Elk Mountain

Manchmal weiss man nicht so recht, was man mit sich anfangen soll. Gerade am Wochenende. Aber da konsultiert man einfach mal die AllTrails-App oder -Website und findet wunderschöne Wanderrouten. Zum Beispiel diese hier auf den Elk Mountain in Chilliwak.

Kennzahlen zum Trail

Getting there

Elk Mountain rises up from the grounds of the Fraser Valley and can be reached by car from Downtown Vancouver within 1.5 to 5 hours using Trans Canada Highway/BC-1. Exit 123 of BC-1 brings you to Prest Road, whom you follow for another half an hour and 15 kilometers until reaching the trailhead. On the way to the trailhead one always woders, in what remote places people seem to live. By the way: There are signs indicating the trailhead, so it is really hard to miss it.

This time we again decided to rent a smart with car2go and I can assure you this little guy really had a hard time to get up the hill. It is indeed a car made for the city. Though it does climb the mountain in the end, a significant amount of noises and moaning arise from its engine. However we made it and the little one has time to cool down.

The Climb

First the trail winds through pure forests. Therefore it is rather cold and we are both happy we brought our jackets. It somewhats seems odd that almost all hikers descending seem to wear less then we or even nothing, well almost nothing). I guess it will warm up along the way.

The first part of the climb is rather easy. Path is wide and smells and sounds of the forest really make up for any efforts. However the steady incline is bringing out the smart in us. Soon we realize that we too are made rather for the city. Well, ok ... at least I am. But ... it is the age ... okay!? So as the smart made significant noises and moanings climbing up the hill, sme sounds escape my body climbing up this mountain. Just as constant as the path increases.

Nach knapp 1 Stunde und 15 Minuten erreichen wir den ersten Aussichtspunkt. Der Blick über das Fraser Valley und die weit unter uns liegenden Ortschaften ist schon beeindruckend … keuch … und bietet Zeit zum verschnaufen und essen. Mitgebrachtes Obst und Gemüse teilen wir uns mit dem umherflitzenden possierlichen Streifenhörnchen.

Further up to the summit. A gravel path guides us from the viewpoint and the last part of the path is really rocky and slippery. In fact it is pretty steep but totally can be mastered if you are careful. You just have to keep your eyes open and wear proper footwear, which means that flip -flops are not a good thing to wear up here. We need some more time for this part but we do have time! By the way ... we now know why people were wearing less or nothing coming down the mountain: it is a sweaty climb!

The View

What can I possibly say ...