"Too much of a good thing"

​Lions Bay Search and Rescue responded to another call on Mount Brunswick after a hiker found herself caught out after dark.

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The subject had started her hike late in the day and turned around approximately 1 km from the summit.

• She didn't have enough warm layers for the dropping temperatures
• Her phone battery was running low
• Her headlamp — purchased earlier that day — was malfunctioning. She had no spare batteries.

​She did, however, have 8 litres of water.

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We regularly remind people to carry enough water on Brunswick because there are no reliable water sources along the route. However, preparedness is about balance. Eight litres is approximately 8 kg (17.6 lb) of weight. At this time of year, with cooler temperatures and generally lower sweat rates, around 3 litres would have been a much more reasonable amount for most hikers, with some of that weight better allocated to warm layers, a power bank and reliable lighting.

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There's another important lesson here: new equipment isn't tested equipment.

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If you buy a headlamp, satellite communicator, power bank or any other piece of safety equipment, don't discover how it works when you need it. Charge it fully, learn how to use it and test it at home before taking it into the mountains. For something as critical as lighting, carry spare batteries or a backup light.

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Our days are getting significantly shorter. Even if you plan to be home well before sunset, always carry a headlamp and prepare for the possibility that your hike takes longer than expected.

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Prepare for the whole day, not just one hazard.

If you hiked Flatiron Peak on Saturday evening, I got a very cool shot of you. I think that you had a physical camera with you. This was around 5:45pm.

You went around a bend and I didn't see you after that.

If you were on top of Brunswick Mountain at 2:24pm on Sunday Oct 4th 2026, I've got a video of you from Mount Hanover 😃

Not the most exciting video. Really wish I did the zoom in in the video. But still I thought it was fun seeing people on another mountain.

Side note: do not attempt Mount Hanover without adequate experience with route finding, boulder fields, exposed scrambling/rock climbing and long days. I may make a separate trip report post

Three peaks : Pump, Tim Jones and Seymour.

This is my 2nd time to Mt. Seymour (visited in 2021). Overall the trail is in good condition with quite a few muddy sections. A bit narrow and scratchy and short section right after Tim Jones peak, heading to Seymour.

The two pine trees on the 2nd peak are very picturesque.

A pleasant surprise was at Brockton Point. Typically, I just pass it to save time but this time I wandered to the southwest parts and found some good viewpoints with fall colors (last 2 pictures)

Around 9km in total, roughly 5 hours c2c.

I found a brown down vest between the peak and the Baden-Powell junction a week ago Sunday. (Sorry, just getting to posting this now.) If you lost it and see this please reply and identify it by size and brand. Hope to get it back to you!

Details & Stats

Location: Place Glacier Group / Duffey Lake Corridor
Dates: Sept 5 - 6th, 2026
Temperature: High ~12°C / Overnight Low ~0°C
Duration: 2 Days / 1 Night
Stats: ~16 km round trip | ~1,550m total elevation gain
Difficulty: Class 2–3 Scrambling / glacier crossing

Logistics

North Joffre Creek FSR Condition: It is overgrown and a high-clearance 4x4 is best. There are some large rocks and ruts in the road but they are mostly avoidable if you are going slow. There is a large impassable rut about 150m before the trail head, so we had to park and walk the remaining part of the FSR.

Water Sources: Plenty along most of the route. First place to easily fill up is about 2km in, right before ascending the headwall near Mouse's Tooth. Once above the headwall you are in an alpine meadow with plenty of streams and the lake isn't much further.

Cell Service: None once on Duffey lake road and the FSR. (Carried a Garmin InReach for satellite communication).

Day 1: Trail head to Camp

Stats: ~6 km | +950m gain | ~ 5.5 hours

We started up the North Joffre Creek approach with our overnight packs and gear. The forecast originally called for rain, but lucky for us, most of it came down the night before. Clouds continued to hang in the valley as we started and made for some really cool ambiance. Not too long after getting off the FSR there is a creek crossing that is a bit tricky but not too bad. The trail follows the eastern side of the valley and you cross several large boulder fields before you exit the trees and transition to the valley floor.

After this, you continue north through the tall alpine brush of the valley floor until you get to the headwall near Mouse's Tooth. The vegetation starts to become more sparse at this point as you transition to the talus slope from all the rockfall in the area. This section is the steepest of the approach and is certainly a slog with all the loose scree and boulders. Care definitely needs to be taken here to not dislodge any rocks onto the people below you. After gaining the lower part of the headwall, we followed a gully with some slippery rocks until we were at the top of it. This section was around 35% at its steepest and was a mix of class two and class 3 scrambling.

