r/vancouverhiking • u/confidence_level_0 • Jul 17 '25
Conditions Questions (See Guide before posting) How sound crest trail
Hey! I'll be flying in from Montreal to hike the HSCT this weekend and I had a few questions I was hoping to get clarity on.
We are planning to do it as a 2 night trip getting to trail around mid day the first day and hoping to catch a flight out on the 3rd day.
For those who have hiked it before, in your opinion are there reliable tree branches along the trail to do PROPER bear hangs? I'd rather leave my bv500 at home if I can save on the weight but I know an improper bearhang is probably just as bad as no bear hang at all. Should I just suck it up and bring the bear can?
Our plan is to go straight to trail from the airport, does anyone know if there are any backpacking fuel canisters for sale at the "big bear sports" located next to cypress lodge? Or what would the easiest place to purchase them be (close to the airport or cypress ideally)
If anyone's been up there in the last week or so how many km's should we expect to be dry before the first water source? (Ive generally read that theres no reliable sources before magnesia meadows) Let me know any other resources you might have for checking water reports in the area(been checking alltrails).
Thanks in advance and happy trails!
15
u/grumpy999 Jul 17 '25
For #2, you could reliably get fuel canisters at MEC North Van. If you take the 2nd narrows bridge on the way from the airport, then it’s not even terribly out of the way.
4
u/NachoEnReddit Jul 17 '25
Wouldn’t the one on main be more on the way?
2
u/grumpy999 Jul 17 '25
Google never sends me near that one when going from YVR to the north shore, but it’s a possibility too.
1
u/NachoEnReddit Jul 18 '25
Maybe if you’re to go to Seymour it’s better to take the other bridge, but Cypress is definitely closer to Lions Gate.
2
9
u/goundeclared Jul 17 '25
There aren't many good tree hangs in the enchantments or Magnesia Meadows. I'd bring the bear canister. I brought my bv450. There might be some tarns along the way to the west lions. I did see a small seasonal stream just after the west lions, it was snow melt. You're early enough in the season to still have some snow melt. Just don't rely on it.
It is a bit of a huff from cypress to Magnesia Meadows. It is doable, but there are several steep peaks to climb over.
Brunswick lake is stunning. Either as a really long break stop for swimming, or an overnight.
3
u/confidence_level_0 Jul 17 '25
Thanks for the info!
6
u/80taylor Jul 18 '25
To be clear, I don't think you will get to MM on your first day of you start mid day. I think you'd get there day 2, so you need tons of water starting out.
7
u/cascadiacomrade Jul 18 '25
Few bear hangs between the Lions and Brunswick. But plenty in the forests before and after. Bring the bear can if you have one.
North Van has a MEC and a Valhalla Pure you could buy fuel at. I doubt the Cypress lodge store is open in the summer.
Expect to be dry until Magnesia. You may find snow you can melt with a stove or some in tarns on Unnecessary Mtn and you could drop down to the steep scree slope to the seasonal pond below Enchantment off trail in a pinch, but don't count on it and pack at least 3-4L minimum. You don't want to run out of water if it's hot and sun exposed up there.
15
u/brendax Jul 17 '25
No, there are no bear hang trees. magnesia meadows is the only water source and only practical camp site, plan accordingly
7
3
5
u/gibberish122 Jul 17 '25
I’m hoping to do this in 2 weeks - would love a trail update when you’re done!
3
4
u/PhytoLitho Jul 17 '25
A good move in even if we have a place to hang/hide bear-cans, is cook/eat food in one spot, hang/stash food in another spot, and sleep at another spot. A few minutes apart walking. It's a minor pain in the ass but keeps you separate from what the bears will go after first. There's peace of mind knowing you're not sleeping next to some delicious food and that your camp doesn't smell like a kitchen. Bring water sterilizing tabs.
2
4
u/sarahafskoven Jul 18 '25 edited Jul 18 '25
When I've done the HSCT as a two-nighter, my favourite trips have been sleeping at the summit of Unnecessary, and then at Deeks. There is no water on Unnecessary, but also almost no natural food, so that will dissuade most predators. You won't find a proper bear hang tree on Unnecessary, but you can find some trees that are on extremely precarious edges - they will also dissuade most predators (obviously, a bear bin is the ideal safety item).
I've mostly camped open-air on Unnecessary, and set up my tent at Deeks.
