Submitted by Eric Rannaud on 10 July, 2011 - 22:39.
I started at 9am from the Seabus and ran up to Cleveland Dam, then BP, keeping straight up Hollyburn. Then went down the "trail" toward Mt Strachan, the original plan being to bag all of the Cypress range today. I chickened out -- I was not looking forward climbing another steep and slippery ski slope -- and I wasn't quite sure anyway that the true Mt Strachan peak was reachable with that much snow, in Fivefingers and no ice axe. (Anybody knows how the ridge is between the South and North peak in with the snow we have now?). I ran down on the ski runs to the parking lot, up BP to Black, then all the way back to the Seabus via BP. That was quite a long run.
I would like to request a ruling from the officials: I hopped on a bus for the last 2 kilometers on Marine Dr, on the way back. The way up was entirely self-powered. -- Do I still get a Waterbag?
More on the trail between Hollyburn and Mt Strachan. This trail is marked at Hollyburn with "Danger -- Trail in poor condition". It is very steep, and still covered with lots of snow. Beyond the first sign, I couldn't find any markings. So I followed the easiest path, which took me a bit low, on the SW side. By the time I was on Mt Strachan, I had lost about 75m from the optimal route along the ridge linking Hollyburn and Mt Strachan. I'm not entirely sure this way is actually possible on hard packed snow, being particularly steep in some places, but keep to your right if you're looking for a more direct path.
If you want to go from Strachan to Hollyburn, to access the peak, you need to be close to the ridge, to the East. The top of Hollyburn is surrounded by rock escarpments on its NW side.
I will follow-up with pictures and some comments on how clean the KK run left BP -- only a couple of empty gel packets to report!
Submitted by adventuremike on 10 July, 2011 - 19:29.
Parked in Panorama parking lot (to be the finish of the Knee Knacker race) and started from ground zero. touched the ocean with both feet and headed up the BP and then the perimeter trail.
Snow started around 950m just before the cross country area. When I hit the Seymour downhill area there was almost enough snow to ski all the way down Mystery Peak chair. I reached the bottom of the chair approx 2hrs from the Deep cove. Lots snow and being a bit chilly still it was fairly hard. I was wishing I had brought my micro spikes but it wasn't too bad.
Passed Brockton point, then 1st pump, 2nd pump and now for the traverse around 2nd pump. As I said before the snow was hard and I didn't have poles, microspikes or as ice axe. I was quite nervous but very cautious making the traverse around the base of 2nd pump. One wrong move and a slip would have me sliding for a long time...
Made it through that and then started the final ascent to 3rd pump (Mt. Seymour proper) which was fun because the little exposed rock gave me a 'mini scramble' to the top (approx 3hrs total 1hr from parking lot). Black clouds were coming in fast and made me nervous about getting socked in so I only stayed long enough to get a good look at Runner peak. Which I still haven't done yet bit really want to.
The traverse around 2nd pump on the return was much easier probably because my steps were pretty well cut and I was heading slightly uphill.
Slip slided and boot skied down 2nd pump and scurried up past 1st pump and ran into the mountaineering group I met coming up. What a freak I felt like only having my shorts jacket and toque on! Said a quick hello and ran on past. Now this was a fun descent! Wahoo! got back to the parking lot from the top in about 30min (3:30 elapsed time). A little food and now down to Deep Cove.
I knew I would run into some Knee knacker finishers and was hoping to not get in the way so when i met up with Chris on the trail I was ecstatic! He was having some tough cramping so i asked him if he wanted me to run with him to Deep Cove. He said sure, so we chatted and worked out the rest of the distance. Chis and I had run together for quite a while in Diez Vista this year so it was fun to run with him.
Just as we got into Panorama park I peeled off and slipped into the crowed to say a bunch of 'hellos' which was great! I think the total trip time was 4:50 6,130 ft of climb and descent.
Put me down for Mt Fromme and Grouse Peak which I did today. Parked at the top of Skyline Drive and then approached via BP, St Georges, and Per Gynt trails. Originally missed the south trail junction and had to turn around to find it. I wanted to cross Fromme which I'd never been up before coming down the north side trail which connects with Pipeline trail but totally messed it up and ended up doing a big bush crash descent and then even heading part way up Pipeline before realizing that I was going in the totally wrong direction. Thanks to the mapping GPS for identifying the correct route but wasted a few hours in any case. Bruised my ribs on the descent after carelessly stepping on a snow bridge that collapsed. Have 30 hours to heal before the KK. Ibuprophen is my friend. Once back on Mountain Hwy I headed up to Grouse Pk for the double bag and descended back to the car via Simics and Skyline trails. Weather was overcast and wet much of the time.
