Monthly Archives: October 2014

Great weekend of Hiking

This past weekend was a great weekend for hiking. Saturday, I did the Diez Vistas trail and ended with a hike around McCombe Lake. On Sunday, I did a power hike of the Lakeview Trail.



Below is a map showing my routes (click on for larger image)…

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On Saturday, I actually intended to do the Lakeview Trail, but I made a last minute change – I had fluids and snacks, so I was all good. On the drive to the lake, there were some rain drops on the windshield, so I decided to wear my light hiking jacket, rather than the extra merino wool shirt I had. Anyways, it didn’t rain and I was quite warm on the ascent. I passed two couples on the 1st half of the ascent and a group of four on the second half. I saw a group of about 8 at the official 1st vista (actual 5th vista).



Below are some photos from Saturday, with the first being a taped off area, where it is easy to make a wrong turn…

Right is wrong

Below is a small creek used if there is overflow or a dam failure on McCombe Lake…

Man made creek

The next photo shows the intake building and dam on McCombe Lake…

McCombe Lake



And the last photo from Saturday is a shot on Powerhouse Road, along McCombe Lake…

Powerhouse Road

Now, Sunday was quite different – I intended to do Lakeview Trail and I did Lakeview Trail ! I saw 4 other hikers and 2 mountain bikers. I did a power hike and finished the loop in 2 hours, 12 mins. But I still took some photos.

The mushrooms are out in full force and here are two mushrooms shots…

Mushrooms

Little mushroom



If you like mushrooms, check out my fungus post

At the end of the Lakeview trail, I noticed another old sign. I wrote a post on the old signs around the lake

Here is the sign…

Another old sign

And that was my weekend of hiking. Can’t wait to do it again !!

Eagle Bluff Viewpoint

This post is for Eagle Bluff viewpoint hike near Buntzen Lake.
For the Eagle Bluffs hike at Cypress Provincial Park, please go HERE.

Today was a weird day. I had no intention of hiking in the morning and by the early afternoon I was getting the itch. I then figured I would do the Lakeview Trail. After I had a venti iced mocha, I decided to hike to Polytrichum Lookout. But on the way up I saw a small sign for a turnoff to ‘Eagle Bluff’, which I have never been. So I detoured off the main Halvor Lunden trail on my way to Eagle Bluff.

The route…

map

Below are two views from the Eagle Bluff…

view buntzen

view south


Today’s stats were:

Return distance: 5 km
Elevation gain: 250 m

So, as you can see it isn’t a strenuous hike by any means, but the views are decent.

Here is a view of the bluff taken from the east end of the Buntzen Lake Floating Bridge…

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Below are some trail photos…

Trail to Eagle Bluff Lookout

trail 3

Trail to Eagle Bluff Lookout

At the viewpoint I saw a old logging relic…

logging relic

And here’s the high point on the bluff…

Rock at Eagle Bluff

★★★★★★★★★★★

Before heading out on your hike, make sure you are well prepared. This means, having the TEN ESSENTIALS. It is also important to leave a trip plan (route details and estimated return time) with someone you trust.

Bring your smartphone, fully charged and put it in airplane mode while hiking. I always bring back-up battery packs for extra piece of mind. It is highly recommended that you bring a GPS device; I use my smartphone with a GPS app (Backcountry Navigator). The GPS will work in airplane mode. Learn how to use it before your hike.

For anyone new to hiking, there is a rule to which hikers follow; it is called “Leave No Trace” or LNT. The concept is generally to pack out what you pack in and respect nature, so all future visitors can enjoy what you have enjoyed.
To learn more about LNT, please check out this BLOG by a certified LNT Trainer.

★★★★★★★★★★★