Today we are announcing the advent of "Dog Hikes." Yes, for the first time in 70 years, bowser can now come along on a North Shore Hiker's designated "Dog Hike".
Let's paws to find out how this will work.
Hike leaders can choose whether or not they will accept dogs on their hike. Let your hike planner know if your hike is a "Dog Hike" when you submit a trip you will lead. The hike will show up on the schedule as a "Dog Hike." This does not mean people have to bring a dog. Duh. It signals that you can. Also for people who don't like dogs on hikes, they know to perhaps give that trip a miss.
For people who want to bring a dog, please tell the leader. There may be too many people and or dogs on a trip so it is up to the leader to decide how many to accept. This has always been true for hikers. Now it extends to our four-legged friends. Guests are also able to bring dogs along so long as the leader is okay with that.
On the trail, it is up to the dog owner to ensure the safety of their pooch and of all hikers as related to their dog.
Monday, June 27, 7:00 p.m. Sunrise Community Hall, 1950 Windermere St, Vancouver
More Info
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Free Parking is available on the streets nearby.
Bring your own mug for tea or coffee
Individually wrapped snacks and canned pop/juice will be available for all to enjoy.
Program
7:00 - 7:45 Kimberley Burge,
from AdventureSmart BC will present "Survive Outside"
Trip Planning - making a plan and leaving a trip plan. Training - physical, certification-based, mentorship, mental strength, decision making. Taking the Essentials - basic safety items, plus adding season and sport-specific gear. What to do in an emergency - who to call for help, when to call for help, how to call for help, no charge for rescue, the S.T.O.P. analogy and signalling S.O.S.
7:45 - 8:15 Refreshment break
Short quiz to win the book “ DEEP SURVIVAL: Who Lives, Who Dies And Why” by Laurence Gonzales
If at all possible, please try to carpool to trailheads. We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the requirement for electrical power by sharing. Some members do not have vehicles and would appreciate a ride. In addition, the pressure for parking in neighbourhoods close to trailheads can be problematic. To compensate drivers for fuel and maintenance, we suggest a $7.00 fee which should be paid at the end of each adventure. Thanks for taking care of the environment and helping each other out.
Next Social Features Adventure Smart Presentation
Join us on Monday, June 27th at our next social evening to learn more about outdoor preparedness. Discover best practices and more. All are welcome - members and guests.
Trip Planning - making a plan and leaving a trip plan.
Training - physical, certification-based, mentorship, mental strength, decision making.
Taking the Essentials - basic safety items, plus adding season and sport-specific gear.
What to do in an emergency - who to call for help, when to call for help, how to call for help, no charge for rescue, the S.T.O.P. analogy and signalling S.O.S.
Featured Trip: Al's Habrich Ridge
by Anita Leonard
The day dawned cold and cloudy, in keeping with the general temperament of this miserable spring. Showers were forecast for later in the day, precluding any hope of a brighter afternoon. But despite the uninspiring weather, an even dozen of intrepid souls showed up for the hike from the base of the Chief to the top of the Sea to Sky gondola and beyond. Like me, I’m sure everyone else had given up on waiting for better weather, since better weather was clearly not on its way any time soon.
The Sea to Summit trail is often described as the Sea to Summit Grind, but it’s really not much of a grind at all. While it has an elevation gain of 850m, it’s spread out over 8km. Moreover, the Sea to Summit trail is really very lovely, offering close-up views of Olesen and Shannon Creeks, dramatic outcroppings of Squamish granite, and of course the always wonderful, drippingly-lush forest.
The extremely good company provided by all the participants made the hike fly by. We ran into a bit of snow just before the gondola base-station, but overall, there was less snow on this portion than expected.
We settled down for a well-deserved lunch with some not-so-bad views of Howe Sound and miscellaneous mountains peeking out briefly from behind the clouds. The predicted showers had abated and the station was buzzing with tourist gamely making the best of things. Here we left a few of our party behind since their hiking appetites were already sated. But eight of us were still hungry for a little bit more and so we ventured on to Al’s Habrich Ridge Trail.
By now, the snow-cover was pretty constant. Snowshoes were good at first, but then the terrain became a bit more challenging and the snow more slippery. Soon we were all back to microspikes, which had the benefit of not acting like toboggans when you least expected it, but had the disadvantage of not preventing you, even a little bit, from sinking deeply into the soft snow with some regularity.