Submitted by adventuremike on 7 July, 2011 - 15:03.
Hi All,
I did the mamby pamby south Lynn Peak this morning before work (start 4:34am!). I knew it wasn't the true peak but was limited for time.
If I was to go up the road to Hydraulic creek (?km marker on road) how long would it take from the start of the road to bag Lynn, then South, Middle and North needles and get back to the road?
Appreciate any help.
David,
Please mark me down for South Lynn, myself, doug Pope and Arash Dowlati did Mt. Bishop on Saturday.
Submitted by adventuremike on 8 July, 2011 - 07:15.
We were very lucky to make this trip in a very short amount of time. Let's just say we didn't have to ride, run or walk to the start of the Vicar lakes trail on the East side of Seymour river on the logging road. Typically we would ride in and then stash the bikes, but this time we just magically started from the trail head at about 7am.
Took approx 2-1/2 hrs up the Vicar lakes trail to pop out at Vicar lakes, which are completely snow covered and frozen over. Took approximately 1 hr to summit Bishop from there. Deacon and Presbeter were so close that if we had more time would have been an easy bag with the excellent snow conditions, but alas we were under time constraints!
Looking down at Elsay lake we could see that it was still about 3/4 frozen and looked like a real ice box at the cabin even on our gloriously sunny day! We had a little snack on the only exposed rock just off the peak, enjoyed a bit more sun and then headed down.
We did some major 'butt sliding' down the snow slopes with ice axe at the ready. We all wore mountaineering/hiking boots mostly for warmth as we knew we would be in snow a lot of the time. Est time down to gravel road was 2-1/2 hrs for a round trip of ~6hrs.
The quick turnaround time enabled us to have a beer in the sun and further pleased the wives as we made it home before our 2pm cut-off! I'll post pics when I get a chance.
I'm not doing the KK so good luck to all. I am however planning on doing Brunswick tomorrow so if anyone is interested drop me a note and we can hook up. Probably meet at Taylor Way church at 6:30am.
Put me down for 5 more: South Lynn, Lynn, South Needle, Middle Needle, and North Needle.
I did all 5 via an out and back trip from Hydraulic Creek. South Lynn, Lynn, and South Needle are dry and require no special equipment. The trail up Hydraulic Creek and between these summits is very well flagged and easy to follow. The trail to Middle Needle and North Needle is still under considerable snow and poorly marked. I used an ice axe and Kahtoola Micro Spikes to get up these summits. The whole trip was done ultra-light with running shoes and short running shoe gators. The gators helped keep debris out of my shoes when not on snow too. I bought the gators at North Shore Athletics and the Micro Spikes at MEC.
This was a self-propelled trip using a road bike from my home on Riverside Drive. Total door to door round trip time was 10 hours. Round trip from the trail head was about 8.5 hours. There was water available higher up from small streams coming off the snow pack as well as lower down in Hydraulic Creek.
Did a birthday bagging of Hollyburn today from/to Cypress Nordic. Snow all the way, but some patches of bare ground are appearing down below between the cross-country parking area and the Upper Warming Hut.
Put me down for Black Mtn. Bagged it yesterday as part of the Knee Knacker first half training run from Nelson Creek Park to Cleveland Dam. It was a rare clear weather day.
Will be doing it again on July 9th for no credit, just because I love running in the snow so much, ... not.
Actually, the snow is melting quickly and I expect that the lower part of the downhill area and the BP trail towards the cross country area will be clear to at least the first creek. The snow line will be somewhere around 1000m on Knee Knacker race day on the 9th.
As a newbie my goal is to do it in under 8 hours. I'm on target for this based on today's times: 2:03 Cypress, 3:46 Cleveland. My biggest challenge continues to be keeping the foot on the gas on the downhill sections. I did today's run with no water and 12 gummies and like the minimalist style. The plan is to rely totally on the aid stations on race day so I won't need to carry anything. I'll use running shoe gaiters to keep the snow out of my runners and a bandana to keep the sweat off my eyelids. The only other gear: shirt, shorts, runners, drymax socks, and the Garmin 305.
Submitted by Rick Arikado on 20 June, 2011 - 06:20.
Should have checked in here first before going out yesterday, I see now I started a few days early. Fought through the Father's Day traffic and managed to snag a parking spot at LSCR. Bagged Lynn Peak. Bit of snow remains on top with some newly fallen trees across the trail between the final view point and the true summit. Will have to go again, if I wait for more snow to melt I might bag a Needle, too.
Submitted by Ean Jackson on 20 June, 2011 - 07:16.
