TRIP REPORT: Howe Sound Crest Trail Epic - Porteau Cove to Cypress

So I finally got around to writing a report for my first oh so well attended CFA event.  We had a very select crew of 2 "run" the 37 or so kilometers of the HSCT.

Everyone finished at the same time and got a time of just under 9 hours (accuracy has never been one of my fortes).

Okay, but in all seriousness.  The team of 4 quickly got cut down to 2 the night before.  So Carolyn and I got up to Porteau Rd. around 8am and quickly started our run / hike.  Excited for the 2500m or so of climbing to come.  Carolyn, being a veteran of this run from the year before was more than stoked on the increase in uphill by reversing the direction. (we ran right to left on the profile below)

The first section had a few run-able bits of single track that would last for about 100m or so, then there was some logging roads, then a bit more uphill.  It took us just over an hour to reach the beautiful Deeks Lake, which was still in shadow thanks to the towering mountains around it.

We ran around the W side of the lake on the nice trail, which was still awesomely run-able.

Carolyn running beside Deeks Lake:

After some fun creek crossings that escaped Carolyn's memory from the year before, we arrived at the Brunswick lake and got our first taste of snow up to the W shoulder of Brunswick.  Brunswick lake was more full of water than it normally is, so we had to wade through the icy cold water for 10m.  Carolyn tromped through with her shoes, claiming that her shoes would dry quickly, and me, being the dainty princess I am, took my shoes off and tip-toed through the water.  This would not matter later though, since my feet were obviously going to get wet.  Luckily  I had "speed holes" in my shoes in speed up the drying process.

Just as we got up to the shoulder of the trail we encountered a friendly Black Bear, who huffed and puffed but didn't manage to blow Carolyn off the icy snow slope.

We went around the South side of Brunswick and "ran" over the snow covering Magnesia Meadows, and took a quick "lunch" break at the emergency shelter.  Once over the E shoulder of Harvey we got a good view of the trail to come... which seemed to have a decent amount more snow than I'd hoped for.

We pushed our way through bushes on the overgrown trail:

And descended to a cool hanging lake.  Where we went back up again.  Oh ya.  This is where the relentless up and down and up and down and up and down starts.  We quickly got to the North side of the Lions and had a wicked view of Baker (Obviously this trip was before the apocalyptic haze that is now shrouding Vancouver and most of BC). Carolyn approaching the Lions from the North:

On the South side of the Lions we started running onto the Lions Tourist Gongshow  hiking trail and entertained ourselves by giving lots of people really bad Beta on the trail North of the lions and also how to climb it.  Carolyn said something like this to 3 shirtless dude hikers, "ya, don't worry, West Lion is really easy.  It's like low class 3 on really good rock, but kinda exposed.  WAY better than the East Lion which has no real good belays."  Luckily I'm fairly certain nobody fell to their death that day. 

Nearing the Cypress resort we finally got some sustained downhill, then with 4km to go, we got on a *gasp* gravel trail.  This made the last bit go really quickly until I got some wicked hamstring cramp and had to stand still for a few minutes and let Carolyn run ahead and find us cold beer cans so I could... ice my hamstring.  Unfortunately Carolyn did not find ice cold beer, but luckily my hamstring was fine and was just being a pain due to me running out of water.

We got into the Cypress parking lot just a few minutes before 5pm.  Where we waited to get picked up.

Sweet run Carolyn! Thanks for the good company and forcing me to go faster on the downhills.