Hike: Lynn Peak

A few weeks ago, R and I did the Lynn Peak hike. We'd seen signs for it last summer while hiking the Lynn Headwaters, but it seemed a bit off the beaten track. I was talking to a coworker about hikes in that area in early April and took another look at Lynn Peak. I saw a recent comment on one of the hiking sites that said that it was good to hike now. We packed our gear (including R's new backpacking pack!) and headed out. We started hiking shortly before noon, I believe.

The top was a bit of a slog - it was covered in snow and fairly slippery. The view at the top was pretty worth it though!

Yes. That is Vancouver..

Burnaby & Vancouver

panorama of it.. Burnaby - Vancouver

 Stats:
Length: 3 hours, 45 minutes (from sign at trailhead)
Distance: 8.5km
Elevation gain: 720 m (according to this)

I'm not sure I'd do this hike again - the view was nice, but it wasn't an overly exciting trail. It was good as a starter for the year though.

Hike: Hanes Valley

After we got up to Norvan Falls almost two weeks ago, we saw a sign that said "Grouse, 9km." We instantly decided that we should hike it the next weekend, and so we did.

The first 10k was gorgeous - nice forests, a little hilly but not too bad, lots of creek crossings.. 

 I bet that this would be a stunning view on a sunny day..

 Then we started to climb up stuff like this, with the rocks getting smaller and smaller, and the hill steeper and steeper..

I stopped taking photos after this point because it wasn't fun anymore. And stopping meant losing some momentum, which took forever to build.

We got to a 'false top' and then celebrated.. and then realized that we still had to go up. Not very fun! Eventually we made it down to Grouse and celebrated with beavertails devoured in about 2 seconds flat.

Location: Lynn Valley to Grouse.
Length: 15 km
Elevation: ~1000m gain
Time: Approximately 8ish hours.
Notes: Need two cars, or to take a bus to get to and from the trailhead/ends.

I don't think I'd ever do the full hike again, but the first ~10km to the boulder field (which I don't have photos of!) was really fun and beautiful. 

Hike: Norvan Falls

Today we headed to Norvan Falls, in Lynn Valley.

R and I are planning an overnight hike in mid-September, and in order to prepare for that we decided to pack our big backpacks with our sleeping bags, tent, stove and some other stuff.

 The view at the "Third Debris Chute." Gorgeous day!!

 The bottom of the falls, where M went swimming.

 The falls.

 

Lunch - Hawaiian chicken with rice. Pretty good, actually. It did take quite a while to cook though (says 13 minutes, I'm not sure how long we left it) and they are pricey. We're going to work on making our own for upcoming trip.s

Lunch!

 Random suspension bridge. I believe this was a rebuild of a small wooden bridge. I guess it's a busy enough trail that they need it.. but it seemed a bit overkill to me. The other three really enjoyed bouncing on it though :)

Length: 13.5 km
Time: 5 hours (including ~1 hr lunch and meandering on the way down)
Difficulty: Easy

Hike: Lynn Loop

The hike this weekend was a shorter (2 hour) hike on the North Shore - this time, in Lynn Valley, which is a place that R and I have been to often. There's lots of loops, a suspension bridge (lower than where we were today) and some really gorgeous old forest.

The weather was a bit grey when we started, but about a quarter of the way through, the sun came out and it turned into another lovely day! :)

 View of Vancouver (it looked better in person..)

 Trees! I love parallel lines in forests.

Lynn Creek. Beautiful water.. it's very clear, and presumably quite cold.