Browse Reports By Period: 2020 RSS2020-08-08T16:59:00+0000Two BCMCers, David Egan and I, started at about 8:15 am to hike up to the summit of Mount Brunswick. We had clear, blue skies and it was quite warm. We each brought about 3 litres of water which was a good idea as there wasn't any access to water above about 600 meters of elevation where we crossed Magnesia Creek. I drank almost all of my water by the end of the hike! We took a few quick breaks to refuel and rest. The trail was in good condition, easy to follow, and the views were amazing from above about 1000 meters in elevation. You can see the amazing blue waters of Howe Sound. We saw a mama Grouse and her two babies high up on the trail where we could already see the views of the ocean. They scurried across the trail and the mama Grouse watched us from a branch of a tree as we watched back. They were so adorable! We arrived at the ridge to the summit in about 3 and a half hours. There was a bit of scrambling to get to the summit once you reached the ridge and it was exposed in some areas. It was fairly easy to walk on the right side of the last section instead of on top of the rock and to the summit. We crossed paths with only a few people. At the summit, we were visited by a Dark-eyed junco. There were also some beautiful alpine flowers such as Arctic lupine and Davidson's penstemon. We completed the hike in about 8 hours which included a nice break at the top. ~Sara

]]>2020-08-08T16:59:00+0000We met in Squamish and drove to trailhead to camp. Got up around 5am and were hiking just before 6am. It was hot and muggy but we made very quick time through the forested section. There is a minor creek crossing where there used to be a cable bridge. We had to remove our boots. We made the moraine and lower glacier area for a break in 3hours.  A little further ahead was the "camp" at the three lakes/tarns. The moraine area below looked to be a better camp spot.  From here we scrambled up heather, boulder fields, snow, and more heather. We got more water and applied bug spray and sun screen frequently.  Part way up there were interesting views of behind the tantalus range including part of clowholm lake. There were cairns periodically keeping us on track. Once on top of the ridge we had great views of Mount Tantalus, Ossa, mount Sedgwick, and mount Jimmy Jimmy. The scramble was pretty easy but for the last 200m. We found our route to the summit was quite exposed. Im glad the rock was dry. We spent an hour on the summit with amazing views of Pelion and Tantalus. We improved a guest log with a pen and a small water proof notebook. A vessel with a wider mouth would be helpful. We made the summit in just over 7hrs. The climb down went well. By the moraine camp the blisters, chaffing, and dehydration were taking their toll. Tim was going strong but I was crashing hard. The last 2 or 3kms i could hardly walk.  We made it back to the road in a total of 13.5hrs. Excellent 2000m trip.  

]]>2020-08-04T13:20:00+0000Saturday, May 9, 2020 A group of three of us road our bikes up to the Seymour valley trail, locking them up at around 9:45am at the trail entrance which is just a few minutes off the main road. This is the shorter route compared to the Norvan falls approach, which adds 2-4 hours on your round trip time.  Trail flagging for the first few kms through the forest had been ripped out deliberately at some point in the last several months.However the trail is pretty easy to follow, and obvious if you are paying attention.  Snow line started right below the Paton peak ridge area. After putting on spikes and gaiters, we encountered a few other hikers hanging around the lookout area. Crossed over the valley and started climbing up the snowy slope to Coliseum around noon. The snow was soft, but had enough composition to allow for steady climb up. It is quite steep through here, and everyone made good use of their trekking poles for stability and climbing purposes.  There is nothing too technical in here. We had a few slips and slides, but nothing serious. We reached the top at around 1:45PM, had lunch, and decided to head down after around an hour. We encountered a couple that was headed further west to camp for the night.  Going down was more difficult, although nothing particularly technical. It was just slow going in the steeper sections. We encountered a few large holes where we punched through. These holes are likely to get worse in the coming weeks. If you are looking for something close to town while the parks are still shut down, this is a great day hike. Give yourself lot's of time, as the short distance (11.5 km round trip) is deceiving. It was 4200 ft of vertical, so prepare to have fairly sore legs at the end of the day. Definitely bring microspikes and poles.  Despite the amount of snow and runoff, there were surprisingly few spots to filter water. We only spotted a small trickle on the way down. Bring lot's of water.      ... Read more

]]>2020-05-14T21:12:00+0000The climb began with some crusty snow for the first 100 feet of the ascent.  By mid mountain the snow became deep and powdery.  By the time we approached the Frosty Mountain, we were in very deep and very soft snow.  We left the parking lot shortly after 9am and it took our group of 5 until 1pm to reach the cabin.  We decided to have a short lunch and head back.  The ski down through the switchbacks through the trees was excellent.

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