I wrote earlier this year that this year has been the year that my interest in hiking really picked up. However at the same time, this summer was also a summer where I was heavily involved in weddings, which took up a lot of my weekends. My list of hikes I wanted to complete is only half crossed off. UNFORTUNATELY. At this time of year, the weather is starting to get cooler and getting darker earlier, which means they have to be completed next year.
My last hike of the season, was one though that both challenged me and honestly I didn't know half way through it whether I would be able to complete. One of the running comments on our trip to the summit was how people could just give up on the trail and not complete it or give up. But man, this hike really was no joke. I guess it really doesn't help that the day before I spent all day on my feet working and then was at a party before another take-down and going on this hike at 4:30 am without having eaten any food.
The trailhead for Crown Mountain is actually atop Grouse Mountain. You could either take the gondola up and start from there, or you could start at the base and take either the Grouse Grind or the BCMC trail up. We opted for the BCMC trail which was supposedly less steeper than the Grind. Hiking in the forest in the dark was a first for me and in a sense was eerie because of the unknown. I was the slowest of my group and because our aim for doing this portion of the hike was to catch the sunrise, I told them all to go on without me. They did. I'm not going to lie. There were moments I was afraid I'd encounter a bear or another animal. Not having anyone with me truly was scary that early in the day. I was fortunate that the only time I followed the wrong path and ended up somewhere else I heard people passing by behind me but not catching up to me which made me backtrack to where I had gotten off the track.
Once atop Grouse Mountain, we all took a nice break and prepped for the real hike that was about to happen. I kept thinking to myself I can do this. I can conquer the fear and fatigue in me. The trail is 9.8 km long and 385 m in elevation change, which sounds easy enough. However it really doesn't tell you that you climb that gradually in the first little bit and then once you pass Goat Mountain, you descend down into the valley and work from the bottom back up to Crown Mountain. So in reality, its not 385 m but more like 700 - 800 m in elevation. There are parts in the descent and ascent to summit of crown mountain where you HAVE to be on your hands and knees and use chains to help you down. While the first part we had a good time thinking how could anyone not do this, after having to scale edges of rocks and traverse difficult terrain, it does take its toll.
We managed to get up to Crown Mountain though, and the views were well worth the trip. On a good day, you'd be able to see far in all directions and just soak in the wonders that British Columbia has to offer. But getting to the summit is half the battle as the return back to the Chalet is just as arduous and taxing. The return took about 2.5 hours and the whole time all I could think to myself was how close I was and there really is no option but to keep going. No matter the pain or the body telling you you can't go on. At the end though it was a great feeling knowing I had completed this hike that is classified as Extremely Difficult. Would I do it again? Probably not unless I know I'm absolutely fit and capable. But just this once, it was well worth it.
