Mount Seymour Provincial Park – First Peak Hike

I had just returned from a climbing day trip to Squamish when Kasturi asked me about going to Mount Seymour the next day. Parag and Shilpa were planning to hike with their daughter Riya and had invited us to join them.

Mount Seymour – Which Peak?

I had hiked Mount Seymour in Winter, and never thought of this as a family hike. My first question, was which peak? Are we just going to First Peak? Shilpa shared the All Trails link about this route, and based on the trek stats, hike to Mount Seymour (Third Peak) seemed doable. Kavya had enjoyed Riya’s company on our last hike in Golden Ears, so she was looking forward to meeting her again.

The next day, we got up early. I packed fruits and trail mix for the hike. For breakfast, I gave Kavya a roll of chapati (Indian whole wheat flatbread) and hummus. By 7:45 am, we hit the road and reached Mount Seymour parking lot by 8:30 am.

The road to Mount Seymour, climbs through a series of switchbacks and Kavya was not too happy. I don’t know if it’s my driving or the steep curves or a combination of both that made her carsick. She was not her usual self.

Parag, Shilpa and Riya arrived shortly. Kavya cheered up at the sight of Riya. After a quick washroom break, we hit the trail around 9 am.

Mount Seymour Trail

Within half a km, we had our first trail marker and another one shortly after that. The second marker had signs for Dog Mountain (another popular snowshoe trail).

Our first break was at a small pond, roughly 30 minutes into hour hike.

The trail ahead was a gravel road (part of ski run in winter). The trail straight ahead goes to Mystery Lake. We took the trail going down left to First Peak.

Kavya, who seemed to be doing okay so far, was lagging behind. Kasturi took her to the side of the trail in the shade, and she threw up. Kavya took a sip of water and said she was feeling better now. We continued with our hike.

Yugoslofia

Kavya and Riya started their Atlas game – naming a place beginning with the last letter of the place that your partner had just said. The game started with a series of places starting with A – America, Australia, Africa, Antarctica, etc. Later we heard some interesting ones like Deutschland, Yugoslavia (Kavya said “Yugoslofia” which was quite funny). As the kids ran out of places, parents were looped in for support.

The kids were having a great time, and Kasturi and Shilpa were having a good conversation. Parag and I had a brief chat, but for the most part, I kept to myself. I usually prefer a quiet hike, even if it is with a group. As I think about it now, it was a bit socially awkward. Maybe, I will get better at this as we do more family hikes.

In the meantime, we hiked up to an opening with a beautiful view.

Another group had just returned from this high point, thinking they were on the wrong trail. The trail ahead is not apparent, but you just have to take a couple of steps to see it.

We lost some elevation (about 40 m or so) as we hiked down the trail. We were soon at the junction of Mount Seymour trail and Elsay Lake trail.

Steep Hike to Summit

We had hiked about 2.8 km and were still 800 m away from First Peak. From this point to the summit, was the steepest section with close to 200 m elevation gain (25% Grade). It was a tiring hike for kids and adults.

After more than two hours of hiking, we were closer to the summit, and we took a lunch break. Given the steep terrain ahead, Kasturi was not sure if she would scramble to the summit, and Kavya was not interested. So I did a quick hike to the summit on my own.

By the time I came back, Kavya had thrown up once more and was not interested in continuing the hike to Mount Seymour (Third Peak). Parag, Shilpa and Riya were also tired, but were willing to hike to at least Second Peak.

First Peak

I had seen a less steep trail from the summit and convinced Kavya and Kasturi to give it a try. It took less than five minutes for all of us to get to the summit of First Peak.

It was a beautiful clear day with an amazing view of Vancouver.

Kavya shouted out to Riya as she made her way to Second Peak. I asked Kavya again if she had changed her mind and wanted to give Second Peak a try, but she didn’t. She was done for the day. It was difficult for me to accept that we will turn around from First Peak.

At times like these, Kasturi sets my expectations right. Even though Kavya was not at her best, we had a great day of hiking. After a 10-15 minute break on the summit, we made our way down.

As we came across different markers, Kavya asked, “…are we closer to the summit or closer to the parking lot…”. She was exhausted.

Finally, we reached the parking lot around 1:45 pm, almost five hours after we had started our hike. Later in the evening, Kasturi got a text from Shilpa. They had managed to hike to Mount Seymour Summit, and the round trip had taken roughly eight hours. Kudos to Parag, Shilpa and especially their daughter Riya for completing this strenuous hike.

I usually release a new blog post every Friday, but we are heading out for a two-night backcountry camping trip, so posting a day early. Hopefully, this trip does not turn out like the Golden Ears backcountry camping trip, which Kavya described as “..worst camping trip ever.” Fingers crossed. I will let you know.

Resources:

Trail Guide: All Trails | Vancouver Trails

Mount Seymour Provincial Park | Mount Seymour Resort

Mount Seymour was first climbed by members of the British Columbia Mountaineering Club in 1908. To read more about the history of Mount Seymour, check out the Mount Seymour History Project.

Disclosure: I am not affiliated with any of the above individuals or organizations.

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