Trail Brew

Lindeman Lake and Greendrop Lake – Chilliwack lake Provincial Park

Day Dreamer NE IPA – Coast Mountain Brewing

On May 27th, 2018 I decided to check out a trail in the Chilliwack region. One of my Facebook Friends had been out to Lindeman Lake in Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park and the area was snow free so I decided to head out that way. There is still so much snow in the backcountry still and I prefer to be on trail when the snow gets as bad as it is now.

Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park is located an hour up Chilliwack Lake Road where the road ends. Chilliwack Lake Road is about an Hour from Vancouver. The park is 150km from Vancouver. The parking lot for Lindeman Lake trailhead is on the left side of the road just before arriving at Chilliwack Lake. Like every hike I have mentioned so far you need to get to this hike early as it gets quite busy.

The trail starts pretty easy but it starts to rise quite quickly. This is not the Grouse Grind or The Chief but it is not an easy climb for many. From the parking lot Lindeman Lake is located 1.5km from the road and ends at around 2.5km. The trail rises up a fairly rugged trail with roots, rocks and steep slopes.

Lindeman Lake is beautiful and rugged with steep rocky slopes on all sides. When I arrived at the lake it was still pretty cloudy but the colour of the water is amazing. Near the beginning of the lake you will find the camp ground. The camp ground is a very popular spot on weekends. As you continue along the lake you will have to climb up and over lots of talus or scree.

Once you reach the end of the lake you can start the trek to Greendrop Lake. Greendrop Lake is anouther 4km from the end of Lindeman Lake. With the spring runoff going on Lindeman Lake was quite flooded and so was the trail between Lindeman and Greendrop. The usual trek on the trail with some climbing on scree turned into a lot extra scree climbing as much of the first portions of the trail past Lindeman were fully flooded. A usually easy creek crossing turned into a bit of a rock hop and route hunt on top of the already flooded trail. Once off the scree you end up walking though the forest beside the creek for quite some time. Then around 1km from Greendrop Lake I ran into snow and ice. The snow was patchy but there was quite a bit of it still.

When I arrived at Greendrop Lake it was more flooded than Lindeman Lake. So I continued up the trail on the right hand side to the last tent pad at the campground. From here I was able to get down to the lake to get more photos and find a good seat with a view.

This is where I sat down for lunch and my Trail Brew. I will get to that in a bit but I wanted to share my photos from Lindeman Lake on the return trip as the clouds had broken and the lake really came alive.

Both are beautiful lakes with wonderful views but While Lindeman Lake is more stunning it is also a zoo as the day goes on so I recommend continuing on to Greendrop if you are up for the challenge.

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Like always a hike is better with a trail beer at your final destination. While sitting at Greendrop Lake I cracked open a Day Dreamer NE IPA from Coast Mountain Brewing in Whistler BC.

The beer pours into my B Cup a murky orange colour with a white head. The aroma consists of tropical fruit, mango and some sweetness basically fruit juice. The flavour is of mango, pineapple, juicy hops, citrus rind, some dankness, oat, resin and a low bitterness. The alcohol content comes in at 6% with an IBU of 25. Kevin has hit this one out of the park in my opinion. Lots of juicy hops with just enough bitterness to still be on point for style.

Commercial Description: Beautiful hazy, juicy goodness with notes of tropical fruits and citrus throughout. Brewed with generous additions of Canadian flaked oats, flaked wheat and tremendous late and dry-hop additions of Citra hops.

P.S. Camp fires are not only illegal in almost every Provincial Park in British Columbia in the backcountry but they are also very dangerous. Fires that are not put out 100% can spark up again and start a massive forest fire. On this exact trail a few years back my Mom and I with the help of a few other hikers put out a spreading fire from ignorant campers. If we had not arrived right then the fire would have spread quickly in the dry conditions and blocked the only exit out from Lindeman Lake and Greendrop Lake. Fires can also spread down into root systems of trees if you are not careful and spread without your knowledge depending on the soil you start your fire on. When I arrived at Greendrop Lake there was a group of 4 that had only partially extinguished their fire before I asked them to make sure to pour lots of water on it. I have a feeling they would have just left it and that could have spelled trouble for me after lunch. It is illegal and just not needed in the backcountry unless you are hurt or lost. If that is not enough to stop you the Maximum fine for starting a forest fire for an individual is 1 year in prison and $100,000 with the option to force you to pay for the firefighting costs on top of that.

Forest Fire fines

Here is a story of a BC man that was appealing his $860,000 fine for starting a forest fire while camping on his own property that spread to crown land. Click here.

Disclaimer: Drinking while excising and hiking can be dangerous and can put you in serious danger or lead to your death. These posts do not recommend that you drink while you hike but if you decide too make sure to be a responsible adult.