Saint Marks Peak: First Family Hike of the Season

Yes, we are a bit late in the game. I’m not sure how it happened, we probably just got caught up doing cycling trips and forgot to switch to hiking. We were also waiting for the new hiking carrier to arrive, and then most weekends in June were a bit cold and wet. Then there was this one day that we had planned on going to St. Marks Peak but Neil woke up sick, so we ended up hiking to the beach instead. So here we were on the last weekend of June, together with what seemed like the rest of Vancouver and their dog  heading to St. Marks Peak.

As we were hiking we wondered when did this hike become so popular? The signs on the way don’t even mention St. Marks peak, but we’ve been there twice before so we knew to follow signs for the Lions. One girl asked us shortly after we started if the way to St. Marks Peak was that way, pointing back to the direction of the parking lot where we had just come from…

Neil seemed to like the new hiking carrier and after a much needed snack break (Bamba, of course) he eventually fell asleep. The way there seemed long, although it is a relatively short hike. On the summit we had to squeeze our way through the crowd to take a look at the view. People spread out in all directions while we made sure Neil didn’t get too close to the edge of the cliff, as he enjoyed chasing the dogs.

The way down was a lot quicker and we didn’t take any breaks, although Neil was awake the whole time, but he enjoyed just being in the carrier and babbling to himself. Once back at the Cypress Ski area we let him walk by himself for a bit to the car. Then we tried to convince him to take a look at the ‘waterfall’ at the parking lot, but he was much more interested in trying to open the car door with the keys.

Back on the highway, the Lions Gate Bridge sign showed a 90 (!) minute delay which left us with no choice than to go for Persian Food at Yaas in North Vancouver. Hiking, traffic delays and Persian Food – I guess it really means that summer is here!