Another "mid-week epic 2010" hike with Tania, John and Ahmad.
This time, my remaining 103 hikes 5th edition journey took us to Deek's peak (a hike that mysteriously was removed in the later 6th edition).
This one was a grunt for a few reasons.
-the trail was a large portion of bushwacking
-some sections were not marked well and required walking through big log graveyards
-the elevation gain was significant
The views at the top, however, were superb. Similar to Mt. Harvey, the views here overlooked Howe Sound but much further North allowing a great angle to view Anvil Island and Mt. Sedgwick. On the SW side, views of Brunswick and the lakes completing the Howe Sound Crest Trail including a straight down view of Deek's lake.
This would not be a trail to do after a rain or early in the season: wet surfaces here could be treacherous. More importantly, it is just damned long. It took us almost 7 hours to get to the top (story below), and we reasoned that given we'd be hiking in the dark, it would be better to be on the Deek's lake trail than where we came from. So, from the peak we hiked to the Windsor Col and straight down to Deek's lake bush-wacking for the most part(a common trip 3 of us had done before).
So what delayed our climb? A dog. A dog walking company was using the area to give some pups exercise and one of them must have smelled our trail and followed us and then would not leave us (this was 2 hours into our hike). Ahmad called the number on the collar (luckily cell phones worked) and we were asked to tie the dog up until the owner could arrive (he was not on the same trail as us and quite far away). We didnt feel very good about this and ncontinue reading »either did the dog (he barked continually as we hiked away). In fact, he escaped TWICE despite excellent knots being used, and the whole process of co-ordinating with the owner put us an hour behind schedule (at least). Fortunately, the dog walker left our rope on the car so the dog made it out (I dont care about the human, but its not the dog's fault).
So, aside from taking unleashed dogs into bear country, messing with the ecology, and risking the dog's life (plus it is not allowed in BC parks), there is yet another reason to not have a dog off leash: it could become a safety issue for hikers not even part of your group. We got back at least an hour later than expected, and in the dark.
Would I do this trail again? I don't know. It was a good payoff, but we paid for it in sweat and strained muscles.
Aug 25, 2010
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