As we slowly progressed, our attrition rate began to go up until at last we were all ready to call it a day. A few peak-a-boo mountain views later, we were swooping back down on the gondola over the terrain that had taken us hours to hike up. All in all, it was a great day and a great hike.
It is certainly feeling like spring out there. But up in the alpine, plenty of snow will still greet you (snowshoes or spikes? the eternal question). April is a time of renewal and regeneration. Everything feels fresh again. Lots of new things are happening in your club. This is the "New" edition of The Raven. After all, that's what news should be.
New - Waivers
The Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC has updated their waivers and that means we get new ones as well. If you are signed in and go to the schedule page, you will be automatically asked to sign a new waiver. This is legit, so please do it.
Bike Stash Hydraulic Creek
New - Trip Guidelines for Leaders
Wondering how to lead a trip? There's a guideline for that. Our new guidelines for trip leaders are abbreviated in a single document for both hike and bike trips. We tried to streamline them to make it easy. Remember too that you can always ask any seasoned leaders for help. We are a friendly bunch. On that note: "seasoned leaders" we have changed the email to send in your signup sheets from tripreports@northshorehikers.org to signupsheets@northshorehikers.org to make it super-duper obvious where to send them. Yes, duper.
Howe Sound from Wettin Peak
New - Carpooling Fees
Well, nobody likes fee increases, but here we are. We've raised the suggested amount for driver reimbursement. As the costs of maintaining and fuelling vehicles go up due to inflation, we suggest $7.00 per person/hour of driving time on paved roads and $12.00 /hour on rough logging roads, and in adverse conditions. Inflation sucks! Buy Bitcoin.
6 lake Cycle from Trout lake to Coquiltam’s Lafarge lake on quiet trails/sideroads
Sun 3 Apr 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Cycling
Cycling White Rock: 1000-year-old Semiahmoo trail, Nicomekl river trail, Elgin park, Blackie spit, Crescent beach and more
Tue 5 Apr
Back-country Ski
Mt Seymour
Sat 9 Apr
Back-country Ski C2c
Alpen Mtn
snowshoers welcome
Sat 9 Apr
A1a
Jug Island
Fri 15 Apr
D3d
Zum Pk
long tough day optional car camping Thursday night
Sat 16 Apr
A2a
East Canyon/Hiker’s Beach, Golden Ears
moderate pace
Tue 19 Apr
A2b
Raindancer (lower Seymour over to Quarry Rock)
Sat 23 Apr
Snow Hike B2b
Elfin Shelters Vehicles require snow tires and chains
relaxed pace
Sat 23 Apr
C3c
Mt. Fletcher (Chehalis)
medium/fast pace
Sun 24 Apr 8:45 am
A1a
Pacific Spirit Park, A1a
Tue 26 Apr
Back-country Ski
Mt Strachan (or Seymour)
Sat 30 Apr 8:00 am
A2a
Two Canyons
medium pace
Spongy tree up Hydraulic Creek Trail
12 Secrets to Successful Multi-day Trip Planning
Decide on the destination
Research the destination including but not limited to: best time to go, potential itinerary, potential accommodations, travel arrangements, potential guiding professionals
Contact the multi-day coordinator, currently Diane Whiteley, for advice and approval in principle to advertise the trip on the NSH website
Issue a formal request for expressions of interest from members
Maintain a list of interested parties and communicate with the people on that list
Hold a face-to-face meeting to start defining the details ( time of the year, duration, proposed itinerary)
Continue to refine the details with committed people
Suggestions of approaches to coordinate the trip: have a co-leader; commit only to provide relevant information on flights/transportation /guiding companies/accommodations and leave actual arrangements and payments to the individual participants; provide a detailed list of daily activities and exact dates for the trip; choose a meeting point/time/date to start and end the trip
If there are any costs to be shared, charge people early in the process. That can eliminate people who are not committed
There are instances when accommodations can be arranged by the organizer for all participants, such as renting a camping group site or an entire hostel. In these situations, a full deposit is required from participants. The organizer or the club pays the charge and recovers the costs from the deposits.
In case of cancellations, the organizer and the cancelling party work together to find a replacement. At no time, is the organizer responsible for covering the cost of the cancellation.
