hiked  Mount Grant (from Eaton Lake Trailhead)  and did 11.0Km and 1430m    Mood and date:  Sep 07, 2009 Share it on Facebook Embed it in webpage Reads:1701

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The forecast was for showers with sunny breaks in the afternoon, and with my optimistic side apparently taking charge, I joined Ahmad for this hike. The Eaton Lake trail posed no surprises, and we veered off to the left immediately after crossing the creek over logs on our way to Mount Grant. No defined trail there, and all three of us got soaked immediately while taking turns breaking the way through the bush. Initially orienting ourselves by map/compass or GPS, we soon came across a flagged route which we followed through the bushes and across the gullies. It showered on us a few times, and the temperature dropped once we got out of the forest, but the glimpses of the mountains and the valley gave hope of the long-awaited sunny breaks. A surprise was waiting for us in the alpine - snow! By that time, our legs and feet were soaked from bushwacking and hands wet from grabbing to the rocks and heather while scrambling up steep and slippery terrain. Now these hands and feet started freezing. How I missed my waterproof ski pants and gloves! There was no chance to warm up by quickly running up - the small boulders in the gully were loose, shaky and covered by snow, making our progress painfully slow. After inching our way up the gully and running short of time, we came to the conclusion that this peak wasn't for us to summit today and regretfully retreated. If not for the weather, it would have been a very enjoyable scramble, so next summer maybe, when it's dry and warm.

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