||hiking|| [Vancouver] Mt. Strachan North Summit
Notes: the following review is based on my trip taken on Saturday, May 21, 2016 – which is in between the snow-shoeing season (ends in early May) and the hiking/climbing season (starting June/July). that being said, this trip offers a totally different experience from other reviews I read on the internet before my trip: it is a mixture of hiking (1/3 part – at the beginning of the trail, where the snow is melted), snow-walking (1/6 part, even though we did not bring any snowshoes), and rock+snow climbing (1/2 part, to get to the North Summit)
Brief Summary:
- Level of difficulty: intermediate (for me: advanced) 😀
- Round trip: 4-5 hours
- Elevation gain: about 500m (1440m above sea level)
How to get there:
- The 1st best option: by car
- The 2nd best option (which is what we did): by transit and taxi
- Take any express bus via Park Royal at the bus top in between Seymour and West Georgia St.
- Get off at Park Royal and call a cab to get to Cypress Provincial Park 😀 (it costs about $40 to get there – and there were 6 of us – so it was very cost effective 😀 )
- From the parking lot, turn right to get to the Lodge
The Hike:
- The 1/3 hiking part:
- To the right of the lodge, there is a ski area. Go there and take the left trail (call Horizon on the Park’s map)
- Continue on the Horizon trail until getting to the Top Gun trail (plz see on the map)
- It is similar to other trails through the woods with small streams, falls, and big trees along the way
2. The short 1/6 “snow-walking part” – I mean, the part with some snow where the ground and the rock are quite flat:
- This is where we met the snow – a quite flat area where there are 2 paths welcoming us:
- a left trail where we saw most people took
- a right trail where only our group (11 young persons 😉 ) took (later on, there was a man also taking it and he was faster than most of us) 😀
- There’s not much to say about this short path (I said 1/6, but it should just be 1/20 of the trail – I’m just lazy doing the maths 😀 )
- Keep in mind that if you take this trail at the same time as we did – the snow is melting, hence you are essentially walking on a snowy surface which underneath there could be rocks (good) or… a running stream/hollow area above the stream and beneath the snow (you surely don’t want to misplace your feet and fall down there)
3. The snow/rock climbing part (most of the trip):
- This is when it gets very steep – it could be a perfect skiing trail in the winter, or a rock climbing trail in the summer. And we got a mixture of both 😀
- I believe the elevation gain we got from this part is about 900m – gaining in somewhat around 2-3 km – because we mostly climb/”hike” on a steep surface
- I could only take this photo at the beginning of the climb/”hike” because as it get steeper, I needed to focus and concentrate all my energy to continue. And I am a person who is scared of height – so I could not look back or look up during it. (I looked back a few times and had to close my eyes and told myself not to scare and must complete this challenge 😀 )
- Given that I was the slowest one in my group, I am very thankful for all other friends who waited for me and encouraged me throughout the way <3 <3 <3
- There are 2 summits: the North and the South Strachan. We decided to climb to the North Summit because it is higher and offers a better view
- And we finally got the the North Summit 😀 (after 2.5 – 3 hours or so, I guess)
- We enjoyed our lunch, fruit, water, and photo-time at the top for nearly one hour
You might wonder: How we got back down:
- Regularly, if people go hiking to Mt. Strachan in the summer months, after having “conquered” the North Summit, we should also get to the South summit – which is 10 minutes close to the North summit – and then get back down from a trail at the South summit. Why? Because it is steep and rocky (hence challenging and might be unsafe) to get back from the way we climb/”hike” up here.
- Our way up to the North Summit, however, still has snow 😀 so we chose the fastest – and also the most FUN way to get back down: run/slide down through the snow 😀
- Notes: we did not slide all the way down at one. we divide the way down into 6-7 shorter sliding parts, each about 100-150 meters long (because the way down is not straight, we want to avoid the trees, the rocks on the sides, and the… stream underneath us) 😀
- For myself, I am both scared of height and did not know how to slide down through the snow. In my first try to slide down, my speed was too fast (from a steep hill only a few meters high), so I almost hit the trees next to a steep cliff and fell down if it was not for my friend standing in front of the trees to stop/”catch” me (phew!!!! 😀 ). He showed me how to brake by using my leg and heel to slow myself. It was difficult at first but I eventually to control my speed 😉 I hit a branch of a tree hidden in snow in one slide but the snow was soft so I did not hurt myself 😀
- Some guys in my group ran down
- Some other girls slide down using a plastic bag as their sledge (super fast and fun)
- Some like me slide down using our butts 😀 I was lucky that a friend of mine gave me her snow pants for the whole trip, so I could slide freely without having my butts wet 😀
Personal lessons learned from the trip:
- I need to work out more to increase my health and strength 😀
- Be prepared:
- Bring not only one pair, but extra pairs of gloves (I did not bring ANY)
- Same for socks (preferably long ones)
- Extra shoes if I think my feet might get wet in a trip (I did not bring any – so after the trip, because of the snow, both my shocks and shoes are soaked in cold water)
- Bring a towel to dry your hand or your feet if they get wet (or sweaty 😀 )
- Sunglasses and lots of sunscreen B-)
- Hair ties, hair pins, or any thing to keep your hair in place/away from your face
- Bring something flat&light for sitting down
- Bring 1-1.5 liters of water depending on the duration/difficulty of the hike
- Foods:
- Fruit with juice/sugar/vitamins: nectarine, oranges, bananas etc.
- Fruit juice or energy drinks
- Sandwiches & … granola bars
