What a stunning view you get from the summit! We picked the right day to put right the lack of views from our first visit to Mt Harvey back in 2009. I wasn't sure if I was up for such a steep hike this early in the season, but we plodded our way up in a little over 4 hours, and took our time on the descent too. Cooling off in Alberta Creek on the return was bliss! I actually rate this hike above Brunswick because the trail is much nicer, and the view of the Lions is better.

The trail is in good shape, though definitely getting a bit braided in the upper forested sections where we found it difficult to follow a single, consistent trail. Snow patches begin around 1300 m, and there is still some tricky, steep snow to negotiate just before reaching the old burn area with the first views of the Lions. Take care here as deep tree wells and big old-growth trees await a slip... There are quite a few fallen trees in this area too, which makes it hard to follow the trail. Picking up the trail again on our descent was not trivial: the forest is open and it all looks the same with many downed trees. I used our GPS to guide us in the right general direction until we saw a trail marker.

Still plenty of snow along the ridge too, some of it with remnant cornices that should be kept away from. The final climb to the summit is almost completely snow free. The summit still has snow, though it is not overhanging. The snow patches were welcome for cooling off on such a hot day.

From the summit we could see that Magnesia Meadows is still completely snowed in and the entrance to the meadows via the HSCT remains heavily corniced. The emergency shelter might be about half uncovered (hard to tell). The ridge by the Lions is also still very snowy (as is Unnecessary) with plenty of cornices along its northern edge.

The turnoff for the Mt Harvey trail is still easy to miss if you're not looking out for it, though personally I think it's pretty obvious. It's now marked by an orange and white label on a tree rather than the old partially-hidden carved post, plus the area has been brushed out, and the trail helpfully lined with rocks.

Remarkably, we were able to park on the roadside not far from the trailhead (helpfully pointed out by some Lions Bay residents - yes, you read that right!). Perhaps my memory is faulty, but I was sure that half of the trailhead parking used to be labelled residents only. Right now, it is all hiker parking (and it was empty by the time we got back :-)

We met a small group of Korean hikers who were laying flowers at the summit for their friends who died back in April. Being at the site of such a tragedy is sobering.

Flower report: the logging road has lots of buttercups, starflower, western columbine, foamflower, and some little purple flowers we couldn't identify. The real show began in the forest: coralroot, more coralroot, and even more coralroot! In full bloom above about 600 m, all the way up to about 1100 m where it was just pushing up shoots. I've never seen so much coralroot on one hike. Absolutely amazing sight! There were several patches of pinesap too (I saw them probably half-a-dozen times). Higher up, the pink heather is at the start of its peak bloom, the yellow and white heather are just beginning to join in near the summit. Lots of lupines in the old burn area too.

Saw and heard a couple of grouse (one of which startled us when it took off into a tree), enjoyed the song of three types of thrush (varied, Swainson's, and hermit), saw a woodpecker in the old burn area, heard nuthatches and ravens, and probably heard mountain chickadees and kinglets. Also heard a couple of familiar bird songs that I still haven't identified!