Hollyburn Mountain, Summer 2010.

Last week Mojo and I ventured up the Hollyburn Mountain trail in Cypress Provincial Park.  It was Mojos first time up here and I had only been once before with Charlie in October 2008.

It was a beautiful sunny day, we catch these views from the lookout on Cypress Bowl Road.

We continue to the Nordic Ski parking area and then proceed initially up the Powerline Trail until it meets the Baden Powell Trail.  This is Fourth Lake which lies on the corner of this trail intersection.

A little further up we look back down over Fourth Lake towards the Powerline Trail and then the warming hut on the right.  The warming hut is closed during the summer months but is used as somewhere for skiers to dry off and warm up in the winter and spring.

The view up through the meadows towards Hollyburn Mountain.

A little further along the trail divides with the Baden Powell Trail continuing to the West while the Hollyburn Mountain trail veers off North.  We get these views East across North Vancouver, Burrard Inlet and Simon Fraser University with Mount Baker on the horizon.

These are views of nearby peaks to the east from a lookout along the trail. 

After further ascent we reach a large clearing with a couple of small pools or alpine lakes.

Mojo takes the opportunity to have a drink and cool off.

This panorama movie view shows the beautiful peaceful quiet location.  There was nobody around, infact we made it all the way to the top of Hollyburn and virtually back down again before we saw anybody else.

We continue up beyond the clearing.  This view is looking back down to the alpine lakes.

So we reach the top of Hollyburn and have it all to ourselves to enjoy and rest and have lunch.

From the top these are the views West across the southern end of Howe Sound, Gambier Island towards the town of Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast.  The peaks of Vancouver Island are silhouetted on the horizon.

The downhill ski runs here on Cypress.

We get a clear and close view of The Lions.

Mojo takes in the panoramic views.

There are still some snowy peaks further to the North of us, probably on the edge of or within Garibaldi Provincial Park.

Deep forested valley bottoms.

More views North East from the peak of Hollyburn Mountain.

This is a panorama video showing the 360 degree views from the peak.

After stopping for lunch we make our descent back down the Hollyburn and Baden Powel Trails to the Powerline Trail.

From here we get these views looking East towards Grouse Mountain – the wind turbine visible on the peak to the left of the centre and the top of the Skyride above the the right hand pylon.

The trails continues alongside the pylons with big grassy areas full of wildlife, the sound of cicadas and we saw two grass snakes.

Then the final steep descent along the powerline trail back towards the parking lot.  Views further across the water to Vancouver Island.