Yo Runrik,
Ha ha ha. Kinda like the IQ test in high school where the teacher says, "Read the instructions first" when handing out a comprehensive exam. Those who read the paper see that the last instruction is to fold up the test and hand it in without answering all of the questions for a 100% grade. Those who don't suffer through the exam for nothin' To add insult to injury, did you bag the tourist summit of Lynn or the true peak? =;-)
I have never been to the peak of the middle or north Needles. I was riding my bike on the LSCR trail the other day thinking I can't let another year go by without bagging the lot of them. Sounds like an adventure we need to share. It would also be a dandy idea to map a route, as to my knowledge, only Crerar and Conroy have laid claim to these peaks in the Bagger Challenge.
I'm getting set to try these soon from Hydraulic Creek. Next clear weather day after June 26th is going to get my attention. Let me know if anyone's interested. The plan would be to attempt it light with runners, microspikes, gators, and ice axe. A lot of snow is expected on the upper ridge. Approach to Hydraulic Creek via road bike.
Submitted by Rick Arikado on 22 June, 2011 - 06:25.
1st year BSc chem prof told everyone, wrote on board and included instruction at top of first page to READ the entire test first. Last page had note to not do three of the toughest questions.
Yes, it was the true peak I made it to, though not a true bag because of being a few days early. A large group of seniors in old style hiking boots were rather disappointed when I told them their lunch spot was not the "real" summit.
Next Sunday's KK training run will finally give you the coveted Black Mtn Bagger point after the North Shore bagging season opens on Wednesday! Conroy managed to bag Hollyburn today too! Hopefully he'll figure out the downhill to cross country section of the BP by race day. I shouldn't talk having to drop down to the road after losing the trail myself. Max elevation of the BP in that section is 1068m. One more chance to get it right before KK race day.
Submitted by David Crerar on 19 June, 2011 - 18:47.
1. We hiked up mighty Mount Gardner from the west, Bowen Bay route: shorter and steeper and more interesting (wetlands, oyster mushrooms, and viewpoints) than the usual Mt Gardner Road Route. From Ferry, W on Grafton/Adams Road; N on Bowen Bay Road; E on Westside Road; N on Laura Road.
2. The Bowen Chamber of Commerce has issued an amazing new Bowen Island Map, with roads, trails and contour lines. Free on ferry, in the brochure panel.
as part of today's Kneeknacker training run (first 3/4). although I'm a bit sad that I can only claim Black once, as today's bag is actually the fourth time that I've been up onto the peak - I managed to get up there 3 times in May during Vancouver 100 "training" (read: run wherever Craig runs, and like it!)...
and since I'm going up Black again this weekend for the Kneeknacker training run (first half only) I will finally, finally be able to get my coveted single point for a total of FIVE trips up since May 15 - six if you look ahead and count race day.
I expect to encounter only slightly less than the shit-ton of snow that was up there last weekend.
I bagged Gardner, Collins, and Apodaca on Sunday June 5th, a beatiful sunny day. There was no time for water bagging. I parked at Caulfield and rode my mountain bike onto the 6AM (first) ferry to Bowen. After the epic writeups about Apodaca, I wanted to make the most of the daylight. As it turns out, weather is a key factor in enjoying your bagging experiences and these peaks are a pleasant mix of trails and open bush walks. I did a loop over Gardner from the South summit to the North, then cycled over to the east side of Collins, saving Apodaca for last. I managed to get back to the ferry by 3:30pm and arrived at the Vancouver 100 wrapup party at the Mosquito grill in time for dinner. The approach roads of Apodaca and Collins masquerade as driveways but are actually access roads to water reservoirs higher up. I'll provide more details including gpx tracks and photos in my full report. This trip is quite do-able as a self propelled cycle trip from home for most North Shore residents.
I've already been scoping Gambier. It looks quite feasible to do the 3 peaks in a day. My main concern would be missing the last ferry. The trick might be to bring some lightweight fastpack gear over and dump it somewhere near the start. If it was too late to catch the last ferry we'd just camp and catch the first one the next morning.
It looks like the first ferry to Langdale leaves Horseshoe Bay at 7:20 and the next available Gambier ferry leaves Langdale at 8:10. The last ferry leaves Gambier at 18:50 connecting with the 20:45 sailing to Horseshoe Bay.
Is it worth taking mountain bikes, even just to avoid the Horseshoe Bay parking problems? Could they be used on the inter-island connector trail?
Anyone interested in doing this before June 22? I'd want to do it on a day with a good forecast. My schedule is flexible.
