Unnecessary Mountain

Last summer I hiked to the Lions, and it was easily the best hike I did all summer. This year I decided to do it again, but this time to leave from Cypress Mountain. This route is much longer, as it follows the Howe Sound crest trail and before you get to the Lions you have to climb up and over St. Mark's summit and Unecessary Mountain.

We ended up stopping at Unecessary Mountain.

I'll admit, it's a bit hazy, but to the left you can see Bowen Island,
with Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast in the background

The first couple kilometers of the trail are on a wide, fairly level, well maintained gravel trail. Soon enough it switches back to the standard path as you head up to St. Mark's. The view from St. Mark's isn't panoramic, but it is stunning none the less. You can look out over the mouth of the Howe Sound, with a great view of Bowen Island, and the many other smaller islands and rocks scattered around sound. The trail descends fairly steeply on the far side of the peak before coming to a sign "Improved Trail Ends" with a fallen tree across the path. The trail then ascends steeply to the top of the first peak of Unecessary Mountain. In total there are three peaks. We didn't get any further than the second peak, but it has quite a beautiful view of the lions just a few short kilometers further down the trail. To the south you can see the sprawl of Vancouver across the lower mainland.

The West and the East Lion

On the trip back, myself and my hiking partners were watching a helicopter zoom up and down the range, then much to our surprise it landed in the tiny meadow we had just crossed. We backtracked and watched as three men jumped out with a number of large rucksacks. As the helicopter took off, they said that a woman had fallen further down the trail, and would we please help them carry some equipment to her. We acquiesced and ran off after them. After dropping off the bags, we opted to try not make the lady who had fallen even more uncomfortable by standing around and watching, so continued on our way.

In summary, Unecessary Mountain is one more of the many beautiful hikes that BC has to offer. The round trip took us between seven and eight hours, and we were fairly tired by the end of it.

Difficulty: 3.5/5
Enjoyability: 3.5/5