AFTER your trip: Write a wonderful trip report and make a presentation at one of our club socials.
Where are you going next?
What Happened? in 1976/78
Okay, not new. But still cool. Here's a snippet from our past.
In 1976 the membership fee doubled from $1.00 to $2.00. Whoa! Highway robbery. An introductory fee was also considered as a way of reducing the annual turnover of 250 people/year, but this was rejected. In 1978, the average number of people out each Sunday was 70. That's huge!!
Tue, March 29, 7:30 p.m. Sunrise Community Hall, 1950 Windermere St, Vancouver
More Info
Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Masks are recommended, but not mandatory
Free Parking is available on the streets nearby.
Bring your own mug for tea or coffee
Individually wrapped snacks and canned pop/juice will be available for all to enjoy.
There will be a "Gear Swap" Table - so bring your surplus gear to sell or swap
Program
7:30 - 7:50 Q and A about the planning process for multiple-day events facilitator Cristina Jacob
7:50 - 8:00 Refreshment break and networking
8:00 - 9:00South America and Galapagos trip slide show
presenter Ye Chu Ye will take us on a visually stimulating trip to South America. We will be visiting Darwin’s Galapagos, the exotic amazon, a 4-day high altitude trek (4200m) into Machu Picchu and mountain biking down Bolivia's “Death Road”, starting at 4,600 m.
9:00 - 9:10 Refreshment break and networking
9:10 - 9:30European tours/teaser slide show presenter Cristina Jacob
Tue, March 29, 7:30 p.m. Sunrise Community Hall, 1950 Windermere St, Vancouver
More Info
Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Masks are recommended, but not mandatory
Free Parking is available on the streets nearby.
Bring your own mug for tea or coffee
Individually wrapped snacks and canned pop/juice will be available for all to enjoy.
There will be a "Gear Swap" Table - so bring your surpluss gear to sell or swap
Program
7:30 - 7:50 Q and A about the planning process for multiple-day events facilitator Cristina Jacob
7:50 - 8:00 Refreshment break and networking
8:00 - 9:00South America and Galapagos trip slide show
presenter Ye Chu Ye will take us on a visually stimulating trip to South America. We will be visiting Darwin’s Galapagos, the exotic amazon, a 4-day high altitude trek (4200m) into Machu Picchu and mountain biking down Bolivia's “Death Road”, starting at 4,600 m.
9:00 - 9:10 Refreshment break and networking
9:10 - 9:30European tours/teaser slide show presenter Cristina Jacob
Some photos from South America and the Galapagos
Updates will be posted as needed in the Hike-Updates forum under #Social Event March 29
Great news! We are growing so fast that we need more trip leaders. Right now, we need more Saturday and Sunday events. Multi-day trips as well. With close to 400 members, we should be able to fill our schedule with a broad selection of hikes, bikes, kayaks and other adventures.
Many of you know the North Shore and other ranges better than anyone. Find a weekend when you are available and pick a day. If there is already a hike scheduled on a Saturday, take the Sunday or vice-versa. Or, if there is a B hike scheduled, choose to lead a C hike or an A hike. Similarly, If you see a bike ride scheduled on a day you can lead a hike, schedule a hike. The two activities don’t necessarily conflict.
Please also motivate fellow members to lead a trip. Sometimes people just need to be asked and encouraged. There are a lot of potential trip leaders out there who just need a nod. You know who you are : )
Thanks to all of you amazing trip leaders out there. We wouldn’t exist without you.
Contact the planners below for help to get your hike or bike ride, on the schedule.
With Covid restrictions becoming less and less prohibitive we would like to hear your ideas for multiple-day trips for this summer and beyond.
To give a bit of context for our newer club members, North Shore Hikers has been organizing week-long summer camps and multiple-day backpacking and hiking trips to mostly BC/ Alberta destinations. More recently, in 2019, we organized a fantastic 14-day hiking trip in Europe( the HAUTE ROUTE from Chamonix to Zermatt) and in 2020 we had 20 people going to South America to hike in PATAGONIA. The summer camp has also become more ‘exotic’ and in 2020 it changed geographic direction to South of the border, in the Cascades Mountains.
Then Covid arrived in March 2020 and all major trips planned for that year were cancelled.
