Saturday, July 20, 2019

Cypress Ski Area to Lions Bay: St Marks Summit and Unnecessary Mountain

The day before we are to leave for a three day trip, I think an easy stroll is in order. I've been down in the valley for two whole days, missing mountain time, the entire while. Walking from Cypress ski area (elevation 1000 metres) to Lions Bay, where I can catch a bus back to West Vancouver should be easy, right? And it was, kind of.

The catch is, the North Shore Mountains, as this sub-range of the Coast Mountains is known are steep, perhaps unimaginably steep if you have not done much hiking, climbing or skiing in this area. While the summits don't reach much more than 1800 metres, the rise from sea level is abrupt and rapid. The western slopes of Unnecessary Mountain for example, rise over 1500 metres in just under three kilometres.

Nearby Black Mountain trail:
Typical North Shore mountain track

I don't have any pictures to illustrate the "trail" that descends from Unnecessary Mountain to Lions Bay. You can, however, take a gander at this selection of the relevant topographic map (the contour interval is 20 metres and blue UTM grid is 1 km) to get an idea of the terrain I descended. But, I am getting ahead of myself.


It was supposed to be a sunny day, at least that was the valley forecast. However, when Doug dropped me off at the base of Cypress ski area, it was foggy, damp, and destined to remain that way until I reached Lions Bay, way down at sea level. I suspect the mountains stayed socked in all day. That is the way of mountain weather.

From a previous trip, I knew a quick way to get to the Howe Sound Crest Trail which is what the rooty, muddy, scrambly foot pad that runs along the crest of the mountain ridge above Howe Sound is called. Apart from the trail moniker, it is an apt name.

West coast trail goodness

Perhaps 20 minutes from the ski hill where the trail is a broad and pleasantly graded walkway, an information booth is reached. I've been past this booth a few times now, both on skis and on foot, and, as I knew my way, I really did not need to stop. But, a new sign had appeared, courtesy of BC Parks. 


Well, OK, kids, don't try this at home as you will surely need hospitalization, possibly a coffin, for the subsequent water intoxication (aka hyponatreamia) which will surely result. I guess BC Parks does not realize, in their arse covering way, that there have been fatalities from water intoxication as a result of such imperatives. Yes, "people have died" (to quote the statin lunatics).  It's also not clear to me, given the average time to traverse the Howe Sound Crest is upwards of 12 hours, how people are supposed to carry 24 plus litres of water.  Governments can be inexplicable.  

In any event, about 30 seconds past this sign, I crossed the first of several creeks that were running with lovely clear mountain water. Thereafter, I sloshed through so much water for the rest of the hike that my shoes and clothes were soaked.
Water is everywhere in the BC mountains

After the information booth, the trail crosses several gullies that are avalanche prone in winter and soon arrives at a forested saddle between Montizambert and Lempke Creeks. This is the jumping off point for Christmas Gully, or, if you do that trip more sensibly reversing the route we did, the base of Christmas Gully. In summer, the gully is not appealing, full of head high wet greenery.


Christmas Gully in spring

After this, the track heads up to the Howe Sound Crest and pretty much stays right along the ridge top, the entire way. In the Olympic year (2010), some work was done on the trail making it an actual trail, but, this runs out soon after leaving the saddle and the track turns into the usual West Coast narrow foot-pad criss-crossed with tree roots and mud-holes.

At some point, I passed St Marks summit in the gloom. There were really no views, although on a clear day, the islands of Howe Sound glitter in the ocean. Continuing north I followed the foot-pad, trying to stay on the main one, but in the fog and with many braids in places, I kept leaving and joining various alternatives.

Looking down on Howe Sound from near St Marks

After about 3 hours, when I was quite turned around in the fog, I came to what seemed to be a summit, with an area clear of trees and falling off in all directions. What one normally considers a summit. Here I stopped for a quick bite to eat and checked my location on the map. I was not quite on Unnecessary Mountain, instead, on a little bump on the ridge perhaps a kilometre south.

So some more up and down, scrambling down some rocky sections, feeling my way along in the gloom. Unnecessary Mountain is marked by a wooden sign delineating the Howe Sound Crest trail continuing north and the Unnecessary trail descending to the west. I was about 4 hours into my "easy stroll" and thinking it was time to head down to the valley and catch the bus back home.

I should have had stunning views of the Lions, Howe Sound, and all the cliffs that bristle along the spine of the ridge, but instead I sat in a dank fog, ate my lunch and considered my options.

Howe Sound Crest in fog

On a previous trip to climb West Lion, we had walked up and down the trail that descends from the ridge between Unnecessary and West Lion so I knew that trail. It was steep at first, all the trails are steep, but then it had a lesser angle as it headed north to join old logging roads. However, I could remember that the logging road section was hard and stony underfoot and overall it is not a particularly scenic trail. So, I decided to head down Unnecessary trail.

There is no getting around this trail is steep, but I enjoyed it more than other trails in the area. The first part of the descent is on a spur ridge that points west. The ridge is narrow and to the south there are a series of cliffs and buttresses. Along the ridge itself there are small tarns and meadows. Walking down in fog, however, is an eerie feeling as the terrain ahead is so steep it feels as if you are about to walk off a cliff. It is too bad I have no photos of this section as it was quite impressive.

Where the spur ridge merges with the west slopes, the trail just goes straight down, and so did I. Glad of a hiking pole but also grabbing trees and branches, rocks and roots, anything to keep my descent under some kind of control. The foggy light filtered through evergreen trees was really pretty.

Unnecessary Mountain in spring

Near the bottom, when I was beginning to wonder if I would ever reach flat ground, I passed a young couple hiking up with overnight packs. They looked comparatively fresh and happy, but I couldn't help but wonder how they would feel higher up after a few hours of uphill struggle.


Eventually, I heard the noise of road equipment, saw light through the trees and emerged on a dirt road that quickly became paved. Still, it was two more kilometres to the bus stop and then another two kilometres at the other end of the bus ride. By the time I walked up the driveway, one of my knees had seized up and my feet and body were feeling battered about. So much for an "easy stroll."