Jeff and I had planned a little backpacking trip over the Canada Day weekend. The trip is the first of many training hikes for our big hiking trip in 2019… maybe it’s a sanity check, I don’t know.
Our research pointed us to the Punch Bowl loop in Manning Park. We would ascend via Whatcom Trail and make our way down Dewdney Trail. Both of these trails were established in the mid 1800s and are classified as heritage trails.
The Dewdney Trail – and so our adventure begins
Based on limited trail reports, Whatcom Trail is challenging. It was challenging alright! Our first “reality smacks you in the face moment” was when the trail came to an abrupt end – or so you thought. There before us is the beginning of the dreaded 45 degree switchbacks. We made it through this series of switchbacks only to tackle more as we made our way up.
Whatcom Trail – this is where it gets real
This trail really gets your heart pumping. You need to be in decent shape to go on this trail, not for the couch potatoes or those with McDonalds bodies.
We were surprised to see some wildflowers this time of the year. The Whatcom Trail is mostly in the forest and whenever we reached a section where it opens up we pause for a moment, to enjoy the view and to slow down our beating hearts.
Wildflowers
Don’t know what this is..
The trail was mostly clear from snow but there were a lot of blow downs. Climbing over fallen trees is hard work with a heavy pack on our backs. Apparently this trail is not popular and does not see much use – which is truly a pity.
Going over fallen trees with a full pack is no fun… especially if you have to do it multiple times..
Creek crossing, easy does it..
We lost the trail a couple times – wayfinding gets more difficult the further away you get from civilization. The snow definitely did not help. Fortunately we have the route plan on the GPS to get us back on track.
The mini snow cave… Watch were you step..
Maybe someone wished he packed those new hiking poles…
When we reached the highest point of the trail which is the Snass pass, there was still snow on the ground and we could see Punch Bowl Lake in the distance. To our right is Snass Mountain. We had discussed the possibility of spending a night at Punch Bowl and then summitting Snass Mountain the next morning. Nah, we gave that a pass, it looked like a 45 degree climb on scree and snow…
On the Snass Pass heading towards Punch Bowl Lake
Looking back at Snass Mountain under cloud cover
Punch Bowl Lake
Looks like fun but extremely slippery. One slow step at a time..
We hiked on for a couple more kilometres to the Snass View campground. The campground was nice – a campfire ring, outhouse, picnic table and bear cache.. Such luxury in the middle of nowhere! We pitched our tent under the tree canopy and that provided extra shelter from the elements.
Our camping spot for the night
The view from our campsite. Just us and the mountains in this secluded place..
Jeff started a fire but we could not get it to a big roaring fire – just not enough dry wood around. I made dinner – it was extremely nasty. Don’t blame the chef but the ingredients. We had sampled and bought some dehydrated meals at an outdoor show we thought were not too bad. But out in the wilderness I would rate it as “I will only eat it to stay alive”. So… with the trowel in hand, the food was buried. We settled in for the night – it wasn’t too cold as we had all the cold-weather gear to stay toasty.
Dry lake. Not always dry though..
Old man beard just hanging off the trees. The photo doesn’t capture the true beauty…
The next morning we set off on the Dewdney Trail. This was supposed to be an easy and gradual downhill trail to the parking lot. Well, well, well… it would be easy in the late summer but not now as there were too many creek crossings. We reached a point where the water was too high to walk across on the rocks. Hmm, I guess this is it – we really have to take off our boots. It was early on in the hike and the last thing we want to do is to walk 10+ km in wet boots. We removed our boots, walked across barefoot in the cold water which was a tad uncomfortable. We put our boots back on and not even a minute later we came to another creek crossing! UGH!!! So we removed our boots again and this time we decided to put on our wool socks and water sandals which made the crossing more comfortable. That was a good call as we crossed the same bloody creek another 8 times and there were a few sections where the trail was covered with water above our ankles.
Umm… where did the trail go? Into the creek we go with our boots off
When the trail was no longer by the creek, we put our boots back on and hiked all the way back to the trailhead without stopping as it was a leisurely stroll in the forest. Just had to keep an eye out for the pesky bear that might be in the area from the scat and bear tracks we see along the trail
I’m not too sure about the distance travelled. According to Jeff’s watch, we climbed 287 floors and descended 92 floors over 18kms on the first day. On the second day, the descend was equivalent to 142 floors over 17kms.
As for wildife spotting, we only saw a large grouse, the biggest we have ever seen! But there were definitely more wildlife in the park – we heard the pikas by the rock slide, saw scat and tracks from cougar, bear and deer. As soon as we left the parking lot we saw 3 deers, yeah, didn’t have to hike over 30kms to see wildlife…
The Punch Bowl Loop is not popular – we did not see anyone on the trail at all. There were only 2 other cars in the parking lot when we left. This loop gives you the full meal deal when it comes to backpacking – if you’re an adventurer or crazy like us, we would definitely recommend this hike. Or you could sit back and read this crazy adventure and live vicariously through us which I know a lot of you people do! 🙂
Recent Comments