It took a lot of sleuthing to figure out the correct TCT hiking route across the North Shore. The most accurate and complete information seems to be in the Google Earth kmz file found on trailsbc.ca which I have converted to gpx format. The interactive map on the national site tctrail.ca is inaccurate and incomplete as are some of the other sources on the provincial site. The TCT continues south down Mosquito Creek bypassing the marina and eventually intersecting with the Spirit trail to the east.
NOTE: There is a variant documented on the trailsbc site which heads west to Mackay creek at 17th. This route is blocked by the Squamish Nation marina entrance at Bewicke and won't be viable until the Spirit Trail connection through the marina is completed.
The attached track is the official 2012 TCT hiking route covering West Vancouver and North Vancouver.
Comments
Thanks for the Tracks
Hi Bill, Great, thanks for the tracks. The alternate route via the Spirit Trail is as of last Sunday a dud, the Spirit Trail does not connect from the Quay to the Auto Mall. If you follow it west bound from near the Quay, you will hit a big fence and do not trespass signs. So for now, we need to follow the road in that section. From the signage at the Spirit Trail, I gather the long term plan is to connect the section with to the other side of the marina. Not sure about the MacKay section. I followed the markings down (south) on Mosquito Creek and they did not veer west to MacKay. Since this is the first year, there will be some trail finding involved...As a general rule, as much and wherever possible, we'll follow the trail opposed to the road.
traditional route
The traditional route (see TCTNorthShore.gpx) does not come down on the west side of the marina nor does it head west to Mackay Creek. It follows Mosquito Creek, crosses Marine Drive at Fell before joining 2nd St. It then follows 3rd St and Forbes Ave connecting into the Spirit trail at the foot of Mahon just east of the marina.
Yes, that is correct. Sorry,
Yes, that is correct. Sorry, if my description above was confusing. That is the route I followed (and on the return route I attempted the Spirit Trail. The route of your GPS along the Spirit Trail is a "planned" route and not yet runnable as the Spirit Trail is not yet completed. According to Wendy, there are several sections where there are several routes listed. This being year one, there will be some route finding, fine tuning and sharing involved. I really liked your GPS tracks. If you find time, it would be great to get them for the other sections as well. I'll link them from the TCT Social Club page/