Opinion
Always a fine destination for a short-ish hike, the first peak of Mount Seymour is one of my favourite North Shore summits. It’s a great shoulder-season hike now all the bugs have gone, but it’s not a place to expect solitude, even at this time of year.
Fact
We went as far as the first peak (aka Pump Peak). The trail remains much as it ever was – mostly rocky with a few puddles here and there. There are a few places where the original trail is no longer obvious as erosion has changed many hikers’ perception of what constitutes the “correct” trail. Having said that, it doesn’t make navigation any harder.
Speaking of navigation, I noticed many people didn’t seem to follow the signage or try and find the trail. Many (most?) hikers trudged up and down the ski run, walking right past a sign that points the way. I even saw what appeared to be a couple of people turn around on the trail and back-track to begin hiking up the ski run instead. It got me thinking and I realized that the trail is actually very poorly signed and marked, especially at those junctions where the trail joins/leaves the ski runs.
Officially, winter parking regulations are in effect. In practice this doesn’t seem to mean anything until there’s enough snow for the resort to open. The washrooms are open.
A few mushrooms of note today, especially fly agaric. Saw plenty of ravens plus an eagle soaring on the wind, heard many small chirpy birds in the trees, along with a couple of Douglas squirrels.
Distance: 7.5 km
Elevation gain: 455 m
Time: A leisurely 3 hours 45 minutes, including lunch and some time dawdling around at the summit.
Story
…
Being. Outdoors. 
The first time we went up Mount Seymour, we missed the sign and walked straight up the ski run. I didn’t know we’d gone the wrong way until later when I bought a map. (Oops.)
It’s quite easy to go wrong, especially as it’s such a busy trail, and I assumed other people must know the correct way. Sometimes it is clueless people leading more clueless people. 😦
For the longest time I couldn’t understand how so many hikers ended up on the ski runs but in recent years I’ve started looking at trails with a new perspective and I noticed just how poor the signage is on many trails, especially Mt Seymour