Dean Perez: Fannin Range(Presbyter, Deacon, Bishop, Vicar, Curate, Rector, Elsay, and Seymour)

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Fannin Range(Presbyter, Deacon, Bishop, Vicar, Curate, Rector, Elsay, and Seymour)

March 08, 2015

48 km, 3565 m elevation gain, 10h15min

I’ve been itching to run the Fannin Range loop since last year, but apparently, no one else has bothered to document it online, so I figured, why not be the first? After lots of Google Earth stalking and terrain sleuthing, I cooked up a rough route, aiming to stick high on the ridges and bag a handful of peaks along the way. No takers for company, so I went solo.

Started from Lynn Valley Road, parked by the grocery store, and hit the trail at 9:15 am,a bit late for a day like this, but hey, I was ready for a late finish. My pack was fully loaded: crampons, ice axe, headlamp, MEC synthetic hoody, windbreaker, running tights, gels, bars, gloves, camera, GPS, 500ml water, and a basic first aid kit (lighter, knife, batteries...the essentials for an epic solo adventure).

Almost immediately, I hit a snag at Seymour Mainline Road gate with a huge “NO PUBLIC ACCESS” sign. The guard at the gate wasn’t thrilled to see me either, gave me the kind of look that screamed, “Don’t even think about it.” So I took the hint and backtracked.

Instead, I took Homestead Trail to the north side of Fisherman’s Trail, then ran the gravel Spur 4 road south of Seymour River, about 14 km in 1.5 hours to the Vicar Lakes trailhead.

From there, I left the road and started climbing a steep, well-marked trail. Along the way, I stumbled across some massive trees , felt tiny standing next to them, like an ant in a forest of giants. The climb was steep with plenty of fixed ropes to help on the tough sections. Just over two hours from the car, I reached Vicar Lakes and pressed onward.

Snow started near a ridge viewpoint, so on came the crampons , sliding backward wasn’t on my agenda. I powered up to Mount Bishop’s summit, snapped a few photos, and then descended eastward toward Deacon and Presbyter Peaks.

Pro tip: the slope up to Deacon is steep and icy. If you don’t have crampons or at least some solid trail shoes, don’t risk it. Falling here means a very fast and unwanted trip over a 50-100m cliff.

After a quick summit on Presbyter Peak (energy gel in hand), I retraced my steps back to Vicar Lakes. The bushwhacking here was real, faint trail, sporadic flagging tape, and occasional metal markers guided me over Vicar, Curate, and Rector Peaks.

Turns out there’s a real trail from Vicar Lakes all the way to Mount Seymour, but I mostly stuck high on the ridge, following whatever markers I could find. The route to Elsay peeled off south, and I finally topped out on Mount Seymour just before sunset.

Running down Seymour Road at dusk was a fleeting, almost magical moment,moving on pure adrenaline and accomplishment.

Nightfall meant navigating Ned’s Trail in the dark, then pushing on through Bottle Top Trail, hoping to connect back to the south side of Fisherman’s Trail. I ignored the “NO ENTRY” signs (yikes), and paid the price when I found Twin Bridge pulled out, and a flood-damaged section of trail. After navigating fallen trees, I finally hopped over the fence onto Baden Powell Trail, then cruised Lillooet Road back to my car.

All told, it was a superb day , a solo, high-adventure, peak-bagging, bushwhacking, crampon-crunching loop that left me utterly exhausted and exhilarated.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. But maybe next time with less “no entry” signs and more daylight!