Report by Naomi Ross On Sunday, 27 November, 2022, five members of Nature Vancouver and a guest met at the Rabbit Lane trailhead for a 9:00am start. It was a crisp and clear day. The trail was unusually quiet in the beginning, and there was nobody at the first viewpoint. The clumps of mist gave a mysterious effect to the dramatic views from the platform, which looks almost vertically down the walls of the canyon. We continued on the winding…
Trip Report by Caroline Penn On September 22, 2022, nine members of Nature Vancouver gathered at the Snug Cove Library / Info Centre on Bowen Island at 10am to hike around Killarney Lake. It was a perfect early fall day with a slight breeze. We took the counterclockwise route. It is not clear whether Killarney Lake was initially man made or natural, but a dam built in the 1920’s increased its size and caused the ghostlike trees that we see…
Trip report by Christine Thuring From Thursday to Saturday (June 16-18), a small group of five backpackers enjoyed the trials and tribulations of early summer in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The wildflowers were quite behind schedule, there were 5 active bears in the area and the snow line was surprisingly low. Still, we had a fantastic time. Our home base was the Cheakamus Lake Campground (at 850m elevation), where we occupied two sites, separated by a thicket of dogwood and hawthorn….
Report by Adele Tremblay On May 30 a half-dozen hardy hikers tackled the Diez Vistas, fully expecting a showery day and a longer-than-usual return along the west side of the lake. Amazingly, though, skies were brightening up by 9 a.m., and a passerby informed us that the suspension bridge had reopened, both promising omens for our day. At our first stop near the floating bridge, Elena provided some interesting history about the original Lake Beautiful and development of hydroelectric power…
Trip Report by Lyn Grants On Saturday, April 23, a group of twelve hiker met, the leaders Diane Fast and Lyn Grants for the Blue Gentian Loop Trail via Burfield, the Hollyburn Lodge, and the Baden Powell. Most of us wore Spikes, though snowshoes worked well and were useful on steeper slopes that were not tracked. Sun filtered through the trees. The snow was bright, not too icy, not too soft. Spirits were high. We did not go into Blue…
. Report and Photo by Lyn Grants On Thursday, 14th April, 2022, three hardy souls showed up for a spikes hike in fresh snow. Others were deterred by the new snow. A party ahead of us had tramped a trail. Spikes were sufficient but pace was slow. The views to newly snow capped mountains were spectacular, and so were the shifting clouds. The trail beyond Cabin Lake was not tramped down. We did not complete the loop. We enjoyed a…
Trip Report by Janet Snell & Lyn Grants This hike on, March 21, 2022, was scheduled to see the early evidence of spring emerging from the snow in the Yew Lake / Bowen Lookout area of Cypress Provincial Park. Instead, we were treated to 20 cm of new snow on top of another recent snowfall. All evidence of spring was obscured, and winter’s grip stayed strong. The creek leading from Yew Lake was nestled in a canyon-like cradle of snow….
Trip Report by Naomi Ross On Sunday, December 5th, three hikers, including the leader, started at the Velodrome Trailhead at 9:00 am to hike up Burnaby Mountain. It was a brisk 1°C and cloudy with a bit of blue sky; a welcome break from the recent rainy weather. The Big Leaf Maple trees were all bare, leaving a carpet of brown leaves in the woods. A few frost flowers (also know as hoar frost or hair ice – MORE INFORMATION)…
Text and Photos by Naomi Ross, Janet Snell, & Caroline Penn Sunday, October 31, was a crisp sunny day. Nine members met at 9 am at the Rabbit Lane (W. Vancouver) trailhead which leads to the west side of the Capilano Canyon. Naomi Ross, our trip leader, is very familiar with the trail and pointed out her favourite sights in the forest of towering Douglas firs and red cedars. The lighting at the first viewpoint over the Capilano River gave…
Trip Report by Janet Snell Photos by Janet Snell, John Martin & Caroline Penn On 30 August and again on 9 September, 2021, two groups of hikers explored different routes to Blue Gentian Lake on Hollyburn Mountain this past month. The goal of both hikes was first and foremost to see the beautiful Blue Gentian flowers in bloom at the small lake of the same name. The first hike ascended from upper West Vancouver using the network of trails that…