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Mt. Gardner

March 26, 2015Non-Buntzen Lake Hikes, Other Metro Vancouveradmin

I had to go to Bowen Island today, so I said, why not do a hike too ! It was 14 degrees C and cloudy at the start. Deep in the forest it got down to around 10, but that’s it. It was very comfortable all day. Some mosquitoes were bothering me, but no bites – so that’s good ! I had the fortune of having the car today, so we started right at the trail head. If you hike from the ferry, there is an extra 3 km and 175 m elevation gain. From the trail head, we started up the gravel road and then veered slightly left into the forest. We re-emerged onto the gravel road 1.3 km later and continued up the road for another 1.3 km. We entered the forest again and continued our climb to the summit. The trail is very peaceful, with the sounds of birds and small streams. Just before the approach to the summit, there are ropes for assistance, as it’s a pretty steep section – they help, especially going down. When we got to the top, we stopped for a break on one of two helicopter landing pads up there. There are a number of telecommunications antennae and repeaters up there. Unfortunately, there was zero visibility at the summit, so no good photos from the top ! We saw only two other people today.

The stats:

Distance: 8 km (return)
Low point: 126 m
High point: 713 m
Elevation gain: 587 m
Trailhead: 49° 23’ 26” by 123° 21’ 48” (Google Map)

Here is the route…

Here is the best view of today from 550 m…

Here are some trail photos…

No view from summit…

Antennae at top…

Ropes near summit…

★★★★★★★★★★★

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.

★★★★★★★★★★★

Hoodoos in Kamloops

March 13, 2015Interior, Non-Buntzen Lake Hikesadmin

Mara Canyon at Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area (Cinnamon Ridge Trail)

It was another amazing day for a hike in BC ! Starting at 9:30 at the trailhead (350 m) on Tranquille Road in Northwest Kamloops, it was overcast and 10 Deg C with a chilly wind. As I proceeded up the west ridge of Mara Canyon, the terrain got steep fast and finding good footholds was challenging; however, the group of 9 California Big Horn Sheep staring at me had no problem with the terrain. I made it up to the first viewpoint (600 m) in 70 minutes. The trail is not marked well at all and I am thankful for the gpx track emailed to me the night before by local hiker. After the first peak, I continued across a large hoodoo and northwards along the west ridge. There is little green up there, but there are plenty of cacti, Sagebrush and some Ponderosa Pine. Continuing along the ridge, there are many precarious traverses across slopes with small gravel over bedrock – It was very slippery. A large amount of time I was on all fours, just like the sheep ! I made it to the base of Mara bluff (785 m) at 11:30 and from here the descent into the canyon began. Again, there were many loose rock sections to traverse on the way down. I passed a old rusty car and the backbone of possibly one of the California Big Horn Sheep. Once in the dry creekbed, there were more trees – further down, there was some water in the creek. The views looking up from the bottom of the canyon were equally impressive as the views from the ridge. I finally made it back to the trailhead at 1:15 pm, after climbing through two train cars in a very long line of a stationary train. At the end of the hike, skies were blue and the temp was 18 Deg C.

The stats:

Distance: 4.5 km (return)
Low point: 350 m
High point: 757 m
Elevation gain: 407 m
Trailhead: 50° 43’ 6.7” by 120° 28’ 33.4” (Google Map)

Here is the route…

Here’s the route from Google Earth:

Parks sign…

First viewpoint…

Mara Canyon creekbed…

View on way down…

View through Hoodoo…

Hoodoos from Mara Canyon creekbed…

Looking north up Mara Canyon…

Hoodoo…

California Bighorn Sheep…

★★★★★★★★★★★

East Bastion Trail and White Rock Viewpoint

March 8, 2015Buntzen Lake Hikesadmin

A gorgeous day for a hike up Eagle Mountain. It really felt like summer today ! We started off at the end of Hickory Drive (325 m) in Port Moody at 9 am and made our way up through the mountain biking trails. We reached Cypress Lake (800 m) 1.5 hours after starting and we met two other guys heading to the same location, but taking a different route. After a short stop at Cypress Lake, we headed to the West Rampart viewpoint via the east loop of the East Bastion Trail. We made it to the West Rampart viewpoint (880 m) at 11:30 and we met the two guys we met at Cypress Lake – It turns out they are the architects of the East Bastion Trail ! Anyways, after a 10 or 15 minute break, we headed off to the White Rock viewpoint (950 m), where we arrived at 12:30. After 20 or so minutes basking in the beautiful sun (and listening to the woodpeckers), we made our way back onto the trail and began the descent. We finally made it back to the starting point just after 3 pm. The only snow we saw was a dusting in a shaded area off the side of a logging road.