It is now March 2022 and we would like to start reviving the old plans and come up with new ones. Below is a list to start us/you going. Any new idea is welcome and any new volunteers wanting to organize a trip are welcome. Send suggestions and comments to Diane Whiteley, our VP, and Coordinator of multiple-day trips. The club has many experienced trip organizers that can assist you in developing and implementing a proposed trip plan
Read the following and imagine yourself leading one of these trips:
Replan of the 2020 Patagonian trip for 2023 ( lead Cristina Jacob )
Replan the 2020 summer camp in the Cascades( lead ? - contact Cristina Jacob for the 2020 hiking schedule)
Multiple-day hiking/cycling camp in Whistler/ Squamish/Pemberton ( lead?)
Multiple-day hiking/ kayaking/canoeing in Manning park( lead?)
Multiple-day hiking camp in Golden Ears( lead Katy Poon)
Potential backpack trip in Tyaughton Lake/ South Chilcotin Mountains( lead Diane Whiteley)
Potential cycling trip in Italy( lead Ye Chu)
Potential cycling trip in Holland( lead Cristina Jacob)
Potential cycling trip in Croatia ( lead Cristina Jacob)
Stay tuned for more info on those trips. And, be proactive and come forward with your own ideas of trips. Together we can make them happen!
Send your idea to Diane, post comments and link with others via the "General" Forum on our website. Diane Whiteley’s contact: diane_whiteley@telus.net
The pyramid and the camel on Crown from Dam MtA gang on the hunt for Blue Gentian LakeMark has a snow day on HollyburnBackcountry skiing at Diamond Head
March Comes in Like a Lion
Up above in the mountains, the latest "weather event" is creating a massive avalanche no-go zone. Bummer. On the brighter side, this gives your executive some time to sit in front of computers, talk to each other and decide "things." One of those things is a new forum to help us all benefit from each other's knowledge and surplus gear.
Let's hope that March goes out like a lamb.
New "Gear" Forum
Maybe that Patagonia puffy jacket doesn't fit exactly right? Want to learn which In-Reach is right for you? There's a forum for that. Sell some gear and/or ask for gear advice. Post your questions and items for sale (or for free) here. (p.s. This is a Member's Only forum - yet another reason why you should join)
Relaxed pace Vehicles require snow tires and chains
Sat 26 Mar
B Hike B2b
Mt. Galiano
Medium pace
Sat 26 Mar
D Hike D3c
Scutt Pk (Anderson Lk)
long tough day, optional car camping Friday night
Sat 26 Mar 8:00 a.m.
A Hike A2a
Mystery Hike TBA
Medium pace
Tue 29 Mar
Back-country Ski
Leader’s choice
February's Feature Trip Report
DePencier Bluffs from Deep Cove Outlook
Led by Karen Peters
Seven of us met at Deep Cove Lookout, put on our spikes, loaded up our snowshoes and started up the Perimeter Trail. Trail conditions at the beginning were a mix of bare ground and frozen snow patches. We passed the Goldie Lake area and the first lookout without incident – meaning we did not encounter the usual caution tape, “No Trespassing” signs and Seymour Resort’s patrols trying to turn back unpaid-up hikers. Nor was there any sign of the usual groomed snowshoe trails in this particular area... read on >>
BC Parks Day Pass System Survey
Do you love or hate the day pass system? The 2020 BC Parks survey about the day pass system did not collect information about those people unsuccessful in obtaining a day pass nor those who chose not to obtain a day pass. The Friends of Garibaldi Park Society is seeking deeper insight from day pass park users. Take the survey here. It's super short and easy.
Canada Helps Restore Trans-Bhutan Trail
The Bhutan Canada Foundation, in partnership with the Tourism Council of Bhutan and others, is working to restore and reconnect a 16th-century trail. The Trans-Bhutan Project will rejuvenate 403km (250 miles) of trail from Haa in the west to Trashigang in the east. The trail connected regional fortresses, known as dzongs, and came to be symbolically important as part of the establishment of Bhutan as a nation.
The Bhutan Canada Foundation provided stimulus funding and accelerated the building of the Trail by hiring more than 900 unemployed workers in the villages along the route. The King will open the trail this month.
Thanks for reading! Tailwinds to all.
Skate park on the Family Day "two-bridges" rideApproaching Deeks Lake