April 29, 2023 - Squamish
Stats: 9.1 km / 1095m gain / 921m high / 7:10 hours MT
If you look at the stats, you'd think, "Why would it take so long to do this hike?" Let my photos tell you why. This was a full body work out, involving pulling, twisting, balancing, ducking, pushing and jumping. Team work was a must. Our group proved itself to be very worthy.
It's a good thing Charlotte led our group in a stretching session before the long day. Owen & Lonja, both newer members of our club, had joined us in the morning.
7:45am and Will got us onto the boat at Squamish Watersports. It cost us $46.45 each.
Eager to see what this day would bring. Always up to another adventure and this hike did not disappoint.
Garabaldi Mt dominated the horizon. The Squamish Adventure Inn hostel is only 1.1 km drive from this harbour.
It was a 15-minute boat ride, first heading south and then looping round to go north up the Squamish River.
Sky Pilot and Shannon Falls. Sorry Shannon Falls, but you're no longer so attractive compared to the Monmouth Creek Falls which are 900m high!!!
The tide was higher so Will could park the boat closer to the trailhead. When we asked how many hikers he'd boated to this trailhead this year, he said we were the first ones!
We walked about 15-20 minutes along the shore-line, following the pink flagging tapes to the flood plain. Yes, the waterfalls were at their peak, after days of rain and now a second hot day resulted in aggressive snow melt. The downfall was that it created more water to cross on the flat section. The orange square markers had faded to a brownish color and on the descent the yellow markers looked more like lime-green. The second pic had an old makeshift zip line running from it. Charlotte asked me, "Has your son had been here?"
The book gives instructions as to crossing the creek. But when we arrived at the beginning of the trail, we thought, "Which creek??"
We continued upstream for a bit, searching for a spot to cross, only to come to the conclusion that it was better to get back on the other side of the this creek and keep following the brown square markers.
We could see the trail and powerlines beckoning to us on the other side of 50' wide Monmouth Creek. But the spring melt had transformed this "creek" into a raging river. It was deceiving, looking like with a bit of effort, it was doable. Not. But our skills at team work came into full force here. Thanks Sonia for lending us your watershoes and for you men for helping us ladies cross. I'm not sure, Peter how you managed to stay so long in knee deep freezing water.
We decided that on the way back we'd keep our boots on, it being so close to the boat launch. How would it be later in the day?? I'm sure it'd be even more challenging.
Just past the clearing of the power lines and then into the forest we very soon saw a juntion where we stayed left. Thus began the most difficult scrambling section but also the most rewarding, with numerous spectacular viewpoints right beside the booming falls.
The thundering pulsing falls were often close enough to touch.
A single root to grip and step on.
Rainbows were abundant in the falls.
This precarious perch was part of the trail.
Ropes.
Sonia was swinging around like a monkey. She climbs like one too.
Chains, just before a blessedly welcome piece of flat land where we stopped for a break. At this point we'd climbed 400m in almost 2 km and were almost at the trail junction for the bi-pass route. The most difficult part was now behind us. Phew.
Columnar-jointed lava.
Douglas Firs trees.
A huge cedar.
Rebar drilled into rock.
The upper falls were more open.
At 800m we ran into snow. Out came the micro-spikes.
Sky Pilot Mt.
The last stretch -- east.
Made it!!! Group shot: Owen W, Sheri K, Sonia J, Dave B, Peter F, Lonja B, Charlotte H & me.
No swimming for Sonia & Peter in Echo Lake. Mt. Murchison (1731m).
The descent trail was easier, leading us through the forest on a not as steep grade. It took us 3:50 hours moving time to ascend to the lake and 2 hours to descend.
We still had to do tricky creek crossings.
Just before the first set of powerlines we did a 20m side-trail to this viewpoint named Nice. Looking east at the Mamquam Range.
Sky Pilot & Shannon Falls -- southeast.
All righty. So here we were again, adreniline running as high and hard as the water. We had agreed to form a human chain.
But things went sideways when Lonja, who was probably the lightest of our group, started getting swept away by the current. But not far. Sheri grabbed her. The same thing happened on the other side but Charlotte grabbed her.
In the meantime, Dave was shouting at me to cross where he did, a few feet further upstream. I was almost across when Owen directed me to come in at an angle. That's when I felt my footing start to waver. I was so close to him and Dave. I started yelling at Owen to grab my camera which was attached to my case. He got a hold of it (thankfully the strap was long enough) while Dave stretched out his hand to grab my hand. Sheri was the last to cross. So in the end, Sonia & Lonja both got wet and Lonja banged her knee. Thankfully Sonia's phone still worked.
It was so nice to see Will waiting for us. As instructed, I'd phoned him from the by-pass junction and then a few more times from there.
After an adrenaline high, we were peacefully relaxed with an keen sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Other than a few battle scars, we all came out in one piece.
A toast to a great adventure, one we won't soon forget. That's Sheri's pink arm & Sonia's orange arm at the Howe Sound Brewing Co. pub.
The Hungry Hikers salad. Delicious!
That straight line is where my Garmin66i somehow put itself on hold. Probably from all the scrambling.
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