Check out this POST for some more info on this hike

Today’s Stats:

Distance: 14.6 km (return)
Low point: 324 m
High point: 977 m
Elevation gain: 653 m
Cumulative Elevation gain: 860 m
Trailhead: 49° 18’ 25” by 122° 49’ 58” (Google Map)

The route:

Here’s the amazing view of Coquitlam Lake at the West Rampart viewpoint…

Our stop at the West Rampart viewpoint…

Cypress Lake today…

★★★★★★★★★★★

Mt. Seymour

February 28, 2015Non-Buntzen Lake Hikes, North Shoreadmin

What a beautiful late winter day for a hike. On arrival to the parking lot (1,020 m), there were only a handful of cars at 9:00 am and not many other hikers were seen on the way up. Stopped to put on micro spikes at 2 km into the hike at 1,230 m elevation due to increased hard snow and ice. Arrival at the first peak (1,395 m) was made in 1 hour and had a 15 minute break for photos. The snow was about 1 m thick here. Still not too many people seen. There were amazing views of Vancouver, Indian Arm and the Coast Mountains. Onward and upward to Mt. Seymour Peak. It gets technically more difficult here; although, not for seasoned hikers. Due to a few cm of fresh snow, it was apparent that two hikers were ahead. There is some class 3 scrambling here and some cliff walking, but it was all good. Made it to the summit (1,475 m) 30 minutes after leaving the first peak and lo and behold, there were the two other hikers. After having a conversation and taking more photos we all made the descent together starting at 11:00 am. On the descent, the crowds coming up were insane, especially below the first peak. Also, I couldn’t believe the number of people in runners up there ! Anyways, we arrived down at 12:40 pm and was greeted with a very warm car ! All in all, it was an absolute amazing day for a hike and the views were amazing. Will definitely go back !

The stats:

Distance: 8.1 km (return)
Minimum elevation: 1017 m
Maximum elevation: 1439 m
Elevation gain: 422 m
Total elevation gain: 715 m
Time: 3 hours 35 mins (inc. 30 mins of stops)
Trailhead: 49° 22’ 2” by 122° 56’ 56” (Google Map)

Here is the route:

Here is the view from the first peak…

From the summit looking south…

From summit looking north…

Snow along the trail…

Many people at the first pump…

Here’s me admiring the view…

There’s the peak…

Continuing up the trail…

Narrow section here…

Loads of cars in the parking lot…

★★★★★★★★★★★

Lindsay Lake in February

February 16, 2015Buntzen Lake Hikesadmin

A beautiful weekend was in the forecast and it didn’t disappoint ! It’s been over two months since I was up on Eagle Mountain and I needed to get my fix ! As we still have limited daylight right now, I wanted to stick with Lindsay Lake, rather than traversing the entire Eagle Mountain ridge.

Today’s stats were:

Distance : 12.9 km
Time: 6 hrs 50 mins (with breaks for pictures)
Min elevation: 102 m
Max elevation: 1,120 m
Elevation gain: 1,018

The route:

On a typical February day, this hike would be impossible to do without snowshoes. The only snow we found today was about 3 or 4 inches of hard pack at Lindsay Lake…

Today started off at 6 degrees and got up to 11, but it felt warm all day in my shorts (that’s not me above).

Here is a view from the premier viewpoint, named The Pulpit…

The Pulpit is at 1,000 m above Buntzen Lake and is a 20 minute hike from the Lindsay Lake Junction.

We saw a number of people today and one unlucky girl who’s hiking boot came off her foot in a mud puddle !

Below are Siskin Lake and Chickadee Lake…

Here is Lindsay Lake, with a thin layer of ice and some frost…

Here are a couple of trail pix…

I’ll end with a photo of the Buntzen Creek headwaters, located just north of El Paso Junction, at 800 m above Buntzen Lake…

Overall the conditions were great. Warm enough all day with lots of sun. Very little snow and what was there was just a few inches of hardpack. There were many mud patches, but they were no problem.