Evans Peak, May 28th 2022
Sheila writes:-
Nine of us started out early for the drive from North Vancouver to the Evans Peak Trailhead in Golden Ears Park. Starting our hike around 9am we decided to hike along the Menzies Trail for a short bit then straight up the Viking Creek Trail to where it intersects with the Viewpoint Trail. After stopping a couple of times to peel off some layers on the hike up we stopped for a water and snack break and to take in an old viewpoint of a waterfall and Alouette Lake in the distance.
A short jaunt over to the Viewpoint/Evans Peak junction, where most people start out, we again started our uphill hike on the Evans Peak Trail. About an hour later we stopped on a flattish area where we had a mini lunch and applied bug spray as the blackflies were somewhat annoying. 10 minutes later we passed a waterfall on the right and about 20 minutes after that we met with our first bit of snow. The snow was soft and patchy so no need to put on spikes. 30 minutes after that we reached a small sign on a tree that said Evans Peak, a sign a short ways up and to the left was for Alouette Peak. After crossing a creek and watching our footing over the soft snow we arrived at our first rope at the base of Evans Peak. We decided to stop and have another mini lunch as we didn’t know what to expect at the top as far as the weather was concerned.
We climbed the first rope with encouragement from all then looked up at the second rope and pondered the best route up. 3 hikers decided to stay put and cheer the rest of us on. There was a bit of a wait as 5 others were climbing down and you had to take your time to find the proper foot and hand placements. Once the rope climbing was over it was about a 10 minute hike to the ridge where soft snow and a surprisingly warm temperature greeted us. The views were spectacular and made the steep ascent worthwhile.
After managing the 2 ropes back down we started our hike down, where we again reached the Viewpoint/Evans Peak junction. We opted to hike down the Viewpoint Trail which was a lot easier on our knees. The vote to take this route was 9-0. One more creek crossing then a continuing path through a typical Westcoast forest of trees, moss and ferns back to the cars.
The hike up was about 5km with an elevation gain of 950m so a very steep trudge. Hiking down you really had to watch your footing as it was covered in roots and rocks.
A tiring but wonderful day with a great group of people!