Michael Wardas, Rune Melcher and I snow-bagged Black Mountain today. So did BaggerMeisters Crerar and Legg and several others who participated in the Vancouver 100. Dang... too bad open season doesn't start until 22 June!
Submitted by David Crerar on 17 May, 2011 - 15:19.
After a grisly but survivable test-drive by bagger guinea pigs Jackson, Conroy & Crerar, we've added one new peak: Mt Apodaca, on Bowen Island.
Access via trails running east from where Salal Road meets Cowan Point Road North, off Grafton Road. Then follow contour lines to peak.
Nasty and gnarly blowdown throughout, with no trail to speak of, and no views from peak. A bushwhack for people who do not love themselves. Don't even think of doing this without a GPS and compass and contour map.
Please see my trip report. This little adventure was so much fun, I intend to make a movie of it for the Fat Ass Festival. I'm sure there is a better route to the "peak" than ours, so please share it if you find it!
Claudia, Eileen and Sibylle bagged Mount Gardner today. We decided on the scenic and meandering South Trail up and took a few detours and less travelled side trails off the North Trail on the way down...Enough little detours to miss the 12:30 return ferry, but the sunny stop over in Snug Cove was just fine with us.
Submitted by neil ambrose on 22 April, 2011 - 20:15.
What a great way to spend Good Friday!
Neil and I took our bikes to Bowen Island and bagged Mt. Collins and Mt. Gardner. No other humans on the trail to Mt. Collins but a few people at the top of Mt.Gardner enjoying the warm sunshine.
What a spectacular day to start the 2011 Bagger Challenge!
Submitted by neil ambrose on 19 April, 2011 - 21:56.
Hey Fellow Bagger Champion...you left the banquet with my Quaich. We decided to wait and see how long it would take you to notice. I tried to provide you with hints along the way such as "are you enjoying a wee dram from your quaich".
HA HA HA!
I've enjoyed the Champion Quaich. We should plan a ceremonial exchange!
Submitted by Ean Jackson on 19 April, 2011 - 10:58.
I was referring a friend to the Bagger's Home page just now and noticed that the Pippa quaich, which I have been drinking from daily since it came into my possesion last October, is intended for the most prolific baguette of 2010. Oops. Gotta be a story there somewhere...
Submitted by Ean Jackson on 19 April, 2011 - 13:38.
I recall we were celebrating with quaich-fulls of Talisker, not glasses. I was looking for a conversion table between quaichs and imperial gallons, but have not found one. Methinks it's four quaichs to the barrel.
Submitted by Ean Jackson on 19 April, 2011 - 14:01.
"don't you remember, Ean left having taken the wrong one, and the Ambroses decided to wait to see how long it would take him to notice. I guess the answer is: half a year..."
Submitted by Ean Jackson on 19 April, 2011 - 13:42.
I suspect that whoever bagged this bad boy on 11 April will soon be whining about the start date of the 2011 North Shore Bagger Challenge as it relates to the higher peaks!
Submitted by David Crerar on 6 April, 2011 - 15:25.
I've never taken the water taxi to Gambier, but Cormorant Marine can quote you a price. http://www.cormorantwatertaxi.com/ My understanding based on an enquiry about three years ago is that it will be expensive if you commission your own trip, but you can get a decent price if you time your trip when Cormorant is shuttling people to the camp, which they frequently do.
Comments
Baggin
Black Bag
About time I get back to bagging... I claim Black Mountain! (Ascent made during the 2011 KneeKnackering North Shore Trail Run.)
Waterbag; Hollyburn and Black
I started at 9am from the Seabus and ran up to Cleveland Dam, then BP, keeping straight up Hollyburn. Then went down the "trail" toward Mt Strachan, the original plan being to bag all of the Cypress range today. I chickened out -- I was not looking forward climbing another steep and slippery ski slope -- and I wasn't quite sure anyway that the true Mt Strachan peak was reachable with that much snow, in Fivefingers and no ice axe. (Anybody knows how the ridge is between the South and North peak in with the snow we have now?). I ran down on the ski runs to the parking lot, up BP to Black, then all the way back to the Seabus via BP. That was quite a long run.
I would like to request a ruling from the officials: I hopped on a bus for the last 2 kilometers on Marine Dr, on the way back. The way up was entirely self-powered. -- Do I still get a Waterbag?
More on the trail between Hollyburn and Mt Strachan. This trail is marked at Hollyburn with "Danger -- Trail in poor condition". It is very steep, and still covered with lots of snow. Beyond the first sign, I couldn't find any markings. So I followed the easiest path, which took me a bit low, on the SW side. By the time I was on Mt Strachan, I had lost about 75m from the optimal route along the ridge linking Hollyburn and Mt Strachan. I'm not entirely sure this way is actually possible on hard packed snow, being particularly steep in some places, but keep to your right if you're looking for a more direct path.
