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| Lunch break views from Mt Unnecessary |
If the Grouse Grind is not your cup of tea… because it’s too busy, too short, too easy, and the views aren’t very good, then this one is a splendid alternative. Just a warning though, this is not a good hike for beginners or those not inclined to climb 1250m over 3kms for fun (or as the graffiti on the sign says “hard as fucking hell and not for beginners”. Mt Unnecessary is one of those beautiful peaks on the Howe Sound trail between the Lions and St Marks. I’ve previously conquered it on the way to the Lions from St Marks years ago, but never from it’s own dedicated trail starting at Lions Bay.
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| The divide to Erin Moore Trail (dedicated to a 7 year old who died on the trail in 2014) |
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| Happy in her element |
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| mini breaks on the relentless climb |
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| Steep! Steep! |
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| kisses on a fallen log |
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| This way! |
We weren’t able to finish the beast (about 250m higher to go) because of snow but we still got some beautiful views, a wonderful lunch spot, and the perfect workout all the while having the entire trail to ourselves.
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| Views halfway up |
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| Looking down you can’t even see the trail |
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| beautiful and quiet here |
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| Little ginger watchdog |
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| Whiskey had no problems with the rocks |
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| watch your steps up and down |
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| Waiting for us slow humans |
This hike is very to-the-point and unrelenting but also has enough variation and interesting scrambly sections to keep you interested going up. Because it’s so steep, you climb altitude really fast and start seeing promising views within an hour. I’d like to think I’ve done quite a few steep hikes and this one is pretty up there on the list, for a dog-friendly one.
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| More little breaks |
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| Lots of fun! |
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| A beautiful long-weekend hike |
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| not a bad spot to eat |
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| The view NorthWest of Lions Bay |
Coming down was harder and longer than expected and I was really tired of falling on my butt. The steepness, loose ground, and my knee injuries were a bad mix but we still made it down in one piece (Whiskey was wondering what the big deal was and why we were so slow). In all we finished in less than 6 hours and were happily sore the next day!
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| Getting to need snowshoes/crampons |
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| Whiskey loves running up and down with sticks |
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| I slid on my bum down, while Whiskey ran her but off |
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| Heading back down |
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| We all had a couple small tumbles heading down |
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