One of the fastest receding glaciers in BC, this glacier has broken in half over recent years and the lower section is likely going to disappear within the decade.
After nearly a full week of impeccable weather it had to start raining on my day off. Oh well, still gotta go to a trail somewhere.
There are some potholes on the way to the parking lots at West Canyon and Gold Creek. Can be safely navigated in sedans with slow & careful driving.
West Canyon Trail is closed for construction so I took the East Canyon Trail. The Connector Trail from East Canyon to Lower Gold Creek Falls is in pretty rough shape. The trail is already somewhat steep and there were clear signs of erosion, requiring extra caution with the wet conditions. On the way down I encountered a group where one person had sprained their ankle and could only descend very slowly. Ultimately they decided against calling for help after reaching the Lower Falls trail and piggybacked her out. Another couple attempting to ascend the trail to East Canyon from Lower Falls decided to turn around due to their heavy backpacks and small dog.
There is a trail going from Lower falls to Upper Falls then to East Canyon, as shown on most hiking maps, but marking is sparse at times and the the terrain isn't the most straightforward. Finding the start of the trail was already a challenge as it is on a narrow fork from the Connector Trail starting at Lower Falls. Only after a brief ascent were there trail markers signaling this is not just a deadend. There is also a section that traverses on the side of a cliff with very narrow space. There may be misleading paths in densely forested sections so it's always a wise idea to check your location frequently.
Back on East Canyon trail it's a very straightforward walk to Viewpoint Beach. After Viewpoint Beach the trail begins to get progressively narrower, eventually descending into bushwhacking territory. Erosion and fallen trees are present in some segments, as well as lots of mud, particularly thanks to the weather earlier that day.
After what felt like an infinite maze of walking through dense vegetation, I arrived at a T-section where Half Moon Beach was a short walk to the left and Hector Ferguson Lake trail was on the right. My original plans for a dry weather day had included an attempt to Hector Ferguson Lake, which was abandoned as the day was anything but dry. I counted at least 6-7 tents at Half Moon Beach, then encountering another 4 groups of campers on their way to the beach during my return trip.
Overall I would say Half Moon Beach is not worth visiting more than once as a day hike, as it had the most mediocre views of all the spots I visited along the way. We are just too spoiled when it comes to nature views in BC that such a lush forest landscape may be seen as mundane sometimes. Camping there would be a different matter though.
Water sources were plenty as the entire trail is never too far from Gold Creek, with numerous access points along the way. The return journey from Half Moon Beach to the parking lot was a little over 3 hours, 12km distance, 197m up and 308m down.
The trailhead parking lot is closed due to construction so motorists need to use the lower parking lots and walk to the trailhead. From the trailhead to Norvan Falls, the trail is straightforward with a gentle incline; past the Third Debris Chute the terrain becomes slightly more interesting but remains gentle.
Past the Coliseum Mountain Route turnoff, conditions change noticeably: forest floors and root sections become slippery. The route follows Norvan Creek with several stream crossings; some sections are muddy but not deep. Markers are frequent and in good condition. Two fallen trees require crouching under one and stepping over the other. Scramble sections are present but short, with virtually no exposure. Closer to the peak, terrain transitions to flat granite with gentle slopes; markers become scarce and navigation more open-ended — take care not to damage plants in this area.
Visibility at the summit was very limited; GPS was needed to locate the tarn. For anyone hiking the North Shore mountains for views, check the Cypress webcam or DriveBC's Ironworkers South westbound camera beforehand, as summit conditions typically mirror those shown there.
Trail traffic: 4 hiker groups encountered, 2 groups at the peak, and 2 tents of campers.
Conditions matched those described in Lions Bay SAR's Saturday Brunswick Mountain rescue writeup. Despite hiking poles and careful footing, I slipped twice on descent due to wet rock and root surfaces, thankfully with only minor scratches.
Cell reception is available at Norvan Pass and Coliseum Mountain peak, weakening further north of the peak.
Water sources: multiple access points along Lynn Creek and Norvan Creek; small tarns on the ridge just before Coliseum Mountain; a large tarn at the summit.
Total time trailhead-to-trailhead was 10.5 hours (6 hours up and 4.5 hours down, excluding a single long break at the top, can probably squeeze 30-60 mins out of the ascent with fewer breaks), with elevation change of at least 1300 m each way. Park gates lock at 9 PM without exception, so if you are parking inside the park, start this hike no later than 9AM.
My car was dropped off for maintenance over the weekend so I took public transit using the following routes: Expo Line -> SeaBus -> 228 and 210 -> Expo Line. Both routes stop one block from the park gate, followed by a 25-minute walk along Lynn Valley Road to the trailhead. However travel time nearly tripled compared to driving. Going home on public transit after a long day covered in mud stains and dried sweat felt like a humiliation ritual.
I'm quite bummed about the lack of view at the top, though the forest sections still delivered an excellent nature experience with a decent challenge. This hike stays on my bucket list for a future revisit.
Randomly checked for Saturday day passes on Friday night and somehow managed to snag one from someone else's cancellations. Trails leading up to the upper lake were easy to navigate although some brief sections do have a bit of incline as well requiring you to find your footing.
The camp ground is basically snow free, but there are still quite a bit of snow on the slopes above that going all the way to the glacier base is not possible. The snow is too slushy to navigate through, especially on a slope already steep and slippery due to loose gravel. I had microspikes but this was clearly beyond their rating, so I did not take the risk to advance further. Lack of fresh footprints also suggest no one else recently was crazy enough to try. There were some minor avalanche debris visible around the area, maybe not enough to bury a person but just knocking them off balance on a slope like this is enough to cause serious consequences. I did witness a slab of snow crumble below Matier Glacier but fumbled with my phone that I only managed to capture a few seconds after the main action.
When I got back to the parking lot at 6PM the park rangers had packed up their booth and left, and there were still a few groups of people coming in. Considering we are around Summer Solstice, that leaves almost 3 hours of remaining daylight, enough to check out all 3 lakes for reasonably fit folks who are comfortable enough to navigate the return hike at dusk and then a long drive home in darkness. The parking lot was basically empty at 6PM so crowding is not an issue, and as long as they are respectful of nature, I'm not really the one to judge for "circumventing" the day pass system this way. Which also makes me wonder, how will full closures be enforced if they are carried out by park rangers who, like everyone with jobs, have to clock out eventually? There isn't a gate that can be closed to completely cut access.
Last minute decision to avoid bedrotting on Saturday. Trail was busy but reasonably dry up to St. Mark's. The complete lack of snow is quite the stark contrast compared to last year when snow still covered many of the wooden walkways near St. Marks at the end of June. As soon as you walk past the trail marker post the crowd practically disappears. North facing sides have a manageable amount of snow as well as melt streams that follow the trails, especially steep sections. The snow is quite slushy and a bit slippery with microspikes. Encountered about a dozen hikers on the ridge around Unnecessary Mountain and none were wearing microspikes. Some teens were even wearing runners. As nearby SAR teams didn't post about any rescue that day I can assume everyone I saw that day made it home safely. For every incident that end up on the news there were 99 others who got away without proper risk management, which works until it doesn't.
Cloud inversion was quite beautiful as if I was in a painting by Caspar David Friedrich. Also got a bit of tan despite being in the vicinity of snow for just an hour. I had sunscreen in my bag but had neglected using it because I too suffer from poor risk management.
Edit: just realized I put the wrong date in the title. Photos were taken on Saturday May 23rd.