Dog Mountain Hike

Dog Mountain Trail (Mt. Seymour, North Vancouver)

Hike Date: May 17, 2016 (Tuesday)

Time: 6pm – 10pm

Rating: 3.85 out of 5 (92 reviews)

Difficulty: Easy (Hah! Yeah, Sure!)

Preparation and training for the upcoming Kilimanjaro climb means more hiking wherever and whenever possible (in addition to my weekly Grouse Grind climbs). So, on Tuesday, when the opportunity came to join Cory and Dave on an easy hike after work I jumped on it. Given that it was an after work hike with not too much time available before it turned dark, the Dog Mountain trail on Seymour Mountain was chosen. According to the Vancouver Trails website, it was an easy hike as noted below.

"The Dog Mountain Trail is a short, easy hike from Mount Seymour that offers a spectacular view of Vancouver on a clear day. While the trail has minimal elevation gain and is only about 5km return, it should be noted that the path is a bit more technical, requiring careful steps along several sections that are covered with slippery tree roots. Therefore, some hikers may find this trail on the more challenging end of the "easy" rating."

…and , they weren’t kidding. When it was designated as an “easy” trail, they forgot about guys like me and after having hiked the trail, I can attest to the fact that it is aptly named. It is a dog’s trail. They are nimble enough to jump over logs, skip on rocks across muddy or running streams, run up and down snow covered and sloshy terrain, and walk throughout the trail with no problem.

It took us almost two hours to walk about two thirds of the trail when we had to turn back before it got really dark. It was slow going because of all the many small tree logs, roots, rocks and snow covering the trail. Going up the various slopes wasn’t too bad but coming down the wet root infested trail was treacherous but with both David’s and Cory’s detailed trail descriptions we managed to make it back to the parking lot at 10 pm without any mishaps. I can now say I’d been given a preview of what it will be like to ascend to Kilimanjaro’s summit on the last day as it will be done during the night in darkness in order to catch the sunrise at the top of the mountain. I had also put my new hiking boots through their paces as I’d hiked through mud, water, snow and ankle deep streams and they came through all the various terrains with flying colours.

Thanks to Cory and David, I now feel more prepped than ever to tackle Kilimanjaro. However, from a visually challenged perspective, I’d rate the trail difficult. There are not too many flat spots along the trail and the many roots, rocks, tree logs strewn throughout the trail with its melting snow resulting in heavy muddy and water logged spots elevates to trail to more than just a “walk in the park”.

You can read more about the Dog Mountain trail at

https://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/dog-mountain/

Until the next blog, Happy Hiking.

Bill (The Blind Guy who thinks he can see.)