CROWN MOUNTAIN

(Dad taking photos on summit of Crown)

One of the things I have come to look forward to every Summer/Spring, are hikes with my Dad. He seems to have a list of hikes he'd like to tick off in the upcoming years and this year, summiting Crown Mountain was high up on the list.

We had organized ourselves to do this hike a month or so ago but the weather turned out to be significantly overcast that day and thus we bailed. However, I could tell the heartache that came over my dad that day because I am not sure if he thought it was ever going to happen.



Last weekend was epic in terms of weather and the forecast on Sunday was calling for a bluebird day. Peter made the suggestion to call up my dad and to go head up Crown. 'Great idea', I thought and bada bing bada boom, it was confirmed. We decided to take the Gondola up and then hike from there. It sort of felt like cheating but I got over that pretty quickly. We headed up and summited Dam Mountain before dropping into the top of Hanes Pass. From there you quickly link onto the trail which takes you up towards Crown. It took us roughly 45 minutes to get near the summit and before we did, we detoured around it and scrambled down towards the Camel.



We were the only one's (except for 2 climbers who were making their way up) at the base of the Camel. The sun was shining perfectly on us and it made for a great spot to lay down and close the eyes. After a while we made our way back up and summited Crown. There were approx. 6-7 people at the summit, one being an 80 year old man (he showed my dad his I.D as proof!) who was fit as a whistle. Of course, he was wearing jeans and didnt carry any water with him, but he has hiked the Lions 37 times!



After some snacks and some photos we made our way back towards Grouse. There wasn't any snow on the trail but it was frosty and there were patches of ice in sections. I guess it is that time of year! We stopped in at Altitudes Bistro for a beer and some fondue fries (yum!) before making our way back to the car. The wait however for the gondola was over 2 hours so we decided to hike down. This must be why my quads and calves are still sore 3 days later!


(Drinks at Altitudes Bistro)

Epic day, amazing company, and an awesome way to spend a lovely Sunday afternoon. This hike is super fun and spectacularly beautiful and it comes highly recommended.

See you in the trails!