1000 & 100 Acre Plateau

4 day round trip to the 1000 & 100 Acre Plateau

Another trip in Kahurangi National Park, this time in the southern part of it. 

My knees and heels needed a rest after my last trip. I didn't expect that it would take me 2 weeks, though. Well, working for a while, reading and planing more tramps was not such a bad thing. The forecast looked pretty good, a map was bought and my route was set. Heck, I even got some good local advice. There are some nice gems in this area. Time to get out before Christmas.

I hitch hiked to Matiri Road right after Murchison. It was a scorching hot day and walking on the gravel road didn't make it any better. After about 8km a farmer gave me a lift for a few kilometres. I was struggling a bit in the hot weather and finally reached the first car park. Some cows were blocking my way for a while further on the trail. It was farmland all the way till I reached the trailhead.

getting out of the city: Howe Sound Crest Trail

Vistas on the Howe Sound Crest Trail

The Howe Sound Crest Trail (HSCT) is literally 45 minutes away from Vancouver. The southern trail head starts at Cypress Provincial Park (local ski mountain) and ends in Porteau Cove, which is basically halfway between Vancouver and Squamish. It is about 30 km long and most people hike it in 2 days. The HSCT can be done in a day (10 or more hours of fast walking). There is a detailed route description at clubtread.com. The official park site has more info about the area.

We went southbound, I recommend to go northbound though. The trail markers are way better to spot heading north. The HSCT is probably one of the best short hikes near Vancouver. We did it in late August 2010.

More pictures are here.

unfinished business: Stein Valley, Lillooet Lake to Tundra Lake and back

6 day trip in Stein Valley National Park, 3 hours north of Vancouver, British Columbia

Tundra Lake, Caltha Peak in the back

2009 was a warm year. The summer was really dry and there was lot of haze from all the forest fires coming down towards the local mountains in Vancouver; more on that later.

length: approx. 48 km
difference in altitude: approx. 4150 m
Temperatures: approx -2°C to +30°C
perfect weather: 6 sunny and hot days, just a light drizzle for 2h, unbelievable good conditions for this area
date: late August 2009

All pictures are here.

This trip in particular influenced me in many ways and I still remember a lot of it. I just recently started blogging (2012) and it actually took me a few years to write this down, but I still remember a lot of it...