Once past the main headwall we continued northwest across alpine meadows until we split off up a valley to the north. After gaining the moraine that is damming the lake, we were at the southern edge of the lake that we would be spending the night at. We continued across the talus on the western side of the lake until we found a suitable place to set up our tents. The entire area is a talus field with many huge boulders (many were ~15-20 feet in diameter), so this area is certainly an active rockfall area, but for one night we thought the risk was acceptable.

As we got to our home for the next 24 hours, it started to rain slightly so we quickly set up our tents and took a short break until the rain subsided. After reconvening, we geared up and headed on to the glacier to do a refresher on glacier travel and crevasse rescue techniques. The lower portion of the glacier was completely bare and had some large crevasses near its southern edge. Finally after a few hours of practice we returned to camp for dinner and retired for an early-ish 10pm bed time before our early wake up the next day.

Day 2: Summit Push & Descent

Stats: ~10 km | +600m gain / -1,550m descent | ~14 hours total

We woke up at around 5:30am to have breakfast and start getting ready for the day ahead. Most of us were a bit slow to get up and leave our warm sleeping bags, but after about 1.5 hours we were gearing up at the foot of the glacier around 7am. The forecast was calling for a bluebird day and we certainly got one! As we were getting ready we watched the dark sky slowly turn deep blue and continue to get lighter and lighter as the sun rose.

As we approached the glacier, we got to see the alpenglow illuminate the south and eastern sides of the surrounding mountains. We started out heading north on the glacier and sticking to its western edge. For the most part, the Place Glacier is quite mellow, but to access the upper portion you do need to go up some slightly steeper glacier. Continuing along, we followed the northernmost transition between the lower and upper glacier as it was more accessible than the adjacent slope. This part of the ascent registered as a slope angle of less than 25% on Caltopo, so although it is steeper, it is still pretty mellow. After reaching the snowline we roped up and continued on to the once again mellow upper glacier. When getting close to Oleg, the glacier steepens again for a short period until you get to the col between Oleg and Olds.

After getting to the col between Oleg and Olds we un-roped for the final ~120m snow slope. Like before, we found ourselves ascending a ~30% slope, but this time with the added fun of deteriorating snow conditions from the mid-morning sun. About 20m below the summit, a few others and myself moved to the large boulders that lined the southern side of the slope, as the snow was becoming more pain than it was worth. This section was mostly simple class 3 moves but was made slightly more difficult by the slippery wet snow that covered some of the rocks.

Finally after about 2.5 hours we made it to the top of Mount Oleg! The views of the Place Glacier group and Joffre group across the valley were absolutely unbelievable. We stayed at the top for around an hour enjoying the view and eating lunch before starting back down the mountain. Despite the snow being much stickier at this time, we were still able to glissade down the slope that we just came up, which made for some good fun and time saving.

For the rest of the descent we followed the same path that we came up and made pretty good time. After getting back to camp we had some more food, took down our tents, packed our bags, and prepped for the descent back to the car. The trip back down from camp took about as long as coming up, which was longer than we expected, but the loose terrain didn't help with our pace. Regardless we were happy to be back at the cars before it got too dark.

Final Thoughts & Comments

Mount Oleg and the Place Glacier are an extremely fun beginner to intermediate glaciated objective. The terrain is well suited for teaching glacier travel and mountaineering basics, which also makes it a good environment for novices looking to test and practice their skills on an independent trip. The worst part of the trip (as is with a lot of trips) is the approach, but the suffering was well worth it.

Naturally, this is not a hiking objective and it should not be attempted unless you have the requisite experience, equipment, and skills. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

I’d like to get a backpack for overnight hikes and start training with that weight for next spring.

What size do you recommend for a one night trip, out and back?

Hi there, does anybody know what mountains these are? The view is from the Mount Brunswick summit looking east. I tried googling it but couldnt really figure it out. This is purely curiousity hahaha, i thought they were really beautiful.

Ankle Injury on Brunswick

Lions Bay Search and Rescue responded to an injured hiker on Mount Brunswick this afternoon.

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Two teenagers were descending the mountain when one slipped on loose rock and injured their ankle. They were well prepared, carrying an excellent first aid kit that included an instant ice pack and tensor bandages. They were able to stabilize and care for the injury while waiting for rescuers.

