diez vistas at buntzen lake

'diez vistas' translation: 10 views
'diez vistas'alternate translation: one mother of a hike

Wendy, Ki and I showed the diez vistas Who's the Boss. Lucky for us Tony Danza was nowhere in sight. Crazy amounts of uphill sections of rocky, rooty, rough terrain that is not white running shoe friendly. We were rewarded with beautiful views of the Indian Arm throughout the hike. Lucky for us the trail was marked with orange markers and we only got off course once- nbd, we didn't end up in Revelstoke or anything. A few trips and slips we all had but am proud to say there was no falls or death to speak of. The calves and quads were screaming for many a mile. About two and a half hours of the Diez and we reached the Power House road which is a BC hydro access road that after a while brought us to a jog as it started to rain like retarded. Finally we hit south beach, had a pee and hit the final trail home. Ignoring the screaming muscles and pending blisters we took it at a run, only to stop about two k in for snack time. This is also where i passed nikita one of the backpacks to slow her down as she was hauling ass and winding WW and I. Peanut butter protein bars and water in tummies 1, 2 and 3 and we are off at a sprint. The final lag is mostly downhill with easy to navigate terrain and pretty little bridges and is basically a treat to run. We killed it and made it to the parking lot in twenty minutes, doing the total hike/run in 3 1/2 hours. WW decided we should rename nik to Mountain Girl. I tried to work out some lyrics to a song, but they are still pending creative editing. Hike rating: tough, but wicked and worth it.

Here's the low down:

Diez Vistas Trail at Buntzen Lake
Hiking time: 6–8 hours return. Distance: 7 km (one way). Elevation gain: 460 m.
This route is recommended for experienced and fit hikers only. Spanish for "ten views", the Diez Vistas Trail is aptly named. Offering spectacular views of Vancouver's waterways and mountains, the Diez Vistas Trail commences near the floating bridge. Travelling uphill into the forest, cross the powerline and pipeline and continue along a series of switchbacks until the trail forks. The left trail leads to a viewpoint overlooking Indian Arm and the right leads to a view of South Beach and across to Eagle Ridge. After reaching the high point where the trails reunite, you travel along a forest trail that terminates at a BC Hydro service road. Keep right and follow the service road and transmission line (the Old Buntzen Lake Trail) back to the Buntzen Lake Trail, where a left turn will take you to the suspension bridge leading to North Beach. From here, follow either Powerhouse Road or the Buntzen Lake Trail back to South Beach.

http://www.bchydro.com/etc/medialib/internet/documents/community/pdf/buntzen_lake_trails.Par.0001.File.BCH09_002_Buntzen_lake_09.pdf