Capturing the Art of Nature
Hollyburn with Nick
A lovely cool day for a hike to a scenic summit
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
Summits on the Air
2018
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It had been a few weeks since my last hike and as the season was getting late I really wanted to get in another summit before the snow arrived. My son Nick was off this week so it was a good time to head up with him. Checking the forecast showed that Friday would likely be a decent day and so I booked the day off and hoped for the best. The ski weather reports were still showing only rain on the hills so I was hopeful we would still be early enough to avoid the white stuff. Though with all the rain the trail may be quite muddy.
Friday morning soon arrived, it was a dull cool morning with low cloud hanging around. It looked like the hike might be a bit cold and damp with no view at the top. Despite the poor start we loaded up the car and set off for the first stop – Starbucks. Then it was back to the highway and north to highway 1. As we made our way north the clouds in the distance seemed to be clearing and we saw some blue sky in the distance. We made good time on the drive and soon we were ascending the road into Cypress Bowl and the spot we would be parking at.
We were still under dim skies as we geared up and got ourselves ready for the hike. It was here that I realized I had left my hiking boots at home! I had gotten them out and ready to load but somehow they had been missed during the final loading. So I was hiking in my runners. On this trail that wouldn’t be a problem as the trail is well maintained, it may even have been easier. We started up the powerline road and were making good progress. To the top of the first stretch. Once there I stopped to admire the view, the sun was starting to make its way out from the clouds and the day was getting much brighter.
We continued along the road to the turn off to the main trail. Not far into it we came across the first people we saw. They were making their way along the Baden Powell, heading for Capilano. We continued up the trail encountering a couple more doing the same trip. So far none were on the trail to the summit. So far, the trail was wet and there were some streamlets running along it but the mud was quite manageable and we were able to pick a path around it fairly easily. We made decent time in the cool air despite the work to avoid the mud and soon we were nearing the high ponds. It was here where we encountered the first people on the trail, a pair of women coming down. They cautioned us about some slippery rocks with frost on them.
When we arrived at the ponds, the Lake District, we stopped to gather a bit of a rest before finishing the final segment. The sun was out and the ponds were showing a bit of ice and lovely reflections. I gathered a number of photos while Nick regained his wind. Soon we were making our way up the rock gauntlet and then the final cliff face. We arrived at the summit which we had to ourselves. The small pond there had a layer of ice on it and the ground was frozen but no snow. We enjoyed a few moments on the highest rock observing the views and then we settled on the rock next to the gnarly single tree which Ralph uses for his antenna. We stretched out the tarp for some damp protection and then Nick ate his lunch.
I got my yagi set up and started making some radio calls I soon had 8 contacts in the log and then I finished my own lunch. After eating I set up my KX2 and stretched out the 20m antenna. I did some calling but wasn’t making any progress until a local ham contacted me and we were able to make a 20m contact. So that got one HF contact in the log in addition to the 2m FM ones. Well, sitting on the tarp had its challenges and by now our rears were getting quite chilled. While we were on the top a few groups joined us and departed. In the end there were six others up there at various times. Not the numbers you see on a week-end which was nice. We packed up and started back down in the sun.
On our way down we did come across two more groups on their way up, one had a very energetic hound with them. The second group was three mothers with infants, they had taken quite a while to get there and still had a ways to go, we were sure they would be returning in the dark but they said they had lights so I guess they would be fine. We descended fairly quickly and soon were back at the car where we chatted with the guys who had been on the summit while we were there. We made good time driving off the mountain and along the highway to North Vancouver where we finally ran into rush hour traffic. It took us two hours to get home! Quite an irritating end to the day. Nick felt great at conquering another summit and I gained another 4 points in the SOTA program. The views were nice and the trail a pleasant walk, so it was a good day all around.