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Brady
32
Jul 9, 2016
I have two that stick out.
1. About 10 minutes from home is the start of the Elsay Lake trailhead. It's not a long trail, about 9km each direction and is only open from June to October as snow in the other season poses a serious avalanche risk.
Starting from the parking lot of Mount Seymour Ski Hill you get a nice steep climb to the First Pump before hooking right into the backcountry. From there it's almost all downhill to the lake. That sounds nice but it sucks, climbing down steep switchbacks, boulders, and vanishing trails. There's also no water for the first 7km which means you have to carry 3-4L on sunny days as there's no breeze after the First Pump and huge spots traversing across exposed scree fields which are insanely hot for hiking in this area as we normally get an ocean breeze or rain to cool us down.
Once you get there, the lake is incredible. There's a nice little emergency hut if needed in the shoulder seasons and a pristine lake with great swimming. The hike can be done in a day but I wouldn't waste the scenery by rushing this trip. As grueling as it is, the views are epic as you are basically starting the hike from near the top of one of the tallest peaks around and at various points you can see Vancouver, Vancouver Island, the Fraser Valley, Mount Baker in Washington, and even the Black Tusk way off.
Why it's the hardest hike for me is the general grind of it. I've done it 3 times now and am pretty fit, hiking lots and I normally do CrossFit 5 days a week. It is incredibly humbling for me. The slog home is about 8km up before starting back down to the parking lot, often hand over hand, carrying extra water because there is none for most of the trip back and hot as hell for me. Often hitting 40-45 degrees C in scree fields.
2. The Grouse Grind is another trail here in Vancouver. It's short, 2.9km. It's the single most humbling hike I've ever tried. I do it every Friday morning for conditioning and it takes me about 45 minutes. In that time, I climb 2800 feet. Imagine a Stairmaster built into a mountain and you have the Grind. IF you count the stairs, there are 2830 steps to it. The trail is actually less of a hike and mainly used to train for fitness but incredibly tough, and though it's gotten easier, I still struggle with it every week.
I have some other stories involving -40C weather, freezing rain, deep snow, and Grizzly bears but these are the toughest hikes that came to mind.
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