So much scree, so little time – A hiking story
By: Peter Harrington
In my first year at UBC one of my greatest regrets was not getting out into the forest enough, so here I am telling you about one of the awesome hikes that I recently finished, so that hopefully I can inspire you to do the same. As well, if you have never climbed a rock scree before, or don’t know what the word scree means, this is definitely the hike for you!
The hike, called the Lynn-Hanes Valley Trail, starts at the base of Lynn Valley with the Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge and then continues north all the way up Lynn Valley and eventually bears west to end up at the top of Grouse Mountain. The first section, which hugs Lynn Creek, is the more popular and therefore more built up section of the trail and there are different levels of difficulty in this section. Once the trail leaves the creek and begins to head west there is an increase in difficulty which is especially marked by a creek crossing, in which the only ways to cross the creek are a fallen log or boulder hopping. After the creek crossing the trail begins to ascend, offering some fabulous forest hiking for either rain or shine (when I went it was rain, and a lot of it) for about 2.5km. The trail then opens into a valley and there lies the rock scree in all its magnificence. This section is the most difficult of the trail, but also the most rewarding, as in the next 1.5 horizontal kilometers travelled there is almost a 600 meter vertical rise.
As someone who had never hiked on a rock scree before, this was by far my favourite section of the hike as the view from the scree was breath-taking and jumping between rocks made for an interesting venture. After completing the ascent you have the choice to go up Crown Mountain and back, or simply head south to Grouse Mountain, which requires another steep ascent, though this is remedied by the fact that Grouse Mountain is the end of the hike. Once at Grouse the re-entry into society is sudden, but eased by the fact that you can take the Skyride down the mountain instead of doing the Grouse Grind in reverse.
This hike is not suited for beginners, though is fine for anyone with some hiking experience, hiking boots, and the willingness to climb a rock scree. The hike took a friend and between 6 and 7 hours, though this was done with a 35 pound pack. Hiking at a brisk pace the hike may be able to be done in under 6, though could take up to 8 with breaks if done at a slower pace. As well the trail offers many options to extend the hike as well as to make it more challenging. The transit ride is about 1 and a ½ hours to Lynn Valley and about the same time to get back from Grouse. All in all, I found the Hanes Valley Trail to be an excellent, easily accessible, and refreshing hike for anyone looking to experience more wilderness than can be found in Pacific Spirit Park.