2021 marks the 50th anniversary of one of B.C.’s most scenic trails
Laid out 50 years ago with help from Scouts Canada and Girl Guides of Canada, the 48-km Baden Powell trail contours the slopes of B.C.’s North Shore Mountains, pairing energy-sapping climbs with wooded descents into the hilly suburbs of Vancouver. Following a steep, rugged and technical route, the trail is rarely tackled in its entirety, except in July, when it hosts the infamous Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run, considered one of Canada’s toughest trail races.
In 2020, due to the pandemic, the race was cancelled for the first time in its 31-year history. Lured by the promise of fabulous views, strategic refreshment stops and options to bail if my knees got too knackered, I decided to run it on my own.
photo Brice Ferre
One of the beauties of Vancouver’s precipitous North Shore is its accessibility. An express bus took me from the heart of downtown to the Horseshoe Bay trailhead in less than half an hour. After a quick caffeine infusion and some final adjustments to my new aggressive-grip Salomon Sense Ride 2s, I was embracing pine-scented Pacific Northwest wilderness.
It didn’t take long to discover that the Baden Powell has held up remarkably well in the half century since the trail was forged. Sketchily maintained in the early stages, the quality of the path improved the further east I tracked. By the last quarter, rough creek crossings, tangled roots and slippery rocks gave way to bridges, stairways and boardwalks. In eight hours of running, scrambling and occasionally staggering, I never got really lost, thanks to well-placed signposts and trees marked with the Scouts Canada fleur-de-lis emblem.
photo Brice Ferre
The route can be split into four 12-km sections separated by Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain and Lynn Valley, where refreshments are available and public transport can get you back to civilization quickly if you hit the wall.
Section one was a baptism of fire involving a steep 1,094-m climb out of Horseshoe Bay to Eagle Bluffs, where I struggled across a boulder field and shuffled around a steep rock face before summiting a mildly exposed crag. On a clear day, the view will stop even the most enthusiastic fkt-seeker in their tracks. I took in haze-shrouded Vancouver, framed by the Georgia Strait on one side and the volcanic hump of Mount Baker on the other. It was the trail’s metaphoric high point.
Beyond the Bluffs, a damp, springy path forged northeast past diminutive high-altitude lakes to the decidedly unsnowy Cypress ski area, from which it was mostly downhill through evergreen forest to the well-to-do British Properties neighbourhood of West Vancouver. Side-stepping bear scat, I was deposited at the halfway point, next to the Capilano Dam near the base of Grouse Mountain.
The 12-km stretch between Grouse and Lynn Canyon started as a faint, narrow traverse before merging with a well-used mountain bike trail that hugs the lower slopes of Mount Fromme. Feeling the first strains of muscle fatigue, I alternated between looking out for orange trail markers and avoiding sporadic daredevil cyclists.
Then it was on to the final section, which was mercifully well maintained and more heavily used, especially around the green oasis of Lynn Canyon, where I photo-bombed a bride and groom posing romantically at a creek crossing. With the end in sight, I summoned up enough adrenaline to stumble across the finish line in the community of Deep Cove, a good three hours short of the race’s exceptionally fleet-footed fkt of 4:32 (set by Nick Elson in 2017). Sitting at a bus stop massaging my calves and inhaling a maple doughnut from a local bakery, the leg pain gradually subsided and the post-run endorphins kicked in. The Scouts and Guides of 1971 might be mostly in their 60s today, but they’ve left a spectacular legacy.
DESTINATION
Vancouver, British Columbia
Baden Powell Trail Details
Distance: 48 km
Ascent/Descent: 2,438 m/2,530 m
Start: Horseshoe Bay: Bus 257 from Vancouver City Centre Station (30 minutes)
Finish: Deep Cove: Bus 211 to Vancouver Burrard Station (50 minutes)
Water & Snacks:12 km, 24 km and 36 km
Strongly Recommended: First aid kit, bear spray
Website: kneeknacker.com
Brendan Sainsbury is a freelance writer based in White Rock, B.C. who has authored numerous guidebooks for Lonely Planet and written for the BBC, the Globe and Mail and The Washington Post. A lifelong runner, he has competed at every distance, from 800m to 100 miles.