Course - Squamish Crawler

Description

Start at Brennan Park Recreation Centre

Run north out of parking lot and merge left onto Centennial Way. Turn right up the side of Highway 99, being sure to stay inside the white line. Cross the Mamquam River Bridge and stay north on Highway 99.

Immediately after bridge, go right down a steep bank to the river (be careful); turn left and then stay on right fork along the trail with the river to your right. There are several minor turn-offs but you should have the river close and on your right. Go about 2Km until you reach a big sign board at a golf course. Go hard left (almost doubling back so that golf course is on your right beyond trees) onto the middle trail into a swampy area. Stay on this trail for about 1K, then veer right back up to the open trail beside the golf course and continue until you reach a broad trail and a yellow gate. Go right onto a gravel trail under the power lines for ~500m. H99 is on left.

Carefully cross Mamquam Road and take trail along highway in front of shopping centre. At the highway overpass, turn right (hotel is to your left) and up Diamond Road for ~300m. At Garibaldi Way, go left, and then shortly turn right at Parkway Road. In about 200m you will see a trail between the houses marked Coho Park. Enter trail and stay left. Take care of multiple minor turns – racers should take first major LEFT then next major RIGHT near garbage can and trail post sign. Golf course is to left; cross small bridge, take the next left at which point the gravel trail starts to climb. Follow this for 5+ mins; trail becomes rougher and passes a bike jump.

Go left across creek, carefully (steep bank) beside broken log bridge on Trestle trail then continue up into open scrub. Main trail forks left on flat for ~400m; ignore several intersections. As you approach major treed area go right and up onto narrower Lumberjacks trail. (Note: 20m after turnoff is major gravel road intersection – if you get here you have gone too far.) On Lumberjacks, follow twisting, undulating single track with steep short climbs, keeping in trees for ~10 mins, until you come to a street. ( top of Perth Drive) AID #1 & #4; RELAY EXCHANGE #1

Go LEFT and up through the yellow gate. At the first fork in about 100m, go left along a crest trail. (If it's clear, enjoy views of the Tantalus mountain range!) Take care on steep stony downhills!

Continue on major wide trail for approximately 2km. There will be a couple of short up hills. (Ignore the two turn offs to the left.) As you approach trees, the main trail bends right: IGNORE this and fork left on thinner trail into trees (Jack’s Trail). Climb gradually for ~3km to Alice Lake.

Take a left after exiting Jack’s Trail and follow the path around the back of Alice Lake (the water will be on your right.). Continue around past picnic tables towards the paved parking area. (Note: washrooms on right). Turn left and run along the paved road; at the t-junction turn left (still on paved road) and run on flat for ~300m until you come to the top of a steep hill. Do not go downhill on paved road BUT turn LEFT into forest onto single track, and downhill. At 4 way trail x-ing, turn RIGHT until rejoining paved access road. AID #2; RELAY EXCHANGE #2. Turn RIGHT and follow road UP back towards campground. Go past the entrance booth of the campground (it is to your right). The route is now as in previous years. Continue ~600m on the paved road until you fork right to the yellow gate where the rough but wide trail/dirt road begins. Climb gradually for ~3km staying on the main trail until a LEFT and LEFT again broad trail turnoff for Fawn Lake. (NOTE: this is the only major left turn, but is still easy to miss…take care, keep your head up…IF you find that you are climbing steeply you have overshot this key turnoff.) Just after turnoff there is a “bush” toilet on your left! Stay straight on trail which narrows to become the “Bob McIntosh Trail”. After 1.5 km on Bob Mac Trail you come into a recently cleared area, you can see overhead power lines; go left at skinny single track in scrub, and it twists back into the trees after 400m… this goes to Dead End Loop. – do not take the left fork down to the river, but you do stay to the left in the trees on flattish soft trail with some old trestles visible. Follow this out of the trees back into the open below the powerlines (ignore steep left turnoffs in trees). At clearing, ignore old steep Rock n Roll uphill at left, but just to right of RocknRoll is a new trail that winds up hill coming out at same top point. At the top, turn right for approx. 400 meters and then turn right again onto “Rob’s Corners” to right of main trail. This winds downhill for approx. 2km and brings you out by a shelter near a yellow gate. (powerlines mark the general route in this section.) Turn right for 30 meters and then left onto the similarly windy Cliff’s Corners which finishes out on main dirt road under power lines. Turn right and follow this road (downhill) for approx. 400m, and take small trail (Ray’s Café) to right through short brushy section. This ends at the Mashiter Trail which is double track.

Continue downhill and within 100m, (TAKE CARE as you may be going quick downhill) to go sharp right up wooden ramp onto Tracks from Hell trail (marshy on planks!) and follow for 1K. Trail comes out with Edith Lake visible on right, a widening trail straight ahead and a meeting of trails on your left. AID STATION #3 & REALY EXCHANGE #3. Turn sharp LEFT onto Mike's Loop, climbing gradually for about 1km (ignore Credit Line trail on your right) and then steeply as trail curves left through the trees for another 1K. At t-junction turn RIGHT on flatter narrow trail for about 1km. Follow main trail veering left onto Entrails, which gets increasingly technical. Cross a small pond on a wiggly bridge. Take switchback uphill and turn left onto Marc My Word trail just before top. Take this ~10 min steep, technical downhill (TAKE CARE) until t-intersection with Border Patrol trail, turn LEFT, then out of trees and turn RIGHT onto wide Mashiter trail which is rough but down – you can pick up speed.

