Summit Golden Ears

Day 1
Starting from the Golden Ears parking lot, your journey begins up a relatively small incline passing two bridges and entering the forest. Continue through the forest passing small cliffs and revealing some views of what you are going to climb the next day. Your estimated time it should take to get Alder Flats from the parking lot is around 2.5-3hrs; it is roughly 6km (3.7 mi) and 1200m (4000 ft) in elevation. Once you get to Alder Flats, set up camp for your first night and enjoy the views of the valley, re-gaining your strength for tomorrow's climb.

Day 2
Although this hike is do-able in two days, we chose to do it in three because we had the extra time, and I would highly recommend it. Packing up from the night before at Alder Flats, prepare yourself for some riverbed switchbacks to start the day off. Once you have reached the top of the switchbacks, take some time to have some water and a snack because you are in for one hell of a stair master. It may seem like it never ends, but it will eventually. You will reach a clearing in the trail which is a great place to have some more water and take a load off, and from there the rest of your journey is very straightforward. After regaining some energy, you'll walk along the top of the ridge and up the last section of the trail to Golden Ears summit, reaching the emergency hut and your second camping spot.

After setting up camp, enjoy some down time, make some food, and get some rest - the summit is close by. Climb the summit around sunset for the best views. From camp it takes about 30-45min to reach the very peak of the mountain, after a rock scramble up the side. This is a very steep section of trail, so some caution may be nessecary. The view from the top is one of the best I have ever experienced - you can see all of the lower mainland including more of the costal mountain range. Make sure to bring headlamps for the hike back down to camp.

Day 3
Make breakfast, take down camp, then head back down the trail. There is a small glacier lake with a little cliff to jump off (perhaps visible from camp), which is a bit of a detour but very refreshing. Hiking all the way back to the car will cover a total of 12km (7.5 mi) and 2300m (7550 ft), which is a lot on the legs but do-able.