June 29, 2009 - Hike to Brunswick Lake

Another day in the mountains for Jeff and I - picture below at Brunswick Lake

This time we drove out to Howe Sound to do the north end of the How Sound Crest Trail. We snowshoe the south end a lot in the winter but had never been to the north end (28.9km from end to end). The new Sea-to-Sky Hwy made finding the start a bit more tricky (our hiking guide is more than 10 years old) but we did manage to find it off the Porteau Rd exit. The start of the hike is a bit boring taking you up some sometimes steep gravel road for about 3.7km. After that is gets much more interesting while you climb up Deeks Creek along Phi Alpha Falls. Most of the climbing is done by the time you reach Deeks Lake, the first of three scenic lakes on that hike. The trail continues on along the creek surrounded by tall cliffs on both sides. The next lake, Hanover Lake, is even prettier than the first with the high mountains in the back and is turquoise water color. You also had to cross the creek a couple times using natural log jams and rocks - not always easy with the water level as it was. After climbing up next to another waterfall you reach Brunswick Lake - our final destination. The trail does continue on but one would have to walk through the lake - no bridge or logs to cross on - maybe later in the summer the water level drops enough to expose the rocks and make it a dry crossing. All in all a great hike - 6.5hrs in total including 30min rest at Brunswick Lake (the book said 10hrs), gaining almost 1200m in elevation and covering nearly 20km in distance. For more pictures go here: http://picasaweb.google.com/krade1709/BrunswickLakeHike29June2009#