First hike of the Season : Mt. Fromme

Yuki and I got out for our first hike yesterday. We coordinated with our friend Frances to meet downtown but before we went I found out that Tim Hortons 50th birthday was giving away free donuts so we stopped to pick some up along the way.



We were planning on hiking Lynn Peak for a short warmup to the hiking season but the bus wasn’t there when we reached the North Shore and rather than wait another 20 minutes after waiting as long for the Seabus we hopped on the 246 to hike up Mt. Fromme.



I’ve hiked Mt. Fromme twice before so finding the start of the trail wasn’t a problem. Another group of hikers got off at the same stop but they walked down the trail beside the creek while we went up. After geeing out on an old wooden bridge, we made our way up to the waterfall.

Mosquito Creek Waterfall
Following the waterfall we weren’t really interested in going down hill to find the trailhead so we just went straight up the side of the mountain. Climbing over deadfalls and stumbling through the bush, we made quick time up the mountain. There were several hiking trails that seemed to run along contours up the mountain so we’d take short breaks walking along the trail before jumping back into the bush and heading straight up the mountain.



Along the way we stopped at the creek for a snack break and passed several mountain bikers. We had a few peaks of Grouse Mountain but didn’t see very much of Vancouver.



The top of Mt. Fromme is the steepest and we also ran into compact snow at the top, about 2–3 feet. That made hiking interesting but also fun.



At the top, we had lunch overlooking Lynn Peak, the Three Sisters, and Coliseum Mountain.

Yuki and Frances eating lunch
On the way down we took the Old Mountain Hwy, a road that connects to Grouse Mountain. Originally, it was how Grouse Mt. was constructed and maintained but now it is used by mountain bikers on their way up before they ride down trails. The gravel road zigzags down the mountain some 6km that we walked before busing back to Vancouver and getting another Tim Hortons birthday donut with dinner.



Although sore, we have big plans to hike a lot of mountains this summer and do some over night camping trips!



Mt. Fromme

8.5 hours up and down.

Starting elev. about 330m

Highest elev. about 1170m.