Somehow the night became darker. Dave and I sifted through my information for this area. Despite five maps and three descriptions nothing matched. Finding a clearing we gratefully called it home and bedded down for the night. Each downpour woke me. I curled deeper into my sleeping bag, secure under the truck canopy, hoping my companions were as comfortable in their tents.

The next morning, we waited for light. Faced with a horrendous brush-bash through dripping dense undergrowth, my companions opted to humor me instead with a short visit down to the lakes to look for animal sign. Giving up any hope of getting up Capilano Mountain this day, we decided to at least look for the trailhead described in a 40 year old account that I had. Bumping and scraping back down the road Dave spotted an old spur to the east. It didn’t look that bad but a "Road Permanently Abandoned" sign made us queasy as we crossed a bridge. Much scraping and a 12 point turnaround on the overgrown road marked the beginning of our hike.

I had calculated that we should reach the old trailhead about 11 AM. 10:45 we began looking into the forest with dismal expectation. 10:59, nothing, 11:00. Astounding! A small plastic sign. "Beth Lake Trail." We were truly amazed. No hint we were even on the right road, much less that we would be able to find an actual trailhead. Bounding up, the steep but well maintained track led us into a beautiful old growth forest. Stopping for a snack, we discussed our good fortune. Fog still drifted visibly through the trees. Lovely sunbeams peaked in and out like bashful sprites trying to catch a glimpse of us. A few minutes more and we reached Beth Lake. The setting was dramatic: towering cliffs, hanging meadows, cirques within cirques. We spread out on a warm grassy patch and drank deeply of our first golden sunlight of the day. Blue sky and rocky ridges beckoned to us.

Rather than forcing us up the vertical cliffs, the fainter but well marked route ducked around the outfall of the lake and brought us up wooded ridges to picturesque meadows. An open rocky basin easily led up to a thin wooded ridge where we popped out into a world of sun, white granite, and emerald tarns. The views opened up, Tantalus Range, Goat Ridge, Garibaldi, Skypilot, and to the south, like islands in a soft grey sea of clouds, the site of yesterday’s adventure, The Lions. We danced along this alpine track, stopping often to relish the warmth of the sun, the scent of the heathery meadows, and the unique views.

It took a while before we viewed the true summit, a large heather spotted dome of granite. This way and that, we followed the cairns. I tried to keep ahead, finding the wrong turns to save my companions any lost effort. We were tiring now; it had been a long two days. Below me I could see their heads bobbing as they stopped to catch their breath. A few words drifted up to me. "long day...suppose to be easy... much further?....push him off..." I nervously shouted encouragement, "almost there, just a few more feet, a couple minutes more, just around the corner." Dave and I developed a nice litany of this. I’m not sure Maria was as amused. About 2 PM we actually did reach the top. Boots off, lie down on the warm clean rock, feast on the 360 views. Indian River, Coast Mountains, Sunshine Coast, endless.

Reluctantly, but thinking about the lateness of the hour, we set off. Unexpectedly, the long day’s ascent flashed by on the way down. It seemed like a short time before we took our last look from the sunny ridge before dropping down into the basins and meadows leading to the lake. A short pause at the dramatic setting of the lake and then it was down through forest and fog. The final obstacle, the waterbars, had to be dealt with. Standing my big truck up on its nose, with Dave spotting from outside, we dragged our way down to the bridge. From there it was easy going, dinner at Horseshoe Bay, and a relaxing drive home. What a weekend. What great companions. What a superb end to summer. On Monday the storms of October arrived, but the images of golden sun, white granite, and emerald tarns were still fresh in my mind.