you should know before bringing your dog to Buntzen Lake.

Dogs are not permitted in the main beach area. The map below shows three areas where your dogs may picnic with you. The trail to the right leads to the dog off-leash area beside Buntzen Creek. Please do not walk your dog through the main beach area.
All dogs must be on a leash except in the two designated off-leash areas or on the dog off-leash trail. All dogs must be under owner’s control at all times.

Most dog owners are responsible and leash and clean up after their dogs; however, because of the few inconsiderate owners, dog droppings can be seen on the trails.

Buntzen Lake officials are cracking down on off-leash dogs due to the the dog droppings on trails and the danger off-leash dogs pose to all hikers on the trails, especially young children. This sign has been put up…

Here’s one final sign reminding dog owner’s to pick up after their dogs…

Zoa Peak and Falls Lake

June 11, 2015Fraser Valley & Beyond, Non-Buntzen Lake Hikesadmin

Today was my first venture into the Coquihalla Recreation Area and I did Zoa Peak. Once back at the car, we had some extra time, so we did the quick 1 km trip to Falls Lake to check that out. The most famous peak in this area is Yak Peak with its exposed granite exposure highly visible while driving the Coquihalla Highway. On our hike today, we saw no one on the Zoa Peak trail. We saw a group of 5 just returning from Falls Lake when we were back at the car. The weather was very nice – a good breeze all day and plenty of sun. The mosquitoes were out and I got a few bites, but the wind kept them at bay most of the day. We encountered our first little snow patch at 1750 m and after that there were plenty more snow patches – not difficult or deep to traverse – just nice to make things more interesting. The alpine flowers were in bloom and the views were amazing. All in all, it was a great day to do this hike.

The stats:

Distance: 10 km (return)
Low point: 1229 m
High point: 1853 m
Elevation gain: 624 m
Cumulative Elevation gain: 872 m
Trailhead: 49° 36’ 44.6” by 121° 03’ 54” (Google Map)

The route…

Here’s some of the amazing views we had today…

It was nice walking in the snow…

Admiring the view…

Someone made a little Inukshuk at the top…

We stopped for a break at the top and we also has cell signals !!

Here are some trail photos…

The alpine flowers were in bloom. Here is a Western Columbine…

And I’ll finish with the tranquil Falls Lake…

★★★★★★★★★★★

Elk – Thurston

June 5, 2015Fraser Valley & Beyond, Non-Buntzen Lake Hikesadmin

Back to Chilliwack for another classic hike. Today was the first day of a ‘heat wave’, so I thought it would be good to get out before the temps were supposed to rise on the weekend. It’s also nice to do this hike on Friday and beat the masses. On the way up, our group of 3 only saw one other hiker – a fast pregnant woman ! She kicked our butts up there. We would eventually meet more people on the traverse back. There are amazing views of the Fraser Valley, the Chilliwack River Valley, Slesse Creek Valley and many local mountains. Temps were mid 20’s in the alpine environment, but dipped to a more refreshing temperature in the forest. As there are long stretches in the sun, we did get plenty of sun. The alpine flowers were in bloom and the colours (red, orange, blue, violet, white, yellow) were amazing. We returned to a hot car and the temperature was high 20’s.

The stats:

Distance: 14 km (return)
Low point: 616 m
High point: 1573 m
Cumulative Elevation gain: 1220 m
Calories burned: 3610
Trailhead: 49° 06’ 17.8” by 121° 49’ 15” (Google Map)

The route…

Here’s a nice view of the Fraser Valley…

Mt. Baker…

Slesse Creek Valley and Chilliwack River Valley…

Chilliwack River Valley…

Some Trail photos…

Here’s a group photo…

Some flowers…

Here’s an interesting bug, which is like a moth and a butterfly…

★★★★★★★★★★★

Lakeview Trail, McCombe Lake and Swan Falls

May 24, 2015Buntzen Lake Hikesadmin

The original forecast for today was sunny with a high of 19. The morning of the hike, the forecast changed to sunny breaks in the afternoon. However, we saw no sun today ! It was overcast all day, but very comfortable temperature wise. This route is a slightly longer variation of the Buntzen Lake and Swan Falls route. Our group of 4, set off at 8:45 am and made our way to the south end of Buntzen Lake, over the Floating bridge. At the Pumphouse, we choose the Lakeview Trail, which is a highly underused trail. After Lakeview Trail, we headed north on the Old Buntzen Lake Trail past McCombe Lake, the old intake station, the Buntzen Dam and the massive aquiduct. After a short walk on the service road, we reached the Swan Falls trailhead and ascended to the falls, which is a 200 m elevation gain. The cumulative elevation gain of 937 m is due to the many ups and downs on the route, so it’s not really indicative of a strenuous hike. In fact, the hike is quite easy, except for the 200 m elevation gain on the Swan Falls trail, but that is only for a short time. There are nice views from Lakeview trail and from Swan Falls. The Swan Falls area is a great place to relax on the smooth rocks, while listening to the water fall.

Today’s Stats:

Distance: 14.3 km (return)
Low point: 110 m
High point: 341 m
Elevation gain: 231 m
Cumulative Elevation gain: 937 m
Trailhead: 49° 20’ 11.4” by 122° 51’ 30” (Google Map)

Here is the route…

Here is a close up of Swan Falls…