Hiking the Stawamus Chief
We finally hiked the chief. It’s been a long time coming, but this weekend we were looking for a short easy hike and picked out the chief because we’d never done it before.
the Stawamus Chief in Squamish is probably the most popular hike after the Grouse Grind which would explain why the parking lot was full Sunday at Noon. Troves of people were going up and coming down which made for a crowded trail.
We were surprised that the first part of the trail is mostly stairs and it was annoying because it was so crowded. We’re use to being alone in the wild, not hiking beside girls in converse carrying dogs. Yes, people bring up dogs. Others go in mall shoes with just a bottle of water.
This was the first chance for me to test out the new camera I bought a few weeks ago off craigslist. It’s the Sony A6000. I’d been eyeing it since before Christmas but held out because I knew an updated version was coming. Unfortunately that updated version did not replace the existing A6000 so there is even more demand now for the A6000 than there was before Christmas. This means I ended up paying more than if I had bought before Christmas. The guy I bought it from on craigslist was actually a friend of a friend.
The Camera controls will get some getting use to but the pictures are stellar. They’re equal, if not better than the Nikon photos and I really like the electronic view finder. Traditional DSLRs have a mirror so you see optically through the lens. The A6000 is mirrorless so when you look through the view finder you’re actually looking at a mini screen that the sensor is seeing. A few years ago this would have been terrible but the screen is high enough resolution that you see exactly what you’re about to take a photo of. When you change the aperture or the shutter speed you see the change in real time which is really powerful.
The hike up the chief, only at an elevation of 610m took about an hour and a half. There were a few ladders and rock scrambles that we either had to wait for people or were able to bypass on the side. All of the crowds were worth the view at the top, which was sunny. We spent a long time at the top eating lunch and soaking up the sun.
When Yuki found out there was LTE up there, we made a hotspot to instgram -instantly!
We didn’t get to do the second or third peak, so that we’ll have to leave for another time; that’s if we come back. It’s such a short hike with so many people I’m not sure if it’s really worth it.
