Coliseum Mountain, Mount Burwell, The Needles(North, Middle, South), and Lynn Peak

In classic “go big, then get lost in the bush” fashion, I set out from Lynn Valley Road on a North Shore peak-bagging mission with dreams of tagging Cathedral Mountain. Things were looking good as I cruised up to Coliseum and Mount Burwell, soaking in some views, until the cloud ceiling dropped like a bad mood on a Monday morning.

With Cathedral socked in and visibility turning into a game of “guess what rock you’re on,” I pivoted to Plan B: a full traverse to The Needles and Lynn Peak, because what’s a little unknown terrain between friends?

The stretch from Coliseum to The Needles was… a vegetation-heavy adventure. Let’s just say the alders are alive and well, and they do not want you to pass. I bushwhacked, crawled, slipped, and questioned all my life decisions between curse words. The terrain was rugged and slow-going, but worth it for the solitude and the bragging rights.

After tagging North, Middle, and South Needles, I hit Lynn Peak, descended to South Lynn, and took the west ridge trail back to my car. The final stretch was headlamp territory, because no epic day in the North Shore is complete without tripping over roots in the dark.