Hiking Stawamus Chief South Peak – Squamish, BC

September 18, 2012

Last week, I decided to head up to Squamish to hike the south peak of the Stawamus Chief. As with the Lions hike, I’m not going to go into how to get to the trail, etc. There are plenty of sites that can give you good info about the trail: Vancouver Trails, Club Tread, Trail Peak, Live Trails.

I wish I had got a better shot of the rock face, I’ll have to do that next time.

This is a very popular hike in the area, expect to see at least a few people on the trail and on all of the peaks. The south peak is the most popular and the shortest hike as well. Middle and north peaks are less popular but still see their fair share of hikers. The Chief is not only popular with hikers, but is also a huge draw for climbers who come to challenge themselves on the granite face. I found this interesting video while writing this post: Patagonia climbing ambassador Sonnie Trotter climbed the first free ascent of Cobra Crack (5.14). Props, that is something that I’ll never do.

You start your hike in the campground, nice and easy.

A map and some info before you start the hike.

Also a warning. The trail isn’t long (about 6Km round trip) but it is steep and if you are unprepared you can get into trouble. I saw some yahoo going up in flip flops!

The trail is very well maintained. Kudos to the crew that come out to maintain this for the rest of us, very much appreciated.

Sure beats the stair climber at the gym.

Another sign along the route, very easy to follow as long as you pay attention. There are several of these along the way which will guide you to any of the peaks along with some of the other trails available in the area.

The trail is quite steep for most of the route.

Though well maintained, no cake walk and Mr. FlipFlop likely had a fun time in some sections.

The lower part of the hike is in the forest and the shade makes it easier on a hot day. As you get near the summit, you start to see the sun trickle though.

There are a few ladders on the route, don’t see that on most hiking trails.

A large overhang looms over the trail.

Warning on the trail. As I said before, the area is popular with climbers so do not throw anything over the edge.

You know you are reaching the summit when the forest gets thin and the rocky soil yields to solid granite.

A chain and ladder help you navigate the grade.

Soon after, you start to get rewarded with some great views.

Don’t get distracted though, one wrong step and you are going over the edge.

Now just a scramble to the top.

Tough life for trees that live on the summit.

Once at the summit, you get a beautiful view of Howe Sound and Squamish.

Just like on the Lions hike, this raven took the easy route to the top.

You can also see the middle peak with a few hikers enjoying the view.

Some hikers coming down from the middle peak.

I ventured to the cliff edge, though didn’t spend much time there.

Along with my trusty Nikon I brought up my tripod and f-stop Guru backpack. It’s a great pack for a day hike with photo gear.

Soon after I arrived, I was joined by a chipmunk.

We became good buddies after I gave him a couple pumpkin seeds from my trail mix.

Got any more???

A few more views from the top. Can anyone tell me the name of the mountain in the background? Please post in the comments. UPDATE: It is Mount Garibaldi (thanks Jesse).

Me wrecking a perfectly good shot.

A good spot for lunch.

Here is a map of my route to the summit tracked using Runkeeper on the iPhone.

While at the top, I also shot a complete panorama which resulted in a 100 megapixel image. If you want to see the full size image check my previous post.

On my way down, I stopped along the creek to take a few photos. I tried some shots with a polarizing filter and a neutral density filter to get longer exposures.

Finally, on my way home I topped in at Shannon Falls which is only a few minutes from the Chief. First, an HDR image of the falls, I was hoping it would turn out a little different.