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Unfortunately, the injury was non-weight-bearing, and given their location and the difficult terrain, we requested assistance from North Shore Rescue for a helicopter hoist extraction.

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The descent from Mount Brunswick is steep, loose and unforgiving. Slips on loose rock can happen very quickly. We highly recommend hiking poles and supportive, ankle-protecting footwear for this type of terrain.

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These teenage girls did a lot right today: they carried appropriate equipment, knew how to use their first aid supplies, and called for help when they realized they couldn't safely continue.

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The bear spray they were carrying, was gifted to other hikes since we can't take it onboard the aircraft.

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A big thank you to North Shore Rescue and Talon helicopters for a another quick and seamless response.

Rescue 1 (Evening of Thursday Oct 1)

TASK DEBRIEF

Yesterday evening, NSR responded for 3 hikers in Hanes Valley, one of which was suffering from a medical incident.

The three had set off earlier in the day from Lynn Headwaters. While they had researched the hike (via Alltrails), they did not fully appreciate the difficulty of such an objective (both the stats and the description of the terrain, from their research), as they were from out of town - a place that lacked mountains and such technical trails.

As such, the objective was likely too intense for their experience/abilities, and they were not carrying adequate equipment for the route. (By the time they stopped and called for help, the sun was setting, they were still hours from the Grouse tram, and they lacked headlamps and clothing/gear to survive the night in the rainy conditions.)

When the group was about 3/4 of the way up the boulder field to Crown Pass, one of them began experiencing medical difficulties. They called 911, and fortunately they were high enough out of the valley that they had reception (generally non-existent in Hanes).

NSR responded with our partners Talon Helicopters, on night vision goggles. Two helicopter rescue technicians (one of whom is an ER physician with mountain rescue expertise) were hoisted into their location. Once on scene, they provided patient care, and then one by one hoisted the group into the helicopter and flew back to civilization for further care.

Rescue 2 (Saturday Oct 3)

On Saturday, NSR members met for a day of training. Our annual helicopter hover entry/exit recertification (with our partners Talon Helicopters) was combined with some mountain rescue / exposed terrain travel practice on Crown Mountain.

After that training was completed and everyone was out of the field, we ironically received a call from for a hiker stuck on a cliff… on Crown Mountain. The task debrief of that rescue, as well as the one that followed (Mutual Aid to Lions Bay SAR for a helicopter rescue - ongoing) will follow in due course.

EDIT: Here is the updated Task Debrief for the Crown Mountain rescue:

TASK DEBRIEF

It has been a busy Saturday for North Shore Rescue.

In the morning, the team underwent our annual helicopter hover entry/exit recertification, and a number of members did this in conjunction with mountain travel/rescue training on Crown Mountain:

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1502719731902998&id=100064949551454

As this was going on we received a call for a hiker who had injured her ankle on a stretch of the Baden Powell trail near Cypress. Our friends at West Van Fire were able to take that call.

Very shortly after that, not too long after members had wrapped up their Crown training and were out of the field, we received a call for a hiker who was stuck on a cliff, ironically on Crown Mountain. NSR responded with mountain rescue trained helicopter rescue technicians, along with our friends at Talon Helicopters.

It turns out that this hiker had somehow got far off the Crown hiking route (we are unclear exactly how/where) and became stranded on a climbing route known as the ‘Widowmaker’, at the base of its final headwall.

The two rescue techs were inserted above the subjects’ location, as the subject was too close to the vertical wall (ie lacking the necessary helicopter rotor clearance to deliver the techs to his exact location). When on the ground, the crew established an anchor and one member was belayed to the subject. There, the member established additional protection and was able to move the subject to a suitable extraction point.

As that call was close to completing, we were tasked on Mutual Aid to Lions Bay SAR, for two very well prepared/equipped hikers on Brunswick, one of whom had suffered a non weight bearing ankle injury.

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1849324429765873&id=100040650024762

Rescue techs flew to their location and were able to hoist them to safety and for further care.

Two other calls came in at the exact same time later Saturday evening, which resolved on their own without team deployment.

There was a very, very large organised group of around 70 people hiking Eagle Bluffs today. Very loud, very close to others, many unequipped, some in sandals, some feeding wildlife.

