Slhanay Peak - Slhanay Peak Trail, April 2023
With the sudden onset of warm Spring weather starting in April, we hung up the boards for the season and traded-in our snow boots for hiking kicks. Nobody was in the mood for a long drive, big vert or suffering up something obscure out in the back of beyond just yet, and Pepper was coming, so I had to dig deep for a venue suitable for all. Slhanay Peak in Squamish fit the bill perfectly with a pleasant loop hike, great views of Stawamus Chief and Squamish Valley, and low enough to remain below the isothermal snow line. It is considerably lesser traveled than the Chief with its three summits, so if you desire some solitude on your hike, this be the one. That said, I find the Chief to be much more interesting, both in terms of variety (i.e. via ferrata) and views, but if you've already been up it a number of times as I have then Slhanay makes for a good alternative.
We parked at a small pullout on the Mamquam FSR about 1.5 km from where we turned off Hwy 99. The trail is easy to follow, albeit steep at times, requiring one to clamber up boulders and roots. We gained the forested ridge in short order and followed a pretty moss-lined trail to the NE towards our peak, making a short detour to a bluff with a fantastic view overlooking the Squamish Valley. Backtracked to the main Slhanay Trail and followed that on up to the summit proper. Note that there are multiple trails through here, so an offline map or GPX would be useful. The summit is somewhat treed with partially obstructed views, but what more can you ask for from a summit barely over 2000 feet? We followed a different trail for a portion of our return to make another viewpoint, this time with a bench and up-close views of the Olesen Creek Valley on the Chief's backside. Cold refreshments were calling, so hurried back down to the car and off to our usual Squamish watering hole to complete the day!
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