Category: Mt Elphinstone

Langdale Trail – Feb 1, 2011

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Welcome to February and welcome to more sunshine! I watched my first sunrise in a while today…now just before 8am. Not a cloud in the sky and a warm orange glow building above the Coast Mountains. I quickly decided a hike was in order today.


I decided to try the trail above Langdale…our street ends and the trail heads off into the forest. This tree is amazing. It has to be hundreds of years old. For comparison, the tree on the left is 2-3 feet in diameter. The dark patch in the center is like a small cave that I can completely sit inside. I just can’t imagine what this area looked like just 125 years ago before European settlers started logging.

I haven’t hiked this trail for a few months. With all the rain we’ve had lately, the upper part of the trail has become a stream. Nevertheless, I was inspired by the great weather so I hiked all the way to the powerlines. This was a first for me. Roundtrip was 2 hours and a good workout. Not steep, but enough to get the heart pumping. It was fun to see how the water works its way around all the rocks, branches and leaves…constantly flowing…constantly searching for the ocean.

I’ll be back, but maybe later this spring when the trail is dry.

Langdale Falls – Jan 26, 2011

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Today was absolutely beautiful with sunny skies that demanded I go outside. We’ve had a bit of rain and gray the past few days, so the sun is always refreshing.

I decided to hike on Mt. Elphinstone again. Lucky for me, I ran into my good friend Tony at the trailhead. He was excited to have a hiking buddy, and I was looking forward to what he would teach me about the forest. So we headed in for my first (of I’m sure will be many) trip to Langdale Falls.

I’ve seen the sign before, but had been told there were some steep sections on the way. Follow the pink and blue trail symbols and they lead you right to the waterfall.

This is a very good time of year to visit. We have had 200mm of rain this month and temps are warm this week so there is snowmelt feeding the streams as well. It is about a 40 minute hike in to the falls. Not too hard, but there are some good climbs and some narrow paths where you really don’t want to fall.

The waterfall is impressive. You can hear it well before you arrive. It must be at least a 50m drop. Tony says it is a great place for a swim & shower in the summer. Great to cool off after a day’s hike.

The forest on Mt Elphinstone is amazing. Tony taught me to identify a Douglas fir, a red cedar, and a hemlock. Having grown up in the prairies, I don’t know my west coast trees. He also pointed out salmonberry and different kinds of ferns. The ecosystem is amazing and I hope to learn much more on many more walks through the forest. All this within 2km of my house.

Hiking on Mt Elphinstone – Jan 2, 2011

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A bright sunny wintery day is the perfect time to explore the forest. This is one of the lower trails on Mt Elphinstone, which is the dominating landscape feature as you arrive on the Langdale ferry from West Vancouver. Lucky for me, the trailheads are only 2km from Arcturus Retreat B&B.

Most of these lower trails are built by avid mountain bikers and neighbor Sprockids Mountain Bike Park. It’s not an official park, so signage isn’t much more than a few reflectors and an occasional arrow for riders.

Nevertheless, there are some amazing trees in this forest. Note the vibrant colour on this tree…like none of its neighbours. That is Stan in front to show you just how large this tree is. So happy to have Stan join me for this hike! I don’t know this area well enough yet to head in alone.
A tree with character like this just makes you wonder at what it has been witness to over the years. It has clearly seen all of the 20th century and I wonder how much more. This forest was logged in the early 1900’s when Europeans first arrived. Port Mellon is only 10km away and was home to the first paper mill in the area.
We came across a trail called “Technical Ecstacy” which we just had to follow. Clearly a mountain bikers dream…lots of cutbacks, bridges, jumps, ramps, twists and turns. It is an easy walk, but you need to pay attention as this was clearly not built with the hiker in mind. A rider could come up quickly and definitely deserves the right of way.

It is hard to see in this picture, but you can see out to the Georgia Straight. It can be a bit dark in the forest, but light flows in at the top of the trees and is really quite a view when you come to an opening.
After travelling over the Christmas holiday, I am very aware of how green the forest is here. Other parts of North America are so brown this time of year with every plant in hibernation waiting for spring. Here on the Sunshine Coast, we are very luck to have green life everywhere all year long. Not only the trees, but the ferns and groundcover and moss all bring life to the forest floor.

BC Bike Race – July 1, 2010

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Happy Canada Day!
In true Canadian spirit, we went out and supported the 500 riders competing in the BC Bike Race. This is a 7 day mountain bike trek from Vancouver to Vancouver Island across to the Sunshine Coast and over to Squamish & Whistler.
This is the 4th year for the race. Best part for me is that it literally races down our street! There is a trailhead at the end of our street that I have always enjoyed hiking. This trail connects into Sprockids Mountain Bike Park and over the mountain to the reputable Roberts Creek trails.
Thus, the last segment of the day’s ride is the decent down our trail and onto our street for a mad dash to the ferry and the finish line.
Riders cover a very wide spectrum. We’ve had Olympians and world champions. We have riders from many countries. We have men & women of all ages. There is a 60+ riding this year and there is a 15 yr old. It is hard to tell in this photo, but the guy in the center is a unicyclist! Can you imagine riding mountain bike trails…40km/day…on a unicycle?

They were muddy and wet today after a bit of rain last night…but the riders loved it. “Best trails I’ve ever ridden,” said one of the racers we talked to. The heart of the group took 5 hours to ride today’s course….and this was his quote.

I have a lot of respect for the race organizers. They have traffic control, trail markings, a bike shower, food at the finish line, first aid stations along the route, camping tent city every night, 24 hour repair crews to keep the bikes in top shape, and on-site massage teams to keep the riders in shape.
Very cool. Can’t wait to see you again next year! For more information on great Sunshine Coast mountain biking, visit www.sunshinecoastcanada.com/visit/activities/biking.php or www.bcbikerace.com.