Seymour Demonstration Forest, North Vancouver

 

A brisk early morning hike on Seymour Mountain with the dogs ended up being quite the adventure! And history lesson.  

This is the remained of the first bridge to cross the Seymour River, you can see Dakota trying to swim to the other side. It was built in 1907 – 1908 and was dismantled in 1992. The crossing carried a water main across the river and provided east-west access for pedestrians. A second bridge was built just north of the first in 1926 and removed in September 2009. For almost 70 years (1926 – 1992) those “twin bridges” served as a major corridor over the Seymour River.

The current Twin Bridges Trail provided the main access to the bridges and although both have since been removed, the trail name will remain in historical recognition of these early crossings. The current bridge will continue to serve the region as an important southerly crossing for both utility operations and public recreation.

In the late 1800’s logging, construction of a water pipeline and settlement began to encroach upon the surrounding forest. If you take a close look around you will find evidence of this past human activity.

This tunnel was once used for a water pipeline. The trail upon which we were standing was once a 2-lane gravel road.  It was a very narrow trail.

The nearby pool in the Seymour river was once used to store shingles bolts for the Hastings Shingle Manufacturing Company.

Even after this significant disturbance, a new forest has grown back to reclaim the area. These new trees and shrubs now hide many of the remnants of past human activity. We would have walked right by them if there had not been signage for us to read.

We are moving ...

What an adventure ! We're moving !!

We are moving and have some office stuff we no longer need.








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Grouse Mountain Weekly Hike - History

Hiking "Mother Nature's Stairmaster" got me to thinking.....what person ever thought this was a"FUN" thing to do. I learned some neat history I wanted to share.

Hikers were first recorded on Grouse Mountain back in 1894 when a hunting party shot a blue grouse bird and named the mountain in the bird's honor.

It wasn't until the 1920's and early 30's, that Grouse Mountain saw the first big wave of adventurous hikers. People flocked to the mountain each year looking to reach the cabins located in the Grouse Mountain Village, at the foot of what is now known as The Cut.

The Grind was first developed in 1981 by mountaineers looking for a challenging, convenient aerobic workout to sustain them for their longer hikes. They began by following the existing British Columbia Mountaineering Club Trail (BCMC) which offers a slightly less strenuous climb, my choice for a hike over the grind any day!  People soon wanted a steeper route and about a quarter of the way up began using well-worn animal paths as their guide. The trail route was completed in the winter of 1983.

In 1996, the original cast of builders, along with a number of enthusiasts from the BC Federation of Mountaineering Club and Grouse Mountain, rebuilt the trail ensuring optimum safety and enjoyment for the high volume of hikers while maintaining the highest level of environmental protection from erosion.

Grouse Mountain Statistics today are over 100,000 people hike the trail annually.