Munro Lake Hike

Munro Lake sits at an elevation of around 850 m in Pinecone Burke Provincial Park. At 9 km round trip and about 800 m elevation gain, it is a moderate hike. Typically, this hike is done in late summer/fall, but the weather looked promising on Sunday, May 30, and we decided to give it a try.

Parag, Shilpa and their nine-year-old daughter Riya will also be joining us. Since last year, we have done several hikes together. I knew that having Riya would make it much easier for Kavya to finish the hike.

The trailhead for Munro Lake is on Quarry Road and is the same as that for Dennet Bluffs. Parking is on the side of the gravel road, and it was busy by the time we arrived there around 11:15 am.

Dennet Bluffs

The hike starts right across the parking lot. We were at a junction in few minutes, and we went right following the sign for Munro Lake.

It took us about 15 minutes to arrive at Dennet Bluffs (Burke Crag). I was here for kids climbing trip earlier in May and have made several trips to this crag over the last few years.

I had always wondered about the trail heading up from the crag. Now I was going to experience this hike with family and friends.

Viewpoint Loop

Beyond Dennet Bluffs, the trail is steep and narrow.

On our Sawblade Falls hike, Kavya got grumpy when we reached the waterfall as we didn’t take as many water/snack breaks. This time, I had told her to let me know as soon as she needs a break, which ended up being every 15-20 minutes on this steep trail.

About 2.5 km into the hike, we were at the Munro Lake and Viewpoint Loop trail junction. It was a short hike to the lookout point from here.

Munro Lake Hike - Viewpoint Loop - Lookout — View from the lookout

After a brief break, we continued on the Viewpoint Loop trail. Since it is a loop, I thought it would connect back to the Munro Lake trail higher up.

Off-Trail Adventure

GAIA didn’t show any, but if there is a trail, I missed it. After some bushwhacking up a steep slope, we were on flat terrain. There was still no sign of the trail.

On GAIA, I could see our location and where we were relative to the Munro Lake trail. We were heading in the right direction and getting close to the trail.

I marked a point on the Munro Lake Trail and used the “Guide Me” feature to get a straight line from our location to the trail. Then I handed over the phone to the kids and asked them to follow the line and “lead us” back to the trail.

Both Kavya and Riya were super excited. After 10-15 minutes, we were back on track. The kids had too much fun and wanted to continue their off-trail adventure. The adults had enough adventure for the day, and we stuck to the established trail.

Munro Lake

We were now getting closer to the lake, and as per the map, it was a relatively flat hike ahead.

After the Munro Lake-Village Trail junction, there was some snow on the trail. It was soft, and we didn’t need microspikes. It was really muddy in some sections.

After three hours of hiking, we arrived at the south end of Munro Lake. The lake was partially frozen.

Everyone was tired, and it was mentally exhausting to just figure out the trail ahead. That’s when Kasturi asked, “Is there a place where we can sit and take a break?.” and I snapped back, “How would I know?” Today, I was the grumpy one.

Finally, There was a small clearing in the forest, and we stopped there for a lunch break. I had carried my jetboil and stove. So we boiled some water and made instant chai. Kids got hot chocolate. Some food with a hot drink is what everyone needed.

After a long break, the kids changed into their snow boots, and we got going. Kasturi and Shilpa stayed back while the rest of us continued on the trail to see the rest of Munro Lake.

We walked for another 10 minutes, and we had a great view of the lake.

“Eighth Wonder” is how I described it to Shilpa when she asked, “How was it?” I had to make Kasturi and Shilpa feel bad for not coming with us. They were not convinced.

It was 3:30 pm by now, and we decided to head back down instead of exploring the trail to Dennet Lake.

Parag and Shilpa had brought their dog, Joey, on the hike. About halfway down, I asked if I could hike with Joey and got the leash. I have no experience, but Joey is so tiny; how hard can it be?

A few minutes later, I slipped and pulled down Joey with me at a steep and wet section. Thankfully, we were not hurt, but I promptly handed the leash back to Parag.

The Wizards

Kavya and Riya have both read the Harry Potter series and watched most of the movies. They started the hike with a quiz. The questions were like “What is the first spell that Harry Potter witnessed?” or “In Hogwarts, what level is Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom on?”

Later they were enacting scenes from the books. They took turns in being Lord Voldemort, Bellatrix and Narcissa. I found their “English” accent and the whole game quite entertaining.

On the hike back down, the kids took their game to a whole new level when they started making up their own Harry Potter plots. I was fortunate enough to witness a few duels.

Back at the Dennet Bluffs, we took a slight detour and hiked down the waterfall. A bit of scrambling to get down and up again, but it was beautiful!

When we got back down to the parking lot, it was close to 7 pm. It was probably one of the most challenging hikes for Kavya so far. Riya’s company and their journey into the wizarding world made it more enjoyable for all of us.