If you want to go from Strachan to Hollyburn, to access the peak, you need to be close to the ridge, to the East. The top of Hollyburn is surrounded by rock escarpments on its NW side.
I will follow-up with pictures and some comments on how clean the KK run left BP -- only a couple of empty gel packets to report!
Waterbag it is
For a waterbag, you only need to be self-propelled to the water in one direction.
Good call on passing on Strachan!
Water bag for Mt.Seymour!
Parked in Panorama parking lot (to be the finish of the Knee Knacker race) and started from ground zero. touched the ocean with both feet and headed up the BP and then the perimeter trail.
Snow started around 950m just before the cross country area. When I hit the Seymour downhill area there was almost enough snow to ski all the way down Mystery Peak chair. I reached the bottom of the chair approx 2hrs from the Deep cove. Lots snow and being a bit chilly still it was fairly hard. I was wishing I had brought my micro spikes but it wasn't too bad.
Passed Brockton point, then 1st pump, 2nd pump and now for the traverse around 2nd pump. As I said before the snow was hard and I didn't have poles, microspikes or as ice axe. I was quite nervous but very cautious making the traverse around the base of 2nd pump. One wrong move and a slip would have me sliding for a long time...
Made it through that and then started the final ascent to 3rd pump (Mt. Seymour proper) which was fun because the little exposed rock gave me a 'mini scramble' to the top (approx 3hrs total 1hr from parking lot). Black clouds were coming in fast and made me nervous about getting socked in so I only stayed long enough to get a good look at Runner peak. Which I still haven't done yet bit really want to.
The traverse around 2nd pump on the return was much easier probably because my steps were pretty well cut and I was heading slightly uphill.
Slip slided and boot skied down 2nd pump and scurried up past 1st pump and ran into the mountaineering group I met coming up. What a freak I felt like only having my shorts jacket and toque on! Said a quick hello and ran on past. Now this was a fun descent! Wahoo! got back to the parking lot from the top in about 30min (3:30 elapsed time). A little food and now down to Deep Cove.
I knew I would run into some Knee knacker finishers and was hoping to not get in the way so when i met up with Chris on the trail I was ecstatic! He was having some tough cramping so i asked him if he wanted me to run with him to Deep Cove. He said sure, so we chatted and worked out the rest of the distance. Chis and I had run together for quite a while in Diez Vista this year so it was fun to run with him.
Just as we got into Panorama park I peeled off and slipped into the crowed to say a bunch of 'hellos' which was great! I think the total trip time was 4:50 6,130 ft of climb and descent.
Cheers,
Mike
Fromme and Grouse Peak
Put me down for Mt Fromme and Grouse Peak which I did today. Parked at the top of Skyline Drive and then approached via BP, St Georges, and Per Gynt trails. Originally missed the south trail junction and had to turn around to find it. I wanted to cross Fromme which I'd never been up before coming down the north side trail which connects with Pipeline trail but totally messed it up and ended up doing a big bush crash descent and then even heading part way up Pipeline before realizing that I was going in the totally wrong direction. Thanks to the mapping GPS for identifying the correct route but wasted a few hours in any case. Bruised my ribs on the descent after carelessly stepping on a snow bridge that collapsed. Have 30 hours to heal before the KK. Ibuprophen is my friend. Once back on Mountain Hwy I headed up to Grouse Pk for the double bag and descended back to the car via Simics and Skyline trails. Weather was overcast and wet much of the time.
The complete track is here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/97605218
Grouse resort has cleared Mountain Hwy and the road to the top of peak.
Hi All, I did the mamby pamby
Hi All,
I did the mamby pamby south Lynn Peak this morning before work (start 4:34am!). I knew it wasn't the true peak but was limited for time.
If I was to go up the road to Hydraulic creek (?km marker on road) how long would it take from the start of the road to bag Lynn, then South, Middle and North needles and get back to the road?
Appreciate any help.
David,
Please mark me down for South Lynn, myself, doug Pope and Arash Dowlati did Mt. Bishop on Saturday.
Cheers, Mike.
Bishop?
What were the conditions like on Bishop? What approach did you use?
Mt. Bishop - details!
We were very lucky to make this trip in a very short amount of time. Let's just say we didn't have to ride, run or walk to the start of the Vicar lakes trail on the East side of Seymour river on the logging road. Typically we would ride in and then stash the bikes, but this time we just magically started from the trail head at about 7am.
