So Saturday, the day after the Night Run Vancouver 10k, I should actually say, the morning after the Night Run Vancouver 10k–we woke up, bright and early, to climb Vancouver’s most famous mountain!
The Grouse Grind® is a 2.9-kilometre trail up the face of Grouse Mountain, commonly referred to as “Mother Nature’s Stairmaster.”
This trail is very challenging. Keep in mind that there is a wide range of mountaintop trails that might better suit the average hiker.
Trail Facts
Length: 2.9 kilometres (1.8 miles)
Elevation Gain: 853 metres (2,800 feet)
Total Stairs: 2,830
Average Time: On average, it takes up to an hour and a half to complete the hike. For novice hikers, two hours is recommended.
Source
Mother Nature’s Stairmaster. How could you NOT want to do that, right???
As I’d mentioned in my race recap, it was cold in Vancouver (for me) and I purchased a very expensive hoodie as I’d come unprepared to climb up a mountain in what seemed to me freezing temps, lol.
We started the climb and right away, started going UP. The stairs seriously seemed never ending.
When we climbed Mt. Humphrey’s, Arizona’s highest peak, there were landings where we’d often rest. Not with Grouse Mountain. There were just stairs going up and up and up. Occasionally, I’d just pull off to the side and let people pass.
The trail of steps are narrow, so they’ve made it a one way trip. People can only go up and then you have to take the Sky Lift to come back down.
This actually made me feel better because it wasn’t far into the climb that I started to ask, Are we there yet?
Up and up and up
It took us almost exactly an hour and a half! There was this cafe type building at the top of the mountain where one could eat and buy souvenirs. We rested, snacked, and then decided to get back down as quickly as we could.
On the Sky Lift, we had amazing views of what we’d just climbed. It was actually really cool to see as there had been quite a bit of fog on our climb up that we hadn’t really seen any views.
It was a perfect morning hike, tough, but we were glad we were able to cross off Grouse Grind on our list!
I hope everyone has a great weekend!!! Happy October!!! 😀
❤ , helly
–Are you a fan of the stair master?
–Have you thought of your Halloween costume yet?