Deeks Peak

We reached the trailhead (end of the Howe Sound Crest Trail) at 8am. The start is a nice and easy but steep walk. You just follow the HSCT for about 20 minutes or so until you reach an "opening" on the left side of the trail where a new trail starts. This is where the fun begins. The trail is nearly completely overgrown. The trail was relatively easy to find since all the bushes and trees were completely leafless but I imagine in the summer it adds an extra degree of difficulty.

We fought our way through this brush, getting whipped in the face, arms, torso, and legs at every step. I was surprised I didn't have any serious scratches on my face. It sure felt painful... I was lucky I wore gloves. My friend Phil had a ton of scratches on his hands from some of the sharper, thorny trees on the path. After about an hour and a half of this we finally came out of this mess to gaze upon some frozen lake. There was even a nice little cabin called the Lost Lake Shelter at this point.

After a short snack we continued on our way and started treading through a bit of snow and made our way up a creek with a stream coming through it. The rocks in this creek were amazingly slippery...so much so I was actually scared... I nearly fell a bunch of times but luckily my poles saved me every time...at the cost of one of them getting a bit bent. At the steep section of the creek we decided to continue through the forest, as there was a lot of snow in the creek and a ton of fallen trees and other treacherous features of the ground that would have made the climb a bit painful. Going through the forest wasn't that much easier. The ground was really steep and really slippery. We made it out ok though.

Then came a climb up scree. The rocks were loose and the ground steep but it was only a short section of the trail. Past this point the snow started covering everything. There was a thin iced up layer on top of the soft stuff that would break and make us drop through to our knees at every step. The trail was quite steep on this section too so it wasn't easy going. After passing over 4 peaks on our way to the top we were completely beat so we stopped within view of the final peak. The elevation at this point was practically the same as at the final point and we had a 360-degree view. We could see Brunswick really close by, Baker far in the distance, Capilano, Sky Pilot, Garibaldi and Diamond Head, The Tusk, a part of the Tantalus range, Squamish, the whole Howe Sound and so on and so on. Views were spectacular...but what a tough hike...

The descent wasn't quite as painful. A bit tough in the snowy section and incredibly slippery all the way beyond that but the brush seemed to be pointed down so it left us alone. Almost like the mountain's defences were reduced because it knew we were leaving it...next time I do this one I'll bring a machete...