Sheila writes:-

Seven of us set out at 6:30am to beat the heat and to increase our odds of finding two parking spots at the trailhead. We were in luck as there were many parking spots available. By 7:30 am we set off on our hike up Brunswick. After switch backing on an old logging road for 2.6kms we crossed a small, double log bridge over Magnesia Creek, after which the road turned into a proper trail.

For about 2/3 of the hike we were fortunately in a shaded forest, so avoided the hot sun for most of the hike.  However, the humidity and the bugs were not pleasant. After several water and snack breaks and stopping to apply more bug spray and sunscreen, we started our steep scramble up a rocky slope before hitting the scree area just below the saddle between the peaks. During the hike up we had views of Howe Sound, Brunswick Mtn and Hat Mtn, but the real reward for this challenging hike came when we were at the top where we had 360 degree unobstructed views of the surrounding mountains. From the second peak you could look down towards the Magnesia Meadows shelter on one side and the Brunswick Lake shelter on the other side, as well as looking at practically every peak on the North Shore and Howe Sound.

After some of our group scrambled to the first, second and third peaks, we then had lunch, changed out of our sweaty clothes and headed back down. The hike down was a slower process as we had to watch our footing and not be distracted by the surrounding scenery.  Much of the winding trail was eroded and covered in loose scree and/or loose soil and gravel.

Once back at Magnesia creek we cooled off and topped up our water bottles using our small water filter. 45 minutes later we were back at the cars where we again changed clothes and shoes, had a refreshing juice box from our cooler, and headed home.

This was a long, challenging hike but so worth sharing the experience with each other.

 Here is a track share from Iain’s Garmin GPSMAP67i. Each dot represents a ten minute period - so it’s easy to see the difficult parts.