ick-country H

SINCE LYNN Headwaters
Regional Park opened to the
public in 1985 a remarkable
range of back-country experi-
ences have become accessible
to anyone with a pair of trail-

H shoes and a taste for adventure.

By John Moore
Contributing Writer

This is the country behind the
souvenir postcards. The country
where only a few years ago nobody
but seasoned bushwackers dared to

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go. Now, an hour's hike from the
parking lot takes you into the
wilderness of the Pacific Coast
Range.

This increased accessibility has
its downside. as any member of the
North Shore Rescue Team or the
Park Rangers will tell you. Since
1985, 23 people have had to be res-
cued from the area loosely defined
by the watershed of Lynn Creek.

A couple of weeks ago, a typical
incident occurred. Two people set
off to tuke on one of the more scenic
and challenging routes in the park
— the Hanes Valley Route (open
only in summer) which connects the

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“tynn Valley Road

upper Lynn Headwaters with the
Grouse Mountain alpine area.

Trouble was, they started out at
2.30 jn the aflernoon. They were
rescued well after midnight in
Hanes Valley.

What happened?

Supposing they actually read the
new improved map/brochure, freely
available at the trailhead, they might
have noticed that this is rated a
strenuous hike of just over 15 km
(9.3 miles) from the Headwaters
Park entrance to the Grouse Chalet.
That's not a return trip, either.

Even so, our adventurous couple
might have thought, 15 km is the
distance to Nervan Creek and back.
A pleasant afternoon walk. If they
dawdled and took the full six to
eight hours suggested by the guide,
on a long summer day they'd still
hit Jumpers Bistro on Grouse in
time for sunset or moonlight cock-
tails, right?

Wrong. Totally lame. Long sum-
mer days shorten very fast in the lee
shadow of mountains — it can be
sunny on top of that ridge but dan-
gerously dark down in the ravine
you're toiling up.

Underestimating the strenuous-
ness of a hike, your own fitness
level, (the number of times you stop
to rest), not to mention the extra
small increments of time it takes to
find your way over an unfamiliar
route even when it’s marked, can
add up exponentially, leading to
embarrassment at best. tragedy at
worst.

Start your day with latte to go
and trail mix and be moving by 9
a.m. This means catching the first
Super skyride up if you have an
annual pass and taking the “down-
hill” route past Dam and Little Goat
Mts., descending into Crown Pass
and the Hanes Valley, exiting via
the Headwaters Trail.

Don't automatically assume
downhill is easier: there is a long
and steep descent from Crown Pass
on a “talus” (scree) slope of loose

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Sunday, July 24, 1994 - North Shore News - 25

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NEWS photo Noll Lucente

THE HANES Valley Route, starting from Lynn Headwtaers
(above) is one of the most satisfying hikes on the North Shore.

rock tossed off Crown Mountain
which puts an extended strain on
both the ankles and the ability to
balance on questionable footing.
Ive taken the Headwaters Trail
at a fast walk/jog trot to Norvan
Creek in a hour, but don’t bet cn it.
Beyond the Norvan Creck
bridge, you’ll encounter an old
campsite leftover from Mr.
Fromme’s logging operation, whose
skid-roads you'll have been walking
for about an hour. Artifacts abound;
please leave them where they are.
Route-finding is easy in good
daylight by orange blazes, but take
care at the Lynn Creek ford where
the route dog-legs. if you lose your
way, go back to the last blaze, stop,
and took around: the next blaze

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should be visible if you take time
and look for it. :

Gradual elevation gain, barely
noticeable before the ford, becomes ©
more pronounced as you- proceed
through the woods on a narrow but
well-marked trail. The trail leads
into the salmonberry meadows of
Hanes Valley; prime black bear
habitat, so sing a few choruses of
“The Happy Wanderer” in three- or
four-part disharmony and bruins
will head for-Pemberton the hard.
way.

Stay on the flagged route: there's
a lot of thomy Devil’s Club in those
thickets, and scrapes from the spines
quickly turn septic and nasty.

See Bear page 31

Offer encis Aug. 30,