It's far from a rule, but generally, bears in the SW BC alpine don't bother with narrower peaks - there's too much food below the tree line to be bothered with that kind of elevation gain. That's not to say that you should be reckless with your food storage - there's always the risk of cougars - but that you can feel a little safer camping at summits, away from usual campsites, with low-scent meals (dry food, protein bars, etc). I always still hang them away from my campsite, but in 15 years, the worst I've seen at that elevation has been one very aggressive chipmunk.
edit: autocorrect
4
u/Outrageous_Age1383 Jul 18 '25
There is nowhere on the entire trail to have a truly proper bear hang. Anywhere with large trees enough trees they won't be spaced out enough to be "enough" by a strict definition. I'd definitely just bring a BV500 and not worry about it
Big bear sports doesn't have any fuel canisters as far as I can remember. Everyone saying the MEC in North Vancouver isn't wrong but it would be quite out of the way. The MEC in Vancouver (East 2nd) would probably be closer. It really depends on traffic, if GPS says to go over second narrows, go North Van, and if GPS says go over lions gate bridge, go to the Vancouver MEC
I went up yesterday to do the lions as a day hike from the HSCT so can only provide a recent conditions report on that section. A few km in there is a stream that has drinkable water (I wouldn't bother filtering this but also didn't bother bringing a filter, depends on your comfort with untreated water) and then there is no water source until 2 small tarns just northeast of the unnecessary mountain trail (not on trail but also not too hard to get to). Then you probably won't have a reasonable source of water until magnesia meadows and Brunswick lake. There is also some snow remaining so in a worst case scenario you could boil a bit of that. (patchy snow starts near the top of unnecessary)
If you are spacing it over 2 nights I'd recommend spending one night somewhere between unnecessary and the lions (a decent amount of spots you could camp) and then one night at Brunswick lake. Id be happy to provide gaia points and photos of the stuff I'm talking about if you want to send me your instagram or something and I can dm it over
1
u/jpdemers Jul 18 '25
A few km in there is a stream that has drinkable water (I wouldn't bother filtering this but also didn't bother bringing a filter, depends on your comfort with untreated water)
It's a good practice to always bring a filter, it is a very lightweight item.
2
u/Outrageous_Age1383 Jul 18 '25
Yet again it’s personal preference and comfort, when all i’m bringing is a running vest with minimal space, i’m fine just drinking from water and worst case scenario I get the shits (still hasn’t happened and i’ve been hiking/running for 5+ years) but any water not running or looking clear and clean I’d probably filter.
3
u/emerg_remerg Jul 18 '25
We stayed the first night at Mt unnecessary, there's no tall trees up there, but also no bears hanging out where there's no reliable food source.
Second night at Deeks, that was a long haul and we got in near sun down. We were in the middle of the mass of tents and at one point the whole crowd started chanting 'hey bear' and a bear went trodding by and wasn't seen again.
So I'd recommend staying where they don't go, and then sleeping in the middle of the flock when you're on their hood.
2
u/YVR19 Jul 18 '25
Where are your two stops?
2
u/confidence_level_0 Jul 18 '25
Do you mean where we are going to camp at night? Because if so, we dont have set camp sites in mind, we are going to see how far we get each day based on the terrain and daylight hours.
7
u/OplopanaxHorridus Jul 18 '25
It would be better to have a plan, or at least some options. It's rough terrain and there isn't always somewhere you can put up a tent.
3
2
u/Siran_of_Baron Jul 18 '25
I think most people either run this trail in one day, or hike it in two, staying at magnesia meadows. It’s the first water source really coming from the south side.
- You can hang food but the trees are not really proper, safer bet to bring the can.
- Go to MEC in North Van
- As above, no water before Mag and it really needs to be filtered and treated
2
u/dante_limoux Jul 19 '25
I’d camp first night on the ridge between Unnecessary Mtn and West Lion (pack water in) and second night at Brunswick Lake. Deeks may be necessary if you have to race to the airport on Day 3, but Brunswick Lake is much nicer. This gives you a pretty chill Day 2 and allows you to detour to summit Brunswick Mtn, which will be your highlight of the whole trip.
2
u/Financial-Contest955 Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 18 '25
- I wouldn't expect to be able to do a proper bear hang.
- Agree with another commentor that MEC North Van is your best option in terms of convenience and reliability.
- I'll leave it to others to give a more recent water update. There are often seasonal sources before Magnesia Meadows but they're not necessarily reliable. I disagree with another commentor about Magnesia Meadows being the only campsite.
•
u/AutoModerator Jul 17 '25
(See our Vancouver Hiking Resources Page for more tools and advice.)
It’s always a great idea to reach out for feedback, so ask here any questions you have.
Make sure you have done some basic research first, and that you share important details to help others reply appropriately. Look at recent posts and the Weekly Trip Plan/Conditions Question Thread for current conditions.
Share your trip reports and photography!
Important details include:
Basic research includes:
Read ‘How to Find Trail Conditions’ and ‘How to Assess Winter Trail Conditions’.
After the hike
“Pay it Forward” --- Anytime you ask for help sourcing conditions info you should post a short trip report on your return. Even a single photo and one sentences is enough. Repeat the kindness that was shown to you and help provide others in your position with information. If enough people do this, we can create an excellent resource.
Hiking Safety
See the Avalanche resources for winter hiking and ‘How to start winter hiking’.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.