Results - Go Home Via The Hanes Valley

Report. Well the first running of the Go Home via the Haines Valley is complete. The weather was near perfect for the run. There were 9 runners who showed up for the 8:30 start time and 2 others who were late starters .

The nine of us started out at a nice easy pace towards Norvan Falls, Of the nine, 3 were only going to the Falls. When we arrived at the bridge crossing Norvan creek Ean couldn't resist the peer pressure and the chance for a back country run. Even though he was not prepared for the back country we took pity on him and allowed him to come along.

As soon as you cross over the bridge you can see that this part of trail is much less used by hikers. We soon arrived at the Lynn creek crossing. The crossing was an easy affair. The large log that spans the creek allowed us to keep our feet dry.

About 20 minutes along the trail we came across a huge washout. What was once a 3 meter small gully is now a 15 meter gully with lots of rocks and tree stumps. This must have happened during one of the big storms over the past winter. Soon after we came to the helipad and our first good view of the big scree slope and the col. We spent a few minutes here refueling and taking photos. A few minutes along the trail and we came to our first big boulders . Many of these were newly fallen as they were nice and clean with no dirt or moss on them. Again this must of come down in one of the storms.

I was leading up the scree slope with my head down as I got about a 3 rd of the way up I lifted my head and realized there was a black bear not 20 feet above me. I said a few choice words in surprise and told the others to watch out for the bear. We all stopped to look and try and take photos but our cameras didn't have zooms. We soon noticed an even smaller bear. Turns out it was a mother and cub. Both were very small. I can't imagine the cub lasting the winter.

As we made our way to the top of the slope, we heard heckling from above. Turns out Graham and Ryne from KINTEC had set up a small aid station for us with gels, bars and some much needed water. Thanks a lot guys it was very much appreciated. We hung around for 10 minutes or so enjoying the view but the bugs were bad and we still had some more climbing to do so we headed on up towards the pass.

Ryne, Graham and Ean decided to go right at the pass instead of left and go for a jaunt up to Crown Mountain. Chris, Tim, Colin, Andy, Paul and myself headed towards Grouse Chalet and the road home.

Never think that once you get to the col that your climbing is over. I find the section from the pass to the turn off for Goat Mountain the toughest part.There are slippery steep sections with chains to help you up and it just keeps going. We made it to Grouse in about 3:20.

Tim headed down via the gondola. The rest of us filled up with more water and started down Mountain Highway. Colin and Andy blasted down and took a few shortcuts by cutting down some of the bike trails thus avoiding the relentless down on Mountain Highway. I think I might change the course next year and add those in to the run. We have all been up and down Mountain Highway enough times. Paul, Chris and I were not too far behind and finished in 4:43. Without the breaks we could of easily made it in just over 4 hours. Weather held and actually got better in the end, it was a great run.

I hope I didn't scare to many off with my dire warnings, but this run can be difficult in bad weather. Hope to see more of you out next year.

Thanks to KINTEC for the aid station and the draw prizes, KINSEYS, TRAIL RUNNER MAGAZINE for their draw prizes. Also a big thanks to MOSQUITO CREEK BAR AND GRILL for the free beer and good food and service .

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