St.Marks Summit – Cypress Mountain
On my return to British Columbia following a month away in the UK, Florida and Malta (a long long month) I decided to try and hike every weekend. The first of these hikes was with Navid and the lovely Olive. Wanting to make a statement, I’m BACK I decided to hit a bucket list item in St. Marks Summit.
Navid and I left early on Sunday with an aim to avoid the cluster of people at the top. This is NO Quarry Rock and the snow cover (which had not abated) meant that numbers would still be low but still, there is nothing like being stuck behind slower hikers in tigher tricky sections.
St. Marks summit is part of the Cypress Mountain range (for more hikey info see the link here). The car was parked at the Cypress ski resort car park (fun fact, Cypress was the principle ski area for the 2010 Winter Olympics) and we began the hike up. The ascent was close to 6km and was challenging both on the legs and the balance. Luckily Navid brought his crampons to assist in the icy areas. We saw people wearing trainers on the way down and I would not like to by trying to traverse some of the steep snowy sections.
After a month off, and a gym workout focusing on legs on Saturday the ascent was tough on me. I drank my water far too quick and didnt bring enough snacks to keep me going. Still, we managed to get to the top in about 1hr 45 (would be closer to 1hr 20 in non-snowy, fit Dale conditions).
The view is definitely worth the effort. AMAZING. Probably one of the best views within 1hr of Vancouver. Unparalleled views of Howe Sound, Bowen Island and Vancouver Island in the distance… dreamy (some pictures at the bottom).
The hike down was equally as iffy but crampons made any descent manageable (even though I was skating in my hiking boots). And after 4 hours total we arrived back at the car. On the way home we stopped off at the BIGGEST rip of Nandos of all time (Barcelos) and had half a chicken (very-peri) and peri fries… Nom Nom.
Edit: unfortunately this hike, not fastening my boots tightly enough and getting my socks wet has messed my feet up. 2 massive blisters… owwweee
