June 2nd to June 9th 2024
Picture this: the lush forest around you is a riot of greens, the air is filled with the sweet scent of fir and the soothing sounds of birdsong, rustling leaves and water flowing nearby. But all that tranquility is shattered by the relentless pounding of your own heartbeat, echoing in your ears like a jackhammer. Your breath comes in ragged gasps, each step a battle against gravity and fatigue.
Welcome to Week three of the Queen and King of the Hill, where the serene beauty of the West Coast forest seduces you with its beauty while beating you down with every incline and twist in the trail. Your destination: Lost Lake Shelter.
Getting to the Start:
From the North HSCT parking lot, run down southbound along the highway exit. Enter the Northern terminus of the Howe Sound Crest Trail. Follow the HSCT uphill for 0.8km or until you emerge on a logging road with a HSCT signpost on the corner. Turn left away from the HSCT and walk 50m before turning right uphill onto another logging road. Follow this second logging road for a few hundred meters then turn right at a well-flagged junction onto a third logging road. Follow this path until you reach the start of the challenge.
Challenge Description:
Start your watch at the rock pile right around 300m of elevation gain up from the parking lot. You can't miss it, the trail goes up and over a pile of rocks with lots of flagging tape.
Follow the lush and loamy trail through multiple sections of low angled traversing and very steep forest trail.
Stop your watch when you touch the shelter at Lost Lake.
- Distance: 2.6 km
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Elevation Gain: 700 m
- Where to Park: North End of the HSCT - Porteau Rd
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Surface: Expect dirt, roots, rocks, fixed ropes.
- GPX Track
- YouTube Video Walkthrough
- Strava Segment Link