The forecast for today was for rain and rain it did. Regardless, a little damp weather was not going to stop us from spending the afternoon hiking around the entirety of Buntzen Lake.
Because of high water some trails were closed and numerous signs warned us to add 2-3 hours to our trek. We arrived at 10:30 a.m. and the gate to the park is locked at 5 p.m. so we were confident that with the 5-7 hour total estimate we’d be out long before we got locked in with the squirrels and monsters (for the record, I didn’t actually see any squirrels or monsters, though someone was walking a toy dog dressed in a pink raincoat bright enough to serve as a beacon.
We parked in the northern-most parking lot and started north along the east side of the lake, heading up a service road as the first section of trail on this side was closed due to the high water. We then hit the cleverly-named Buntzen Lake Trail proper (it just occurred to me that the acronym is BLT — mmm, BLT) and stayed on it to the suspension bridge at the north end of the lake (less than a meter above the water at this time of year). A short way past the bridge the trail turns back south and splits, with delicious BLT on the left and Lakeview Trail heading up and to the right. As you can see in the close-up shot below, our decision at this junction was easy as the Buntzen Lake Trail was completely submerged. Up the ridge we went!
There were a few steep sections on the Lakeview Trail but I didn’t regret passing on the walking stick this time. We reached the one official lookout about halfway through our trek and stopped for a snack and some water. This gave us the best view of the lake, with low cloud scudding through the valley as the rain continued to pour steadily. Speaking of the rain, we passed someone carrying an umbrella. That seems a bit silly, especially considering how steep the climb gets in a few spots, not to mention that it’s very difficult to escape getting your feet covered in muck and mire, so it’s not like an umbrella is going to keep you clean and dry out here. As proof, I planted my foot in one especially juicy section of mud and it was rather intent on keeping the boot for itself. I managed to wiggle the boot free, cherishing my triumph over nature as I did so.
We eventually reached what would have been near to the end of the hike at the floating bridge, but it too was closed due to that whole being-completely-underwater thing. This forced us to extend our hike around the southern tip of the lake, around and up to Academy Trail before we eventually reconnected to the parking lot we started from.
Our total time ended up being a fairly brisk 3 hours and 10 minutes. I spent the time saved soaking in the tub back at the condo.
Overall it was a good hike. There were a few more people out braving the rain than I had expected and a few times we caught up to others ahead of us and I felt that ol’ ‘gotta pass’ thing kick in. I swear I am not a competitive person by nature!
Clothing-wise, the two weak points for me were my baseball cap, which was okay at keeping my head dry but didn’t fit snugly, forcing me to constantly re-adjust it. This led to a slight rash on my forehead. Nothing major, but annoying. I need a hiking hat. My gloves became soaked about 2/3 of the way through, leaving my fingers a bit cold for the last hour or thereabouts, so I’m definitely going to look for a water-resistant/inner layer glove system for future treks.
Note for future hikes: Do not let Jeff carry the potato chips, as he apparently keeps them secured under rocks. 😛
Our route below starts at the northern parking lot and follows the service road to where the first viewpoint is on #4 (Buntzen Lake Trail). We stayed on #4 past the suspension bridge before switching to #8 (Lakeview Trail). We stayed on #8 until we crossed the road south of the lake and headed back up #9 (Academy Trail). Here’s the full PDF map file on BC Hydro’s website and the page the map is linked from here.
Buntzen Lake Trail Tour 2011
Sponsored by Jack Johnson (well, he was playing on the iPod in the truck, anyway)