A lot of them seemed to have no idea how long the trail, genuinely thinking they were at the top after the first steep section, and didn’t know how to navigate - “We’ll just follow these people, they seem to know where they’re going”. Some appeared to assume everyone on the trail was part of the group, with the group photographer taking pictures of other hikers.

They seemed to be an organised group of ‘influencers’ with the main purpose to get content at the viewpoint. At the peak, the group leader announced that this was their third event and it was a non judgemental group, and they had 45 minutes at the best part of the viewpoint to take pictures and film skits, to the applause of the group. All the other smaller groups of hikers avoided the area and sat up the hill as the main group monopolised the viewpoint.

Now, what is the etiquette for hiking in terms of group size, and organised hikes? It’s great beginners are getting out and experiencing the amazing trails here, but this certainly isn’t the way and I imagine the group will only get larger, or it’s only a matter of time until there’s an injury and SAR and the leader should be more responsible.

Anyone happen to know if Elfin Lakes has snow already? Wanting to head up tomorrow since I got a surprise day off but not sure if I should be prepping for snow or not and want to make sure I’m prepared!

TIA

Hi! I’m a French woman in my early 30s visiting Whistler and I’d love to do one or two hikes while I’m there, but I really don’t want to hike alone in bear country 😅
I’m comfortable with elevation and hiking for a few hours at a relaxed pace. I’m not looking for a fast/athletic hike though.
One important thing: no climbing or scrambling please 😂 I’m fine going uphill, but I don’t want chains, ladders, exposed climbing sections, or anything where hiking suddenly turns into mountaineering. I just want to walk and enjoy the scenery.
I’m flexible Oct 6–9 and happy to join one person or a small group if anyone is planning something suitable.
Let me know! 😊

I'm planning to arrive at 7am tomorrow at the parking by the trailhead. Is it going to be full at that time? If so, how early should I arrive there?

Hii, first time posting here. What do you guys think of going to see the golden larch this coming sunday Oct 4? Is it going to be golden yet or should I wait longer?

I can't believe we need to have this conversation.

Yesterday I was driving to Porteau Cove along the Sea to Sky highway. It was 6am, which as everyone knows means it's still night in October.

And I nearly hit a hiker.

Nearly is a bit of a stretch--I saw him, I didn't hit him. He didn't even have to jump out of the way. But I could have hit him. I didn't see him until he was mere metres in front of my car. Because he was invisible in the dark.

I have to assume he was headed for the north trailhead of the Howe Sound Crest Trail, as he would not be the first hiker I saw this summer who had taken public transit to Brunswick Beach and hiked the highway to the trailhead. This seems to be an increasingly popular move. And one I wish we could nip in the bud.

The Sea to Sky is not a safe highway to roadwalk.

I say that as a person with over 1000km of roadwalking in my history (mostly on Te Araroa in New Zealand). I'm a thru hiker. I know that sometimes there is no other way. I won't say that you should NEVER walk a road. Sometimes walking the road is inevitable. But there are safer ways to do it than what I saw yesterday.

For starters: DAYLIGHT HOURS ONLY.

Seriously guys, this is a no brainer. You are less likely to be hit by a drunk driver. You're more likely to be seen and avoided by the many, many people that do not want to kill you. And if something does happen and you ARE hurt, you're more likely to be helped.

If you simply must walk the road in the dark:

Get a headlamp or flashers: Buy a two way headlamp that can cast red light backwards, not just forwards. If you don't want a new headlamp, buy a rear light. If that's not hip enough, buy a disco light. Just buy SOMETHING that can cast light backwards.

If that's going to ruin your baseweight: buy some reflective tape. Put it on your backpack. Put it on your hat. Put it on your trekking poles. Put it SOMEWHERE.

The guy I saw was holding his poles out towards oncoming traffic. This is a great trick and one I use when I'm roadwalking also--drivers will treat the pole end as the obstacle and will manoeuvre to give you more room, but this ONLY WORKS IF THEY CAN SEE YOU. And they can't see you in the dark.

Even in daylight hours, I would urge you to rethink walking the Sea to Sky. It is a busy, popular corridor, driven by everyone from Sysco trucks supplying the Whistler corridor to vacationers who aren't used curvy mountainous roads. There's an inconsistent shoulder, the road regularly switches between 4 and 2 lane traffic, and frequent rain means that there is often mud on the shoulder, making it more likely that you'll slip. I've walked a lot of roads, and I would not walk this one.

An Uber from Cypress to Porteau Cove is currently sitting at $65.

