Last month’s Day Tripper included Murrin Park, where the summit of Quercus Trail offers all hikers a pretty Howe Sound panorama. Climb a little higher (okay, a lot higher) up the nearby Stawamus Chief and you’ll be blown away by the view in store. While gravity-defying daredevils scale the flat face of this 700-metre granite slab, there is also the alternate route up the back side for all you trail blazers. But beware; even this escalation comes with lots of grunt work.
The initial walk-in-the-woods seems like a breeze, but don’t be fooled. Just steps after you cross the trickling Olesen Creek, your nature-created step class will begin. Strategically-spaced log treads, etched into the mountainside, soar upwards like a stairway to heaven.
You’ll soon come to a junction where there’s a fork on your footpath. Left will take you to South Peak and right veers to the Centre and North Peaks. If you’re a real adrenaline junkie, you can do all three peaks in one day. But because this involves some back-tracking, it can take up to six hours to complete. By choosing to hike just the first and second peaks, you’ll be up and back in half the time – and you’ll be treated to the same sensational view.
But before getting to this scenic apex, there’s still more work to be done, energy to expend and cross training in store. Guardrail ropes border sections of the steep-pitched pathway, ladders wedge between the crevices of mammoth-size boulders and assisting chains cling to slick granite surfaces. But eventually comes the grand finale, the visual reward for all your hard work.
The panorama expands beyond the miniscule grid of Squamish to the backdrop of distant snow-glazed peaks. In between are the sapphire waters of Howe Sound, industrial landmarks of Woodfibre and Port Mellon, and unpopulated mountain valleys. And snaking along the ocean’s edge far below is the ribbon of asphalt that got you to this trailhead, the Sea to Sky Highway.
Oh, I forgot to mention – there is a third ascending option that provides this same splendid scene. While die-hard hikers head off on the trail, the less hearty can hop aboard one of the lifts at the neighbouring Sea to Sky Gondola and receive this same heavenly overview. And from the apex you can also scout some interpretive walks, teeter your way over the Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge, discover a little zen in a yoga class and enjoy a hot bevie in the Summit Lodge Tea House. Now that’s my kind of hiking!
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