They say Dog Mountain is one of the easiest but I had the worst experience

My first time snowshoeing: Dog mountain at Mount Seymour. Not far from Vancouver and its categorized as an easy trail for snowshoeing. Let me give you some stats about this trail. (Check out BC Parks website for some awesome information)

• Distance: 4.5 km (not the trail not including from the car park)
• Elevation: 34 m
• Peak: 1,054 m
• Time: We took about 4 hours with all the sightseeing and resting
• Entrance fee: Free

This is my first time trying snowshoeing. I went together with a friend and both of us are newbies. (And yet we both bought brand new snowshoes. Not a wise choice) So, we thought of trying out one of the easiest trail we can find. Long story short, we both agree we hate this trail and won’t be going back.

Parking

Since I am being a cheapskate on a budget, I didn’t reserve/pay for parking that is own by Mount Seymour ski resort. So we can only park at Lower P5 or P1 car park. P1 car park is the furthest car park and you will drive pass on your way up the ski resort. Lower P5 is just along the round from P1 car park to the ski resort. We being lazy and all, parked as close as we can to the start of the trail. However, I am not exactly an early birds. So, we parked at lower P5, quite a distance away from the ski resort. The walk from my car to the trailhead is about 1.2 km one way!!

The walk to the trailhead from my car

As I mentioned, the walk to the trail head is about 1.2 km and it is uphill. Since we were in “lockdown” for so long that I forgot how to exercise, that little “hike” up to the trailhead is brutal to me. At least there are toilet along the way to the trailhead since I drove an hour to get here. (There are no toilets along the trail. Stop by if you need before heading up to the trail.) So, if you want to walk less, come earlier and park nearer to the top of Lower P5 car park.

The Dog Mountain trail

The trail in generally flat. There are up and down hills along the way but should be manageable for most. Although this is snowshoeing, I don’t think snowshoes are necessary because the trail is used frequently and the snow is very compact. Seeing this makes me regret why I even buy snowshoes. My mentality was, “if I buy snowshoes, it will motivate me to start exercising and hike more then this purchase will be worth it!”. I should have rented and try it out before buying. But was caught up with all that boxing day sale. Now I hope I really hike more to make it worthwhile. ANYWAY, I DIGRESS. As I was saying, to have better traction, I will recommend good snow boots or microspikes. Crampons are too overkill and as you know by now, snowshoes are not necessary.

The trail is mostly narrow which I really hate. Most part of the trail is only wide enough for one person to walk through. Every 5 to 10 mins, we have to be polite, stand aside and let people hiking in the opposite direction to pass through. The whole hike is like this, walk a little, stop, let others pass through or others let us pass through then continue walking then stop. You should get the idea. This happens on and on and on. Not very enjoyable.

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First Lake is roughly the midpoint between the trailhead and the peak. Guessing from the name, there should be a frozen lake underneath the snow. It is a beautiful spot with the whole area covered in snow and it’s a nice place to take a break before continuing the hike to the peak.

The Peak

I must have been looking down at the trail/snow for so long because when I reached the peak, the view of downtown Vancouver took me by surprise. The view was amazing but here is only one area where we can see downtown Vancouver. So we had to wait a little to get take better pictures. The peak is not a small area but it feels small mainly due to the amount of people there. People constantly arrive and depart the peak while some, including me, stayed there for a while to rest and take photos. Just a side note, if you were to hike in the snow, take care of your belongings especially your water bottle. While resting at the peak, I saw two water bottles just slow down the mountain. The owners of the water bottles are lucky because the water bottles are stopped by rocks.

The hike down was pretty similar to the hike up. But half way down the mountain, I was starting to get hungry and my legs start the cramp. This is a great reminder that I haven’t exercise in a long time and I should hike again to keep myself fit and always have a proper meal before I start the hike. Anyway, I persevered and solider on to finish the hike. I was happy that I finally returned to the trailhead only to realise I still have to walk another 1.2 km back to the car.

All in all, not a bad place to start

Dog Mountain is a good place to try out snowshoeing. But I wouldn’t want to go back there anymore. There is another trail at Mount Seymour called First Peak. Although that is way more challenging than Dog Mountain in terms of both elevation and distance. I hope I will one day come back and conquer that First Peak. And of course, come early so I can park nearer to the trailhead.