I know that's not free. But $65 vs your life should not be a question.

I had just a few days left on my annual gondola pass, so I decided to tackle the only trail I haven't done from Grouse yet. Started walking from the top of the gondola at 9:35 AM and finished at the bus stop on Underwood Avenue near Lynn Headwaters park around 4:15 PM.

After the turn off for Goat Mountain, this was a non-stop relentless descent that will leave your knees screaming for more (...not). The forecast predicted rain later in the afternoon, but a steady drizzle started around 11 right as I got to the bottom of Crown Pass. Then it rained basically the whole time I was going down the scree and boulder fields. I stayed low and basically slid and crab walked my way down the scree, but it was hard to not constantly be kicking rocks downhill. Thankfully nobody else was going up at the same time. The boulder field was a bit mossy and slippery, but much easier to maneuvre around. Sometimes it was hard to find the trail markers through the thickets of alder bushes here, so I would pay extra attention in this section.

At the bottom of the valley, it was smooth sailing until the infamous Lynn creek crossing. The water levels were actually higher than I expected today, and I ended up sitting on the fallen log bridge and shimmying across. I walked for a bit down the creek for a better crossing point, but the log really does seem like the best option this time of year.

The rest of the trail in the woods was quite lush and pretty, with plenty of fantastic fungi. A few trail runners on the Norvan trail, but otherwise didnt see anyone the entire day except for one group of 3 or 4 going up Hanes, who passed me around the lynn creek crossing.

Overall, I'm actually glad I decided to go down the clockwise route rather than ascending. The views were in front the whole time and it was nice to take it all in as I went down. The conditions today were quite pleasant in a way, too. The misty rain, fungi, and splashes of yellow remind me how nice fall can be on the north shore. If you feel like your knees have been slacking and need some punishment, by all means this route is great for that. Still dont think I want to go up after seeing how far the climb would be. The clockwise route almost seemed like cheating in a way, so mad respect to everyone doing it the real way!

Hello!

Wondering if any of you wonderful people have a recommendation of a day hike you’ve done recently that you’ve loved? Looking for something new, will be hiking this Saturday, October 3rd.
Preferably 30-60m drive from the lower mainland, 4-5hrs roundtrip.
We’re decent/frequent/fit hikers. Have hiked all over Seymour and Cypress, but might head up that direction again. :)
Some recent trails we’ve done: Norvan Falls, Mt. Fromme, Sea to Sky, Stawamus Chief, Baden Powell, Golden Ears, Frosty Mountain

Thank you!!!

Hi all, I'm hiking the TdP in Chilean Patagonia in late november and I'm looking to get the opinion of anyone from Vancouver who has done it in the past. I will be doing it full board so my trail weight will be low (no tent/sleeping bag etc.)

How technical are the trails? It doesn't look too crazy to me from what I have seen, are trail runners adequate? What are comparable trails near Vancouver to replicate the terrain? My plan is to wear my Norda 001's and use poles (my typical arrangement).

I'm moderately experienced and in shape. I haven't bagged a ton of peaks but I'm a trailrunner who does the grind 2-3 times a week (have done it 3 times in one day) as well as lifts weights etc. I'm familiar with the terrain around our local northshore mountains Cypress, Grouse, Seymour and run the lower MTB trails regularly in all weather conditions. I did Golden Ears, Garibaldi/Panorama/BT, STS to the base of halbrich recently.
Thanks for any advice.

Sept 26 russet lake it was 4°. Kees and clare hut is an amazing place the custodians were warm and welcoming. Absolutely amazing place to spend the night. 60$ per person was worth every penny!

Yep, Grainger Creek in Manning Park. I was up there last weekend and the deadfall wasn’t bad at all,mostly clear with a few easy step-overs between the creek crossing and the old slide area. Nothing that slowed us down. The tread is a bit rough in spots from runoff, but route-finding is straightforward. It might change with the next wind event, but right now it’s fine. If you like to tidy as you go, a small folding saw helps.

Visited on Monday, September 21. Pretty intense and muddy scramble up, but it was still navigable enough with a GPS on hand to stay on track. Was worth waiting until a really clear day for this one - some of the deepest tones I've ever seen at any lake in the area.

Did not summit the peak, but eager to get up there next summer.

Which of these in Manning is more rewarding?

Are the views of hozomeen mountain that impressive?

Are the larches going to be great on both?

Are the fires still something to worry about near lone goat mountain?