Eagle Mountain hike - photos

This past Saturday afternoon took me to Port Moody by a combination of bus, then train and then a bus once more (B-97). Then I walked to the start of the Coquitlam Crunch Trail in neighbouring Coquitlam. It turned out to be a much nicer day than I had originally imagined. It was bright and sunny, not to mention very warm. It was so warm that I took off the t-shorts I was wearing. I didn't need them, nor did I need the sweater I brought along in case it was cool. Part of the trail was sponsored by someone named "Mr. Bear." I saw neither Mr. Bear nor the furry creature, so all was well. Anyway, the weather was peerfect!
Going up the trail there are some courts of one description or another. The one pictured was used to play a sort of field hockey.
Raspberries and such are in season. Canes are found in many places. The photo above gives you an idea. Then the rules were posted for the safety of those using the Eagle Ridge Greenway.
The photo above looks south and the one below shows a bee visiting a buttercup (flower).
Rugosa-type roses are to be found with plenty of flowers or buds about to open and the rose hips that I found are large and plentiful.
Another wildflower to be seen is the Goldenrod, a sign that autumn is getting close. There is a close-up of a bee visiting one above and then a grouping growing along the trail in the photo below. The yellow blooms look lovely against the blue sky.
There is tall grass dried from the recent dryness plus vetch and crown vetch grow in the grass as well.
That's Yarrow in the image above and a view of the Golden Ears Bridge across the Fraser River in the photo below.
There is another field and a lovely view plus a photo of daisies in bloom on a hillside in the photo below.
I found a clump of Western Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea var. occidentalis) growing at the base of a tower. Below is a close up shot of one of them.
Eagle Mountain is off in the distance. Below is a shot of one of the mileage and elevation markers along the trail. The one shown was the last one at the end of the Coquitlam Crunch Trail.
I encountered several guys on motorbikes and trail bikes during the hike up the mountain and back down. On the way down I encountered a group of three I had seen earlier plus one other that stopped to ask permission regarding biking on the trails, then yet another before I made it back to the road.
There are all sorts of wildflowers along the trail if you take a careful look (see above). Eagle Mountain is ever closer as I proceed further up in elevation.
Thistles are associated with summer time and as I hiked up there were more and more of the Western Pearly Everlasting to be found along the trail.
There was moss-encrusted rock along the road. Below is a close-up shot.
It wasn't all Western Pearly Everlasting. I found some yarrow growing along the road and trail as well. Something that caught me by surprise was finding the bed of a railway freight car along the trail. I keep finding surprising things. Now how did that get there?
I encountered three streams on the hike. The one pictured is just one of the three.
Again, I couldn't get over the weather. We normally get such weather much earlier in the summer, but not this year. Huckleberries are in season now. A bush is show below and a close-up of the berries below that. The shrubs are related to the blueberry. I was nibbling on them as I hiked along.

A short trail is shown in the photo above. It lead to a wonderful surprise, a beautiful vantage point to see the area from the height of Eagle Mountain.
That vantage point is near a microwave tower. And again, lots of the Western Pearly Everlasting are to be found.
There was another vantage point looking west, southwest. Here you see Burrard Inlet, then downtown Vancouver and Stanley Park plus English Bay behind that. The photo below shows where Indian Arm meet Burrard Inlet at Burnaby Mountain (looking southwest).
The above photo looks west toward the mountains around Buntzen Lake. There is fireweed as well (below).
I had intended to hike to Eagle Bluff (image above). There is a view of Buntzen Lake from there but time ran out and I had to turn around to return home. There will be another attempt on the Labour Day weekend.
Then there are fish habitat signs posted, in this case regarding salmon!
I saw a nurse stump on the way back down that I had missed on the way up and on the road I found this big black slug crawling along! Enjoy the photos and feel free to comment or ask any questions! - V