The Stawamus Chief

The Stawamus Chief is a massive granite rock formation located in Squamish. As you drive up the Sea to Sky Highway, it is a very imposing sight - a shear rock cliff that seems to go up forever as you drive by.

Early in the summer, my friend Darlene and I discovered that we both had a common goal - to hike "The Chief". I had hiked to the first peak five years ago, while visiting Whistler on business. I remembered it was much more difficult than I anticipated, and being an inexperienced hiker, there were some pretty challenging moments on the way up and particularly on the way down. I had always wanted to go back a little better prepared than the last time. Part of being better prepared meant not doing the hike on my own, so it was great to have a friend who wanted to tackle it.

And so, the training began. We would hike Knox Mountain here in Kelowna a couple of times a week. As it turned out, this was pretty good training for the 700 metre ascent up the back of The Chief. At dinner the night before, I was feeling pretty confident and said, "Maybe it's not as hard as I remember..."

Yeah, right - it was much harder than I remembered, but well worth the effort. I'm wishing I had pictures from the top that day, but I resolved to carry only the water I could drink and the food I would eat. One of these days I'll get a small camera, just for fun! For now, you'll have to imagine the view after the climb. It was a beautiful, sunny day, with puffy clouds dotting the sky. We hiked to the second peak, so had a panoramic view of mountains, lakes, Squamish, even a glacier off in the distance. It took us just under 2 hours of stairs, rocks, ladders and ropes to reach the top. The half hour or so we spent basking in the sun at the top was heavenly.

After we returned to sea level, I grabbed my camera and made these images. The Chief is difficult to photograph because of its size and location. I used a wide angle lens to get as much of it in the frame as possible, positioning my camera just so to avoid the power lines running just above the frame. I'd like to try to photograph The Chief from across the valley using a telephoto lens the next time I make the trip, and of course the hike! Yes, I'd do it again in a heartbeat and maybe one of these days I'll be able to keep a bounce in my step and a song on my lips like the guy we nick-named "Skippy". Skippy and his friends passed us not once, but two or three times. The last time we saw him, even his friends were cursing - "don't you ever stop singing?!?@#@!?"

Other memorable moments included helping Mimi, a rather large dog, from behind. She was frightened and her owner could not reach down to lift her up. I guess you never know where your hand is going to end up on a day like that! We passed Mimi and her owner, thinking they would never make it to the top. After we'd been there about 15 minutes, there was Mimi, running around, trying to find her way out of the nightmare she didn't sign up for.

All in all, it was a great day, a great hike, with many rewards over the course of the weekend. My only regret is that we didn't have someone take our grimy picture at the base of The Chief, covered head to toe in dirt with big smiles on our faces. Next time, for sure! I seem to be developing a fondness for hiking up things. Next up is The Grouse Grind in September, which means I'd better start hauling my butt up Knox Mountain again.....