Maggie Outside

Howe Sound Crest Trail – Brunswick Lake backpacking trip

Trip Summary

Another beautifully sunny and warm one-night backpacking trip! This is an out-and-back trip on the Howe Sound Crest Trail. Our adventure started at the Porteau Cove parking lot and ended on Fat Ass Peak (just 1 hour past Brunswick Lake), in early October. And yes, I promise that’s the real name of the mountain.

Sunrise behind our tent.
Hiking around the lake.
An excellent noodle-eating view.
Two thumbs up for this view!
Sunset with amazing visibility.
Mountains on the way to the peak.
See more photos in my photo gallery.

Trip Breakdown

Saturday
Start from Porteau Cove Road parking lot around 11am
Stop for lunch and swim at Deeks Lake at 2pm (7.8km and 1044m elevation)
Hit the trail again around 3:30pm
Sign the Hikers Logbook!
Arrive at Brunswick Lake around 5pm, refill waters (11.2km and 1221m elevation)
Keep going to Fat Ass peak, arrive by 6:20pm (just in time for sunset!) (13.0km and 1549m elevation)
Make dinner, enjoy the sunset, and set-up camp for the night


Sunday
Watch the sunrise around 7am
Start the hike back around 8:30am
Add to our entry in the Hikers Logbook 10:45am
Another swim at Deeks Lake at 11:30am and instant mashed potatoes lunch
Back at car around 3:20pm

Trip Details

We kicked off this trip around 11am from Porteau Cove parking lot, which is right off the Sea-to-Sky highway.  To get to the trailhead, we had to walk down the side of the highway for 700m ish; this detour avoids having hikers pass through private property. The start of the trail is nice and steep to get your blood pumping, so be prepared for lots of switchbacks. About 2 hours in, the forest changes to beautiful green and mossy tall trees that reminded us of the Shire.

We made it to the first of the three lakes along the Howe Sound Crest Trail, Deeks Lake, at 2pm. It was a hot and sunny day and the water was beautiful. After stopping for lunch and a swim, we set off again for the most technical part of the hike. Steep root stairs, rock fields over creeks, and ladders were a good challenge to our strength and balance. I really enjoyed this part since it kept my brain alert but I would not have enjoyed doing it in wet or slippery conditions. Don’t forget to sign the HSCT Hikers Logbook on your way up! 

We finally made it to Brunswick Lake at 5pm (the sun sets at 6pm in early October) and quickly refilled our water bottles. Then we made the decision to keep on hiking to reach Fat Ass Peak for the night. It was only 2km away and 300m up, which took us about an hour. It was a perfectly sized peak with amazing west- and east-facing views and we had the whole place to ourselves! We watched the incredible sunset, made noodles for dinner, and then set-up the tent on the east side. Since we were not at a designated camping area, we also had to hang our food on a (just barely strong enough) tree.

As usual, we got up for sunrise, around 7am at that time of year. We were running low on water so we hiked back down to Brunswick Lake before eating breakfast and fueling up for the hike back to the car. We signed the logbook on the way back to prove that we’d survived and took our time on the steep parts down the trail. Of course, we stopped to swim in Deeks Lake again and eat lunch. We were back at the car just before 3:30pm.

Key Points

  • You might not find great trees for hanging food, so bear canisters could work better. 
  • There are some really steep technical parts of this hike, be careful doing it in the rain!
  • Deeks lake is an amazing swimming spot if you have the time and the weather is nice.