Capturing the Art of Nature
Deeks Bluff
The bluff hike is an easy hike that offers several lovely viewpoints of Howe Sound. It was long past time for a return visit.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2011
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The Deeks Bluff hike has been a fun hike which I have walked a few times. The last time I visited the bluffs was before the construction on the sea-to-sky highway reached the area below the bluffs and so today I was a bit apprehensive as to what changes I would find. The southern access was the one I have used in the past and now it was no longer a safe choice as the parking area no longer exists. As compensation, the northern end was improved and now a paved parking area is available for hikers. So it was with much excitement and a bit of uncertainty that Ethan and I set off for our hike.
The drive to the parking area went quickly and the improvements to the highway were nice – at least for the drivers. Once in the parking lot, we needed to find a spot with good radio access to the UBC repeater that we planned on using. One would think this would be a no brainer but the power transmission lines cross right over the lot and so the radio signals were being impacted. After trying a few locations we settled into one with a view of Howe Sound and started getting ourselves ready for hiking.
The initial segment of the hike is along a logging road. The road is in drivable shape and we were wondering why we were hiking this section rather than driving. But we needed the exercise so we continued the hike along the road enjoying the sights as we made our way up. It was a pleasant enough walk along the road though I was getting impatient for some views of the sound. As we continued along the road we were wondering more and more about why we didn’t drive this section but then we saw some trees which had fallen across the road and were blocking it. So we felt a bit better and continued on past the fallen trees.
Soon we came by a lovely small waterfall where I took a number of photos. Continuing up the road we soon came to the place the trail leaves the road and we started making our way south, in behind the bluffs. The trail was quite passable but the ground was very soggy and wet in a number of places. We did make it around the puddles without getting soaked, so that was a nice bonus. After skirting our fifth large wet section we finally arrived at the fork where a side trail leads up to the first viewpoint. This is the highest viewpoint along the bluff hike but as it was the furthest one when one starts the hike at the south end , I only hiked up it once before. The short climb to the viewpoint was quite steep here but at least it was of short duration.
The view from viewpoint was well worth the effort to get here. The trees are still low enough to not block the view and so one can see quite a bit of Howe Sound. When we arrived at the peak, the sun was starting to warm the place quite nicely and so we quickly dried off while we enjoyed our lunch. Ethan took some time to read his book while I scouted around for some alternate angles to photograph. I found the stubby pines to have some interesting character and paired with the large mossy rocks, the area offers a wide selection of imagery. I think I could spend much longer up there then we had time to do. As we had enjoyed a lovely view and likely the best one of those along the bluff, we decided to head home rather than continue along to the next viewpoint. The hike back went quite quickly as it was mostly downhill. When we came by the fallen trees we noticed that someone had cut them and now the road was open for driving, so we decided we would drive back up to the waterfall once we got back to the truck.
Continuing down we enjoyed a few views of the mountain peaks surrounding us –they are still quite snow covered and offered striking contrasts to the dull greens of the trees on the slopes. About a half kilometer from the end we were caught by a shower that kept increasing in intensity. Fortunately we had only a short distance to go. Shortly after reaching the truck the rain stopped and we were able to start driving up the road. When back to the waterfall, I got he tripod out and captured a number of slow shutter speed photos from various angles. Since it was still early we decided to continue up the road to see how far it went.
The road did go a couple kilometers past where we left it on foot - on into a flat area that was a bit swampy. This whole region is marked for a future housing development. Once that starts I am sure the Deeks Bluff trail will no longer be available though the individual side trails may still offer access to the viewpoints. So I guess we were lucky that the economic slowdown occurred and delayed the destruction of this lovely hike. Perhaps a return next year would be in order.