Golden Ears Hike

Yesterday I hiked Golden Ears. Trailhead is about a 1 hour drive from Vancouver. Here's a trail map thanks to BC Parks.

The first 3km is along a gravel path. Wish I had brought a bicycle.

 I brought an ice-axe for the snowfield, but didn't need it. The snowfield is almost completely gone. I was thankful it was there for a water refill!

Edge peak looks amazing! Makes me want to work on climbing skills.

A few notes:

-Golden Ears is the highest peak in the area, views from the top are great.

-There's no water between Alder Flats and the snowfield.

-Bring a bike for the first 3 km.

Sentinel Bay Hut via Garibaldi Lake

Check out Matt's version of the trip here. Matt had paddled Garibaldi Lake a few weeks earlier and saw snow above Sentinel Bay. He brought up the idea of skiing in July, so what the heck we went for it! On Wednesday night we hiked the Garibaldi Lake Trail with a kayak, skis, and tons other gear. We kayaked across the lake towards Sentinel Bay where we explored the area until Friday.

Damn our packs were heavy as we hit the trail around 9:30pm.

We arrived at Garibaldi Lake around 12:30am, loaded up the kayak (well past it's 400 lb suggested maximum) and paddled out. Fog was rolling off the lake giving the water a very eerie feeling. I was actually quite freaked out, luckily Matt's good humor calmed me down.

We reached the shore of sentinel bay around 3am, unloaded the kayak and passed out shoreside for a couple of hours.

We made our way 1.5km to the glaciology hut that would be our home for the next two days.

We hauled our gear up from the shore.

Ah home sweet home

We rested a bit then made our way Southwest exploring the area.

Not quite enough snow for skiing unfortunately. 

We had some amazing views of the Table

Soon clouds took over the sky

It looked like storms coming in from the Southeast so we made our way back to the hut.

We made it back just as clouds were overtaking the hut. We spent the night waiting out rain and strong wind.

In the morning rain and winds persisted.

At the calmest moment we loaded the kayak and set out back across the lake. Luckily the winds were in our favor. The paddle was nerve-wracking and we were both grateful to arrive at the other side.

A quick lunch in the warming hut and we made our way down the trail. Ah two happy campers!

A few notes:

-There's actually two huts at Sentinel Bay. Both are in good shape. The one we stayed in was the nicer of the two. Good water and wind-proofing and foam on the sleeping areas so you don't need to bring a mat. Instructions we had said the huts are 500m from shore, we found them to be well over 1 km.

-Paddling with all of that gear was very difficult. The extra weight made the kayak top-heavy and very tippy.

-If you do paddle Garibaldi Lake keep an eye on the weather, the wind can really whip through.

Hanes Valley and Crown Mountain

This week I hiked the the Hanes Valley Trail and to the top of Crown Mountain. I parked my car at the base of Grouse and road my bike to Lynn Headwaters. Then I hiked back.

The hike to Norvan Falls was uneventful except for this sign.

The Hanes Valley Trail is nice and ends with a hike up a fairly long boulder trail. Be careful for loose rocks!! The view from the top of the valley was nice.

Of course I detoured to the top of Crown before heading down to Grouse and then the BCMC trail to my car.

Overall a nice day! The hike was about 9 hours plus 45 mins for the morning bike ride. Make sure to load up on water when you can, from the valley to Grouse there is not any sources.

Mount Windsor via Deeks Lake

Yesterday I hiked from Porteau Cove around Deeks Lake and up Mount Windsor. Porteau Cove is about a 40 minute drive North from Vancouver.

The first 3kms of the hike is along a very good condition road. Next time I would bring a mountain bike for this portion.

The sky was hazy with smoke from the many recent wildfires around BC. Here's a view at Deeks Lake.

The last bit of the hike is the most interesting part. A short scramble to the summit.

A few points about this hike:

-Lots of good berries on the trail; thimbleberries, salmonberries and huckleberries.

-Next time I would bring a bicycle for the first 3kms.

-Apparently in the winter this is a good ski/snowshoe route.

Callaghan Lake to Cirque Lake and a side of Conflict

We drove to Callaghan Lake for an overnight. In the morning we hiked to Cirque Lake, and later to Conflict Lake. Callaghan Lake Provincial Park is about 1.5 hour drive North from Vancouver.

We arrived near sunset. We had two inflatable kayaks, overnight gear, and a loveable pug named Smudge.

As the sun set we cruised the lake looking for a suitable camping spot.

We ended up camping on a rocky ledge about halfway up the lake on the East side.

How's the campsite Matt?

We paddled to the North end of the lake and hiked the trail up to Cirque Lake. Smudge came too!

Cirque Lake was beautiful!

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What a lucky pug!

We paddled back to the parking lot, then hiked the 5km trail to Conflict Lake where we enjoyed our third swim of the day. The trail is windy and smooth. We saw a few trail runners. It looks like it could be fun on a mountain bike too!

Another 5km trail from Conflict Lake leads to Ring Lake, unfortunately we ran out of time and had to head back to the car. Of course we made a quick stop at Alexander Falls on the way home.

Whistler Hiatus really helped me plan this trip! If you're interested check out their info on Cirque Lake and Conflict Lake.

Also we were surprised to find a winter lodge at Conflict Lake. It's called the Journeyman Lodge. It's out of my price range but looks really nice! You can check out more info here.