My Wet Coast Life

So for Easter Friday, i amazingly got the day off work so Robotrogue and I decided for our next hike to go do the Lynn Loop in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve in North Vancouver. It has a variety of trails, a suspension bridge, multiple other bridges and a cave tunnel (if you can find it). We arrived at the the Lynn Canyon Park entrance at around 8am and it was a decent 8^oC with a light rain and luckily, light wind too. The forecast for the day was winds, gusting over 70 knots, and up to 40mm of rain but we were prepared with more or less, the right gear for the weather. It is the wet coast, where you don't tan, you rust. Now Robotrogue recently got some new gear from Mountain Equipment Co-Op and T.A.D. Gear and this weather was perfect to test it out.

We decided we would start by crossing the suspension bridge and then head in a northerly direction and loop around to the Baden Powell trail. With one of the best ways to start a hike, we made our way across enjoying the view from the suspension bridge and the rushing water below. After some quick pics, we were on our way. Our first section took us along a gentle winding path running parallel with the river. After about 10 minutes or so, we were greeted by a rather daunting set of stairs. Hmmmm....

Now before going any further, a bit of background info. Both of us have the goal of getting back into shape and trying to get outdoors more often. I'm trying to gain weight and Robotrogue is trying to lose some. We decided to ensure we packed all the required equipment for a day hike, even though we were still close to civilization and a bit harder to get lost. Yet again, the expected terrain, anything can and could happen and always better to be prepared than not. This included a first aid kit, space blanket, change of dry clothes, water, food, mini stove (more on that later), whistle...well, you get the idea. We planned for the worst expecting the best, which is what we got. We saw a lot of people on the trail with nothing but a jacket but i guess they are either using the multi-use wide trails which have inherently less risk or just being ill-prepared for the outdoors and banking on someone else for assistance. This also gave us a decent weight in our packs to test our fitness level on a more intermediate hike than compared to our trek through Pacific Spirit park.

Follow up:

Now back to the stairs, our first fitness test and nothing tells you more of you're out of shape than going up a decent set of steep stairs with a decent weight on your back. When we got to the top, after a small silent accomplishment cheer, we headed north towards the Rice Lake gate. Once we reached the parking lot, we picked up a map and headed east towards Homestead trail. When we got to the top of the trail, they have a very thing entrance to prevent cyclists and more or less anyone larger than say....well put it this way, now i am not "large" but with my pack on, even i could not squeeze through the entrance. Alas, we had to walk the ten feet around the fence (gotta love those kind).

Resuming the trek at hand, we continued down a winding, sloping trail towards the Seymour river. It has a great view going down. When we got to the bottom's "T" intersection, we made a right turn and headed south along the river's edge. By this point, the rain had been coming down on and off, heavy at times, but the wind still was very light. Our main worry if the wind did pick up, which there was evidence present during our hike so far, was "widow maker" branches that have come down recently. Hopefully our trip would not have to deal with the high winds before we finished.

Now the trail heading south passes some interesting old wooden square doorways. You also have marshy swamp areas with lily style flowers growing in them and a fish enhancement area. By this point, we were thinking of taking a break and found a nice spot next to the river with a nice large tree providing some shelter from the downpour. We setup a portable stove and made some green tea. After enjoying the tea and a snack, we continued on our journey and found the cave. After a quick photo op, we headed towards the Twin Bridges. After crossing the bridge, we followed the river until we made a left turn before Mystery creek bridge heading towards "Ned's Atomic Dustbin" trail, what a name.

After a decent sloped accent, we started heading south towards Bridle Trail. We came out at a cul-de-sac and the rain was coming down real hard. After getting help from a local which was the most scenic route to join up the Baden Powell trail, we headed about one block east towards a trail behind a row of houses. This trail was loads of fun as it was narrow along a stream and made you think where you were going to step. We continued in a southerly direction towards Baden Powell trail. We finally met up with the Baden Powell trail and started in a westerly direction back towards where we parked. So far we were both feeling good and the gear was keeping us dry and at the perfect temperature. Our next stair master challenge came after the Pipeline bridge. After a decent set of stairs, it was switch back trail back up to get back to the Lynn Creek side. Once we hit the pipeline (you can't miss it). We headed along the trail, cutting across Lilloet road, to a marker. It showed our next portion of the trail was a decent decent back down towards Lynn Creek. After taking a quick break to rehydrate, we headed down. We were now in our home stretch and energy levels were doing OK but starting to fade. After a winding trail along the river heading north, we came to the Twin Falls bridge. Another reason the hike was worth it. After snapping some more pics, we found our last test, more stairs. By the time we got to the top, we were now starting to feel the 15,500+ steps (based on my company's pedometer) and we could see the ending point. In all, we took just over 4 hours including our stop for tea and it was well worth it.

This is one hike we will definitely be doing again as it was a great challenge with a great variety of trails and scenery. After taking a break in the parking lot and shedding off the wet layers, we headed back to the city to get some donairs and then head home. By the point the wind finally started to pick up. I guess Mother Nature knew we were done our hike and decided to start the storm. The drive home on the highway involved dodging large branches on the road and getting knocked around by the wind. Just another day on the wet coast.
The below image shows our route in lime green. You can see a larger version on my Flickr page

You can access the PDF version of the trail map here and check out all the pictures from the hike on my Flickr page. You can also check out Robotrogue's blog when he posts his gear review.

Now time to go figure out our next hiking destination....