First overnight hike of the year

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Hannah and I got out for another little adventure last weekend. We had agreed a while ago to do something this weekend as it is her last free weekend before she moves to lillooet as a research assistant for the summer. On BC's south coast we had a very mild winter and a warm spring so far; that means most of the alpine and subalpine hikes are already snow free! Usually we have to wait until late june to do much hiking in the. On account of the lack of snow we decided to hike up to one of the mountain lakes in the Fraser valley area.

We settled on Greendrop lake situated in chilliwack lake provincial park. It met all our requirements: not too long or strenuous (as a first longer hike of the year), long enough to get away from the crowds, beautiful scenery and of course an opportunity for some fishing!

We had a leisurely start on Saturday morning. At noon we were parked at the trail head and ready to hike. Starting at 600 meters (1970 ft) above sea level we had 350M (1150ft) of elevation gain over 6km (3.73miles) ahead of us. As we began I couldn't help but think how lucky we were with the weather, sunny and pleasantly warm. It felt more like mid june; usually spring in our area offers few if any days like this. Rain is the norm at this time of year.

The hike starts in dense forest made up of lodgepole pine and a few hemlocks. Immediately we were climbing quite steeply along a creek. As we gained elevation we left behind the pine forests and were soon surrounded by hemlocks with a few cedars and Douglas firs mixed in. After 45 minutes the trail levels off and the scenic lindeman lake comes into sight.

Lindeman lake



We continued along the shore of the lake through forest and across a couple of small boulder fields.

view up from the shore of lindeman lake



At the end of the lake the trail re-enters the forest and begins to climb slowly. At first we followed the creek coming down from greendrop lake and then began to climb again crossing some larger boulder fields and offering great views of the surrounding mountains.

Water break at the lindeman inflow creek, here hannah is using a sawyer squeeze filter.



views from the trail after lindeman lake



A few neat lichens and mosses caught my eye




The trees are incredible on the coast here



As we neared greendrop lake the trail leveled off for the last kilometer (.62 miles). The trail winds through a neat loamy, mossy area before hitting the shore of the lake. I even spotted a relatively rare western trillium (the flower we named our paring knife after).



First views of greendrop lake 4 hours after leaving the truck. (including breaks and more than a few photo stops )


When we reached the lake we stopped for lunch before finding a place top set up camp. We had a visit from this guy


This mossy knoll was a perfect soft place to set up the tent!



With camp setup we relaxed by the shore for a while/ I fished while hannah read. I saw a few risers but they didn't like what I was offering, no trout for dinner this time unfortunately.



We then boiled water over a fire for our dehydrated dinners and spent the rest of the evening by the fire.



The moon was exceptionally bright and lit up the opposite shore. This long exposure looks almost like daytime until you see the stars




This was the view out of the tent at 7 the next morning. I could get used to this!




After a quick oatmeal breakfast we packed up and headed off. I had the camera out less on the return but did snap a couple quick knife shots and a self timer of both of us.




That was our first overnight hike of the year. There will be more to come and I'll try to take a few photos on each and do a little write up if possible!
I hope you enjoyed it and I didn't over do it on the photos!

-mike

 

thanks guys glad you enjoyed it!

@shane: I've always wanted to get up to widgeon; I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to access the trail head though. I've heard the best way is by boat across pitt lake but I've always wondered if I could go down quarry road... How did you do it?

 

Great thanks for the info! It's definitely on my list. I've heard the same about the road...

 

Haha, sorry to disappoint. This is what Canada really is, at least to me

Most car campsites are actually pretty good, it's a few bad apples that ruin it for the rest. That is one of the reasons I like to hike high up away from the party crowd, they don't tend to go far from their vehicles. More chance of capturing a Sasquatch on camera up in the mountains too