Susanne, Nadia, Finn and I started our hike early on Sunday morning. We had to be sure to choose pickup locations and driving routes well away from the Vancouver marathon that was taking place that morning. We had a few minutes to wait for the ferry at Horseshoe Bay, and we spent that time walking around Horseshoe Bay. The ferry ride over to Snug Cove was very beautiful, and we were eager to start our hike once we arrived on Bowen Island. As we walked past Killarney Lake we thought that it would be really nice to swim in the lake in the summer months.
Finally, we were ready to start our hike. I was very happy to see that signposts had been built since the last time I climbed Mount Gardner, as it had been very easy to take a wrong turn and get lost before the signposts were built. On our way up Finn told us of a solo hike he did in Greenland in which he hunted and fished for his own food, did solo glacier travel and was completely alone for four weeks. We were very impressed with his stories. Despite the signposts, we did take one wrong turn on the way up and therefore ended up completing the loop up and down Mount Gardner in the opposite direction than I’ve done before.
Nadia, Susanne, Alex and Finn posing at the summit
At the summit we were greeted by spectacular views of Howe Sound, the Sunshine Coast, the City of Vancouver and Olympic Peninsula. We ate lunch on the summit and discussed our original idea of either camping overnight on the summit of Mount Gardner or Anvil Island. Susanne, Nadia and Finn were a little surprised by the cell phone tower at the summit as none of them had been to Bowen Island before.
We continued to chat and see great views during our descent of the island. Eventually, back at Snug Cove, we had ice cream to conclude our trip.