Elsay Lake
Since my experience on Howe Sound Crest Trail I’ve not hiked as much or cared about peaks. So I was glad to be able to do a quick overnight up to Elsay Lake which is nearby and a lake I’ve seen from above - but never visited.
Also it’s a good overnight trip that I can do straight from my house and end up in the almost back country.
It was an overcast day and heading up from Deep Cove I went from patchy sun, into deep cloud, into sun, into deep cloud and ended up at an overcast remote lake. I’ve all but the last 5km or so of this trail before and knew what to expect, until I hit that last 5km.
It wasn’t hard, but for about 2km its just harder, steeper and less clearly marked than I expected. As you go around Mt Elsay, the trail drops down steeply about 150m of elevation. Overall going from the parking lot down to Elsay Lake means losing about 800m of elevation, the lake it’s self being at 765m elevation.
Before I got to the lake I somehow tripped forward over a log and nailed the landing, no injuries. Or so I thought, I walked forward a few meters and was curious why the back of my leg stung. Somehow I had multiple gashes, 2 inches and 8 inches long on the back of my leg with bloody everywhere. Nice.
The lake itself is lovely, quiet, serene and peaceful. The water was warm after all that hot summer weather. I camped next to the emergency shelter that night so I could use the porch to cook on. It was so quiet, not even sound from the city.
Next day due to a bleeding leg, I decided to get a ride from Mt. Seymour resort.
I think most people do the hike to and from Mt. Seymour and I’d definitely recommend that unless you are wanting that extra distance.