Took approx 2-1/2 hrs up the Vicar lakes trail to pop out at Vicar lakes, which are completely snow covered and frozen over. Took approximately 1 hr to summit Bishop from there. Deacon and Presbeter were so close that if we had more time would have been an easy bag with the excellent snow conditions, but alas we were under time constraints!
Looking down at Elsay lake we could see that it was still about 3/4 frozen and looked like a real ice box at the cabin even on our gloriously sunny day! We had a little snack on the only exposed rock just off the peak, enjoyed a bit more sun and then headed down.
We did some major 'butt sliding' down the snow slopes with ice axe at the ready. We all wore mountaineering/hiking boots mostly for warmth as we knew we would be in snow a lot of the time. Est time down to gravel road was 2-1/2 hrs for a round trip of ~6hrs.
The quick turnaround time enabled us to have a beer in the sun and further pleased the wives as we made it home before our 2pm cut-off! I'll post pics when I get a chance.
I'm not doing the KK so good luck to all. I am however planning on doing Brunswick tomorrow so if anyone is interested drop me a note and we can hook up. Probably meet at Taylor Way church at 6:30am.
Cheers,
Mike
Quintuple bag of Lynn Peaks and Needles today
Put me down for 5 more: South Lynn, Lynn, South Needle, Middle Needle, and North Needle.
I did all 5 via an out and back trip from Hydraulic Creek. South Lynn, Lynn, and South Needle are dry and require no special equipment. The trail up Hydraulic Creek and between these summits is very well flagged and easy to follow. The trail to Middle Needle and North Needle is still under considerable snow and poorly marked. I used an ice axe and Kahtoola Micro Spikes to get up these summits. The whole trip was done ultra-light with running shoes and short running shoe gators. The gators helped keep debris out of my shoes when not on snow too. I bought the gators at North Shore Athletics and the Micro Spikes at MEC.
This was a self-propelled trip using a road bike from my home on Riverside Drive. Total door to door round trip time was 10 hours. Round trip from the trail head was about 8.5 hours. There was water available higher up from small streams coming off the snow pack as well as lower down in Hydraulic Creek.
More details and photos to follow.
track
The track of the trip is here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/97161488
Holy crap, Bill...
way to go! I can't wait to see your pix and hear about the conditions. Can I buy you a beer on Sunday?
First sweep of the season: wow!
.
NOTE: NEW PEAK ADDED
Old LYN is now SLY.
New LYN is true Lynn Peak.
Thus two peaks: South Lynn (just past traditional Lynn Peak viewpoint) and Lynn Peak proper (about 1.5k beyond that, on Needles trail).
For anyone who has done the Needles, you may have noticed an extra 'bump' between Lynn and the South Needle. That is true Lynn Peak.
Happy bagging.
Hollyburn
Did a birthday bagging of Hollyburn today from/to Cypress Nordic. Snow all the way, but some patches of bare ground are appearing down below between the cross-country parking area and the Upper Warming Hut.
Black Mountain
Put me down for Black Mtn. Bagged it yesterday as part of the Knee Knacker first half training run from Nelson Creek Park to Cleveland Dam. It was a rare clear weather day.
Photos by Bill Dagg are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billdagg/sets/72157627054688918/
My Garmin track and activity log is here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/95206711
Will be doing it again on July 9th for no credit, just because I love running in the snow so much, ... not.
Actually, the snow is melting quickly and I expect that the lower part of the downhill area and the BP trail towards the cross country area will be clear to at least the first creek. The snow line will be somewhere around 1000m on Knee Knacker race day on the 9th.
As a newbie my goal is to do it in under 8 hours. I'm on target for this based on today's times: 2:03 Cypress, 3:46 Cleveland. My biggest challenge continues to be keeping the foot on the gas on the downhill sections. I did today's run with no water and 12 gummies and like the minimalist style. The plan is to rely totally on the aid stations on race day so I won't need to carry anything. I'll use running shoe gaiters to keep the snow out of my runners and a bandana to keep the sweat off my eyelids. The only other gear: shirt, shorts, runners, drymax socks, and the Garmin 305.
Starting foul
Should have checked in here first before going out yesterday, I see now I started a few days early. Fought through the Father's Day traffic and managed to snag a parking spot at LSCR. Bagged Lynn Peak. Bit of snow remains on top with some newly fallen trees across the trail between the final view point and the true summit. Will have to go again, if I wait for more snow to melt I might bag a Needle, too.