At opening, 4 trails meet….take the middle (straight on) trail gradually down for ~200m…BE CAREFUL to look for an upright water pipe (IF YOU are going steep down then you have gone too far) that marks the next right up a short embankment onto “Roller Coaster”, a single track with great views of the Chief and Howe Sound. Stay left at first junction, then wind through scrub and down and up and down on narrow trail ignoring small turnoffs. As trees get bigger, trail turns dusty/rocky and turns to left at fallen tree, then turns right to final very steep dusty down. Go carefully down the hill and out onto paved road at Perth Drive, AID STATION #4 and turn left down paved Perth Drive.

Continue down Perth Drive ~1km to stop sign. Go left onto The Boulevard. Immediately after you cross the big bridge immediately turn right down a short gravelly hill onto a dirt road. Stay right on this road for ~1k, across the annoying wood chip section, until you reach a wide, gravel road.

Turn LEFT and take the road uphill, to about 800m past Quest University (short paved section) where you reach AID #5 and REALY EXCHANGE #4 at the big bend in the road. Continue up the road another 2km and go left onto the Ring Creek North (check!) Forest Service Road (now signed) that climbs gradually, taking your first right fork after ~800m and continuing straight and climbing for another ~1.5 km through some slightly overgrown clear cuts. Go left down Pseudo Pseuga single track trail (just before Map board). Pseudo Pseuga is broken up into ~2 sections, so take a right after finishing the first section to find the second section. The second section empties out on a gravel road, and takes a right onto Lower Pseudo Pseuga ~30m from the end of Pseudo Pseuga 2. At the end of Lower Pseudo Pseuga, take the trail on your right over the creek and down the steep, rocky Phil and Cam’s trail that finishes back at AID STATION #5. Go right and back down to the gravel road, ~800m past the university to AID #6, then turn left into the parking area by concrete blocks.

The trail goes steeply down and across the Ring Creek Falls’ bridge and then steep short up. Continue straight on fairly flat trail for ~1K (ignore right turn). At top of small hill, under the power lines, fork right and steeply down through small tree area, and up a short hill, continue straight on main gravel road trail (ignoring turn to left….signboard and water tap is also on left). The road then goes steeply down, crosses the Powerhouse Bridge and up a slope to the yellow gate. AID 7 and RELAY EXCHANGE #5. The flat broad road continues for ~2km. At t-intersection with wide gravel road, go left (uphill).

This is a long, uphill slog. Stay on the main Mamquam Forest Service Road, ignoring secondary routes. This is an active forest road: traffic should be light but take care. The Mamquam River & gorge should always be to your left. At no point on this section should you be on a single track. As the Mamquam glacier captivates you, look out for a large bridge at Mile 9. Cross the bridge, then go left onto the first trail (marked by a faded blue painted boulder) in ~250m. AID #8. This is the climb up Lava Flow Hill, which has a single switchback. After you crest the hill, there is a short flat section, and then turn left back onto single track. This is the Ring Creek Rip, a long, long downhill with no turn-offs to confuse you. You will pass 2 wrecked cars. When you finally come to a major fork, turn left (at sign and mapboard) toward the Powerhouse Plunge (ignore right fork, signed Ring Creek Crossing).

Stay on flat trail for ~1.5km. At fork, go right onto the zigzags and technical excitement of the “Powerhouse Plunge.” This is a long section, which crosses a recently used logging road. The Plunge will take the average runner 15 -20 mins. At the bottom, you come to wide gravel road; immediately go left back onto single track for a few hundred yards, exiting at the Powerhouse water tap/info board (visited earlier) and gravel road where you turn left. This next section should be familiar! Continue on main trail gravel road and down steep black stoned rough road. Cross the Powerhouse Bridge and go uphill to a yellow gate. AID #9 and RELAY #6. At intersection, go sharp right.

Follow trail/road uphill for ~400m, and then go left onto the single-track “Farside” trail. After a ~800m climb, and a couple of undulations, turn left up the "Farther Side".

This is a roller coaster of single track with many side trails AND RECENT CHANGES DUE TO LAND-USE ISSUES. Stay on the main trail, even though it is single track and twists, turns and undulates. On race day major junctions will be marked BUT for training, take care! At a 4-way trail crossing, ignore the closed wider trail to the left (boggy “S&M connector”) and instead go straight across onto a narrower marked loop trail. This trail comes back onto “S&M” before forking right to another marked loop. It then goes back onto the main “S&M connector” trail…a fast, gentle down slope. On emerging from the trees/shrub, turn right on open trail under hydro lines and scrub under powerlines. AID #10.

Continue along hydro corridor up gravel trail. Go right onto the short 3 Virgins spur trail. At the top of the ridge, go hard left onto “7 Stitches” trail. After about 1km, keep right and uphill ignoring turns to left. When you hit a t-intersection with “Summers Eve” trail, turn right. Climb gradually for about 1km, and take a right up the newly constructed wooden stairs (ignore the stairs leading down on your left). Run about 800m past a couple of climbing walls. Take the trail to your left back into the woods (climbing wall is to your right), up a short set of wooden stairs, and then down some switchbacks and a large, wooden staircase. Turn left at the t-intersection at the bottom of the stairs down a steep hill.

At t-intersection with wide “Smoke Bluff Trail”, turn right. Follow this trail ~1km with rock wall on your right, past the outhouse washrooms on right, then at T junction turn right and down out to the Climber’s Parking Lot. Cross over Logger’s Lane (paved road) and enter wooded trail forking to right. Proceed for ~1.5km straight following flagging, crossing over Finch Drive towards the soccer field night lights (pass horse stables on left) and then <400m to finish line, to the left (West) of the Rec Centre. Congratulations!