Lone Tree Hill 25/27 weeks

Mark and I stepped out alone again for our 25th hike. We figured since the last outing was a mountain we would keep up with the elevation and tackle Lone Tree Hill. Our youngest son warned us that this was a challenging climb and he was right; the ascent begins immediately. The trail is only a little over 2km round trip but in some areas it is so steep the trail was designed with switchbacks. Lone Tree Hill is a beautiful park nestled in the Highlands district and at the summit it is easy to see why settlers called this place the Highlands. At 364 m it is almost 1000 metres shorter than the Ben in the real Scottish Highlands, but try telling yourself that while you are traipsing to the top.

Mark heading toward the summit

Switchbacks designed to keep us on semi-level ground.

Have I mentioned before that Arbutus only grow within 30 miles of the Northwest coast?

My very sweet friend Wayne gave me a new tripod...but through a series of mishaps, neither the old nor the new tripod made it into the camera bag this week.

We were the only hikers in this park on the Sunday that we visited. Lone Tree Hill is out of the way as the Highland's most western park. It is off the transit system and even for car travel it is clear at the end of Millstream road.
Twenty five weeks into our commitment we begin to talk in terms of elevation using terms such as 'only' and 'not quite'. When we speak about hiking at our home state of Illinois we wonder how challenging we will find the mostly flat terrain. Mark brings up a good point. Area summits are measured by sea level and many times the trail heads are on roads that wind up the side of an elevation. 
One of the realities of Old Baldy Mountain (435m) in the Shawnigan Lake district is that the trail head begins  level with the lake. Compared to Mount Work (450 m) by the time you get to the parking lot you are already partially up the mountain. This may be the reason we got to the top of Mount Work and felt like it hadn't been such a bad climb. But we felt every single meter of the climb up Old Baldy.

I am the slower hiker and so Mowgli always comes back to make sure I am alright. Here he is trying to keep my pride intact and only peek at me.

Mark pauses on his way back down.

Any tree would look dramatic at this elevation.

This stump is all that is left of the 12 foot bonsai-like tree that stood at the summit for 2 centuries.

For comparison, this is a loonie, not a penny. I was struck by how enormous the slugs were at this park.

 My recommendations? Do it, hike this park and get to the top. Its less than an hour and the views make it  well worth the climb.

Next week: We are celebrating our 6 month hiking anniversary with a potluck lunch and a stretch at Kinsmen Gorge park. Follow the parking lot from Tillicum Road as far into the park as you can go and we will have claimed a picnic table between the parking lot and the water's edge.The walk will start at 10am and non-walkers will begin to arrive at 11:30-12 for lunch. Check out this Facebook map.