Needles
Yo Runrik,
Ha ha ha. Kinda like the IQ test in high school where the teacher says, "Read the instructions first" when handing out a comprehensive exam. Those who read the paper see that the last instruction is to fold up the test and hand it in without answering all of the questions for a 100% grade. Those who don't suffer through the exam for nothin' To add insult to injury, did you bag the tourist summit of Lynn or the true peak? =;-)
I have never been to the peak of the middle or north Needles. I was riding my bike on the LSCR trail the other day thinking I can't let another year go by without bagging the lot of them. Sounds like an adventure we need to share. It would also be a dandy idea to map a route, as to my knowledge, only Crerar and Conroy have laid claim to these peaks in the Bagger Challenge.
Lynn and Needle Peaks
I'm getting set to try these soon from Hydraulic Creek. Next clear weather day after June 26th is going to get my attention. Let me know if anyone's interested. The plan would be to attempt it light with runners, microspikes, gators, and ice axe. A lot of snow is expected on the upper ridge. Approach to Hydraulic Creek via road bike.
More detailed info can be found here:
http://clubfatass.com/blog/billm/lynn-and-needle-peaks
I propose adding "South Lynn Peak" to the Bagger list as identifed in my blog article.
Bill
Had that prof
1st year BSc chem prof told everyone, wrote on board and included instruction at top of first page to READ the entire test first. Last page had note to not do three of the toughest questions.
Yes, it was the true peak I made it to, though not a true bag because of being a few days early. A large group of seniors in old style hiking boots were rather disappointed when I told them their lunch spot was not the "real" summit.
Middle and North Needles are the awesomest peaks ever
Here is a picture of the North Needle peak from the last trip up there.
You must visit them soon.
Watch out for the hidden drop in the descent down to the shoulder between the two peaks.
Runrik: The weather on Tuesday June 21st is supposed to be good: perfect for an ascent.
Bagging Black Mtn
Next Sunday's KK training run will finally give you the coveted Black Mtn Bagger point after the North Shore bagging season opens on Wednesday! Conroy managed to bag Hollyburn today too! Hopefully he'll figure out the downhill to cross country section of the BP by race day. I shouldn't talk having to drop down to the road after losing the trail myself. Max elevation of the BP in that section is 1068m. One more chance to get it right before KK race day.
:-)
Father's Day on Gardner
1. We hiked up mighty Mount Gardner from the west, Bowen Bay route: shorter and steeper and more interesting (wetlands, oyster mushrooms, and viewpoints) than the usual Mt Gardner Road Route. From Ferry, W on Grafton/Adams Road; N on Bowen Bay Road; E on Westside Road; N on Laura Road.
2. The Bowen Chamber of Commerce has issued an amazing new Bowen Island Map, with roads, trails and contour lines. Free on ferry, in the brochure panel.
Black for me too!
as part of today's Kneeknacker training run (first 3/4). although I'm a bit sad that I can only claim Black once, as today's bag is actually the fourth time that I've been up onto the peak - I managed to get up there 3 times in May during Vancouver 100 "training" (read: run wherever Craig runs, and like it!)...
I have now read ALL the instructions...
and since I'm going up Black again this weekend for the Kneeknacker training run (first half only) I will finally, finally be able to get my coveted single point for a total of FIVE trips up since May 15 - six if you look ahead and count race day.
I expect to encounter only slightly less than the shit-ton of snow that was up there last weekend.
Triple Bag on Bowen
I bagged Gardner, Collins, and Apodaca on Sunday June 5th, a beatiful sunny day. There was no time for water bagging. I parked at Caulfield and rode my mountain bike onto the 6AM (first) ferry to Bowen. After the epic writeups about Apodaca, I wanted to make the most of the daylight. As it turns out, weather is a key factor in enjoying your bagging experiences and these peaks are a pleasant mix of trails and open bush walks. I did a loop over Gardner from the South summit to the North, then cycled over to the east side of Collins, saving Apodaca for last. I managed to get back to the ferry by 3:30pm and arrived at the Vancouver 100 wrapup party at the Mosquito grill in time for dinner. The approach roads of Apodaca and Collins masquerade as driveways but are actually access roads to water reservoirs higher up. I'll provide more details including gpx tracks and photos in my full report. This trip is quite do-able as a self propelled cycle trip from home for most North Shore residents.
Masochist!
The Bowen full-bag is only bested by the misery of the Gambier full-bag.
And we have a new leader on the Bagging Board.
And it does look like you can claim a water bag: any self-propelled bag counts: bike or foot.
Welcome to the Challenge.
Gambier
That's good news that they counts as water bags.
