TLDR, I went hiking with my wife in winter to Pump Peak at Mount Seymour. Check out the pics at the bottom.

Seeing that it is currently winter (in the northern hemisphere), I thought I'll share a winter hike we did back in January 2020. This was the First Peak a.k.a. Pump Peak of Mount Seymour in North Vancouver, BC. We started a bit later than our usual early start time, because we dropped off our two older kids at school first before heading into the mountains with our youngest son, two year old at the time. This is a moderate level out-and-back trail with a distance of about 7km and 450m elevation gain. It was our second time hiking in the snow. Because the snow along the trail was packed due to the trail being popular typically with a good amount of traffic, we only needed micro-spikes and did not bring along snowshoes. The trail started parallel to a downhill ski run, but would diverge evetually, heading deeper into the woods. It had sections of deeper inclines, which makes it more difficult to ascend in the snow, but becomes a fun slide down going back. However, if you go hiking in the winter snow, I would recommend not sliding down in the carved trail, because it turns the trail into a slipperly slide and makes it extra difficult for future hikers to ascend. Instead, if you would like to slide down a steep incline, do it towards the side where it's safe, don't do it on the carved trail.

It is very different hiking in the winter, especially when we passed the diverging point from the ski run. The surrounding was so quiet and the only sound we could hear were our footsteps and our breathing. Beautiful white snow all around us sat quietly under the blue sky, it was like we were wrapped around a big giant frozen white blanket with a blue opening at the top. The crisp cold air was tingling and nipping at our exposed skin, while our covered skin had their pores open to perspire due to the workout. Everything feels so serene peaceful. It was a great place to be and a great feeling to share with my wife and my son.

Eventually, we reached the Pump Peak, which had a wooden sign marking the summit. I was quite windy and cold up on the summit, so we took a few pictures and quickly left. After we descended the summit, my son started crying in the baby carrier. We took him down to check on him and found that his hands and feet were all extremely cold. I attempted to warm them up a bit by putting them against my neck, then rushed back to our car with my wife. Inexperienced, we did not realize that due to him sitting in the carrier not moving much, he would get cold even if he had thick mittens, thick socks, and winter boots on. His cheeks were also red and cold due to cold exposure. He was fine after we warmed him up in the car, but this experience taught us that if you hike carrying a small child, heat packs and full face covers are a must to keep the little one warm.

This sign post was about 5 feet tall from solid ground. Shows how much snow there was.

Trail started next to a ski run

Fog creeping in

Foggy mid way through hike, but would clear eventually

Serenity

Above the clouds

Views at the peak

Wooden sign at the peak