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This one is in North Vancouver...it's called Haynes Valley & while it is only a couple of miles from the 'burbs (about 5km from my house...in fact there is a bus stop right at the trails edge), it is virtual wilderness/backcountry travel. No ammenities, no bathrooms, no water (except for a couple of creeks..if you are lucky).<br>
The route that we took included a detour up Crown Peak (a very small point that barely accomodated the 6 of us). Although the entire route is less than half a marathon, it climbs over 5000'. The bonus feature, is that it finishes at the top of Grouse Mountain...the #1 tourist destination in Vancouver & perhaps the terminus of the busiest trails in the Lower Mainland...the Grouse Grind. In the entire 5 hours, we saw less than 6 people until the final 2km...then we saw a couple of thousand.<br>
The photo quality is crap....taken with a phone.<br><br><i>Looking up the Valley at Crown Peak...the perspective is misleading. It takes an hour to get to the saddle. Those boulders in the foreground are about 15 to 20 tall.</i><br><img alt="" src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/mudrunner/Photo_082606_002.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br><i>Near the top of the saddle (Crown Pass)...the previous photo was taken waaaay down in the background.</i><br><img alt="" src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/mudrunner/Photo_082606_005.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br><i>Finding a spot on the peak & looking over the 3000' drop...Vancouver in the background</i><br><img alt="" src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/mudrunner/Photo_082606_008.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br><i>Jim on the edge of Widowmaker...we came from the valley far below.</i><br><img alt="" src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/mudrunner/Photo_082606_012.jpg" style="border:0px solid;">
The route that we took included a detour up Crown Peak (a very small point that barely accomodated the 6 of us). Although the entire route is less than half a marathon, it climbs over 5000'. The bonus feature, is that it finishes at the top of Grouse Mountain...the #1 tourist destination in Vancouver & perhaps the terminus of the busiest trails in the Lower Mainland...the Grouse Grind. In the entire 5 hours, we saw less than 6 people until the final 2km...then we saw a couple of thousand.<br>
The photo quality is crap....taken with a phone.<br><br><i>Looking up the Valley at Crown Peak...the perspective is misleading. It takes an hour to get to the saddle. Those boulders in the foreground are about 15 to 20 tall.</i><br><img alt="" src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/mudrunner/Photo_082606_002.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br><i>Near the top of the saddle (Crown Pass)...the previous photo was taken waaaay down in the background.</i><br><img alt="" src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/mudrunner/Photo_082606_005.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br><i>Finding a spot on the peak & looking over the 3000' drop...Vancouver in the background</i><br><img alt="" src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/mudrunner/Photo_082606_008.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"><br><br><i>Jim on the edge of Widowmaker...we came from the valley far below.</i><br><img alt="" src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/mudrunner/Photo_082606_012.jpg" style="border:0px solid;">