Ashika Morasiewicz
Outdoor Adventurer from the North Shore, BC
Chasing the Sunset on Seymour
Hi, happy New Year!
I don’t have much experience in backcountry travel during winter months. Normally, when the hiking season ends, I hibernate until spring. Last winter, I snowshoed a little bit more than the previous year and this winter, I plan to continue to build my stoke for the season.
With a quiet shoulder season, we were aching to get outdoors. On Jan 1, 2015, Ryan and I thought to celebrate the New Year by knocking an item off of our to-hike list: catching a sunset from Mt. Seymour.
Snowshoes were not necessary for this trip; we were fine with microspikes as the trail was well worn. The temperature was mild and I had layered down to my tank top within the first half hour.
The ski hill was closed due to poor snow conditions. Rather than taking the standard backcountry access trail, we went straight up the ski runs and joined back up with the standard trail at Brockton Point. From there, we went up the south face of First Pump.
Ascending the South Face of First Pump
Looking Back Down our Route, South Face
By the time we reached First Pump, there was a large group of individuals on the summit.
Traffic on First Pump
We knew we wouldn’t make Seymour by sunset, so we decided to explore the evening light on the plateau around First Pump:
Looking Out Over Vancouver
Ryan & I
Looking East Over the Indian Arm
View of Seymour, Runner, and Elsay
View of Tim Jones Peak and Mt. Seymour
Exploring the Summit Plateau
As the sky and the snow turned gold, we slowly made our way over to the summit of First Pump:
Admiring the View
Making Our Way to the Peak
First Pump:
Summit Post
Views from First Pump:
Bathed in the Sunset
Chasing the Sunset
Sunset Chasers
The Sunset:
The Sun Setting over Vancouver
After the sun dipped below the horizon, we put on our headlamps and set off along the standard Seymour winter trail, back to the truck. With Ryan pretty much shining day light on the way, our hike back was easy and uneventful.
Hiking by 4500 Lumens
Heading Home
Stats for the day:
Google Earth Birdseye View of Route
Google Earth 3D View of Route
Elevation Profile
Total Distance: 8.77km
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 601m
In terms of blood sugar management, my readings remained between 8.2mmol and 12.7mmol. I went through 3 shotbloks the entire day and only corrected with a total of 2.2 units. Normally, such a small dosage of insulin, with 3 shotblocks, would have spiked me well into my 20s; however, I felt like I was constantly battling low blood sugars throughout the day.
This is not the first time we have experienced inexplicable low-trending blood sugars while hiking. Months ago, we wondered if I still had some insulin producing beta cells. A few days after our hike, I came across an article suggesting this was, in fact, possible: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/837312 – our crazy blood sugar days now make more sense.
After appreciating such a beautiful day, I’m looking forward to gaining more experience in winter travel and seeing more of what winter has to offer.
– Ash
As i said before, nice writing and pics :). You mentioned that you don’t have much experience in backcountry travel during winter months. I don’t think you need that much winter experience in order to have fun. If you want to keep it simple and safe you can always try to camp on top of the Tim Jones Peak for ex. One of my favorite things to do in winter is to camp on the Summit,either in a snow cave or tent (still waiting for the right time to do it this winter). Then i like reading books by headlamp. Plus you get to see the sunset and the sunrise. Or you could winter camp at Elfin or Garibaldi for ex. Just an idea.
PS: i wanted to comment on your Wedgemount Lake trip but it wont allow me to access the comment section.