Winter hiking under a full moon

Photo courtesy of Dave Norona

Kim Duess, left, Jon Rutlage, centre, and Dave Norona enjoy a warm fire in Hanes Valley under a full moon.

A few years ago as a New Year’s resolution I promised myself that on every full moon I would do something special. Well, as our group loaded up our packs and headed off into the bush a euphoric feeling came over my body — I knew we were in for an epic.

Winter hiking can be dangerous. You must be prepared to carry lots of gear to handle all the situations that you may encounter. ice axe, crampons, snowshoes, and extra clothing is just some of the stuff that is mandatory! Here’s why:

Leaving the comfort of our cars behind, we made our way up through Lynn Headwaters and followed the icy path toward Norvan Falls. As darkness settled in, our headlamps became our best friend to guide us through the forest floor. Reaching Norvan Falls we stopped briefly for a quick drink out of the refreshing creek before crossing the cable bridge into Hanes Valley.

The Hanes Valley is one of my favourite hikes as it offers amazing vistas in an open valley surrounded by mountainous terrain. The trail is definitely tough and the huge amount of snow made it even tougher. Our snowshoes kept us afloat as we meandered through the forest floor with our headlamps lighting up the reflective markers that showed us the way. As we reached Hanes Valley the tight trees disappeared and we were rewarded with brilliant clear skies with the full moon peering over the mountains at us. It was here that I surprised the group as I pulled out a firelog from my pack. I set it on some broken branches and soon we were enjoying our surroundings with a warm fire.

After gorging on bread, cheese and warm drinks, we loaded back up and made our way up the tough climb to the base of Crown Mountain.

There had been numerous avalanches through this valley and our pace was slowed by the huge debris and uneven terrain we had to negotiate. As we neared the top, ice axes and crampons were necessary to ascend the steep icy slopes.

This was the worst I had seen Hanes Valley in the 30 or so times I had been through over the last 10 years.

Our group worked in unison to make sure everyone was comfortable and safe. The tough terrain continued as we ascended further up the backside of Goat Mountain and again our crampons saved us, as it was impossible to make even a dent in the snow pack.

Atop the final climb on Dam Mountain we rejoiced in our efforts with some more chocolate before hammering down the snowcat road to the bar in the Grouse Mountain Chalet.

Mission accomplished!

DAVE NORONA for Metro Vancouver