I've already been scoping Gambier. It looks quite feasible to do the 3 peaks in a day. My main concern would be missing the last ferry. The trick might be to bring some lightweight fastpack gear over and dump it somewhere near the start. If it was too late to catch the last ferry we'd just camp and catch the first one the next morning.
It looks like the first ferry to Langdale leaves Horseshoe Bay at 7:20 and the next available Gambier ferry leaves Langdale at 8:10. The last ferry leaves Gambier at 18:50 connecting with the 20:45 sailing to Horseshoe Bay.
Is it worth taking mountain bikes, even just to avoid the Horseshoe Bay parking problems? Could they be used on the inter-island connector trail?
Anyone interested in doing this before June 22? I'd want to do it on a day with a good forecast. My schedule is flexible.
Warm-up Bag of Black
Michael Wardas, Rune Melcher and I snow-bagged Black Mountain today. So did BaggerMeisters Crerar and Legg and several others who participated in the Vancouver 100. Dang... too bad open season doesn't start until 22 June!
New peak: Mt Apodaca, on Bowen Island
After a grisly but survivable test-drive by bagger guinea pigs Jackson, Conroy & Crerar, we've added one new peak: Mt Apodaca, on Bowen Island.
Access via trails running east from where Salal Road meets Cowan Point Road North, off Grafton Road. Then follow contour lines to peak.
Nasty and gnarly blowdown throughout, with no trail to speak of, and no views from peak. A bushwhack for people who do not love themselves. Don't even think of doing this without a GPS and compass and contour map.
Some photos and a bit more detail on the Apodaca adventure...
Please see my trip report. This little adventure was so much fun, I intend to make a movie of it for the Fat Ass Festival. I'm sure there is a better route to the "peak" than ours, so please share it if you find it!
Glorious Sunny Gardner
Claudia, Eileen and Sibylle bagged Mount Gardner today. We decided on the scenic and meandering South Trail up and took a few detours and less travelled side trails off the North Trail on the way down...Enough little detours to miss the 12:30 return ferry, but the sunny stop over in Snug Cove was just fine with us.
Kicking off the 2011 Bagging Season!
What a great way to spend Good Friday!
Neil and I took our bikes to Bowen Island and bagged Mt. Collins and Mt. Gardner. No other humans on the trail to Mt. Collins but a few people at the top of Mt.Gardner enjoying the warm sunshine.
What a spectacular day to start the 2011 Bagger Challenge!
Cheers,
Carolyn
So it took you 6 months!!
Hey Fellow Bagger Champion...you left the banquet with my Quaich. We decided to wait and see how long it would take you to notice. I tried to provide you with hints along the way such as "are you enjoying a wee dram from your quaich".
HA HA HA!
I've enjoyed the Champion Quaich. We should plan a ceremonial exchange!
Cheers! Carolyn
The Quaich
I was referring a friend to the Bagger's Home page just now and noticed that the Pippa quaich, which I have been drinking from daily since it came into my possesion last October, is intended for the most prolific baguette of 2010. Oops. Gotta be a story there somewhere...
Misquaiches will happen
does Carolyn have your Munro Quaich, then?
How we could have handed out the wrong quaich after only four glasses of Talisker is beyond me...
Answer #2
I recall we were celebrating with quaich-fulls of Talisker, not glasses. I was looking for a conversion table between quaichs and imperial gallons, but have not found one. Methinks it's four quaichs to the barrel.
Answer #1
Ask your wife.
April Fool
"don't you remember, Ean left having taken the wrong one, and the Ambroses decided to wait to see how long it would take him to notice. I guess the answer is: half a year..."
I guess that this must mean
that Carolyn won the Munro Quaich for 2010?
Felicitations!
Addicted to Baggery
For those who cannot get enough Peak Bagging, and/or have an interest in international bagging, scope out this newish website: Peakery.
Fat Ass Peak
I suspect that whoever bagged this bad boy on 11 April will soon be whining about the start date of the 2011 North Shore Bagger Challenge as it relates to the higher peaks!
the website appears to define "bagging"
by the date the baggage is claimed, not the date the peak is climbed.
OK: let's post Bagger Banter here
CFA Den Mother Sibylle wants us to, and who are we to disagree?
Spring is here. Let the bagging and banter begin.
DAC
Gambier water taxi
I've never taken the water taxi to Gambier, but Cormorant Marine can quote you a price. http://www.cormorantwatertaxi.com/ My understanding based on an enquiry about three years ago is that it will be expensive if you commission your own trip, but you can get a decent price if you time your trip when Cormorant is shuttling people to the camp, which they frequently do.
If you get an answer, please post it!
Happy bagging!
DAC