We are blessed to live in an area that has a variety of different adventure options within an hour drive. British Columbia is surrounded and filled with so many mountains to explore I think it would take a lifetime or two to hike them all. For today’s adventure we decided to take a trip out to one of our shorter trails in the Chilliwack area. The Teapot Hill trail is a moderate hike through the woods. It has a steady incline with a couple particularly steep sections closer to the top. There are a couple places where the exposed roots form a few steps for walking up.
As the story goes, Teapot Hill received its name back in the 1940s when a logger had found a teacup in the woods. No one knows when exactly, but sometime after its naming, the teapots, teacups, and saucers started to appear along the trail.
Hikers would leave them behind for one reason or another. No one really knows why it started, but it sure makes for a different hike! Sometime around 2010 to 2013, park crews began removing broken cups, pots and saucers…the public was not so thrilled.
I am happy to report that the teapots have reaccumulated for others to continue to enjoy along the magical trail. One family we met had counted 70+ cups and pots! Maybe you’ll see a fairy or two taking tea in their gardens? Take care to stay on the worn pathways to prevent harming the precious plants in the area.
We ventured out on a sunny but cool day in April. This meant we had to pack warm but not too warm. Puffer coats were thrown in the pack real fast! Legging and a light coat/shell was all we needed to keep warm. This trail will make you sweat!
We hiked up the forest service road from the parking lot. The teacups and pots started just a few meters up from the outhouse and continue all the way up past the lookout. There’s even a perfect little babbling brook Riley stopped to sip from.
There’s several little trails that shoot off from the main road, and along those trails are some rather interested and creative teapot spots! You may see a few on moss covered stumps, under tree roots, inside hollowed logs, and hanging from a twisted branch. Keep your eyes peeled so your don’t miss any!
The trail head is about 40 minutes up the road from the parking lot. From there we wound our way deeper into the woods and up the steep sections of the trail to the lookout and Riley explored under all the leaves and brush he could find!
This trail is an on-leash trail but that doesn’t mean everyone abides by the rules so keep track of your pup. We ran into one dog off leash which was much better than many trails we have been to.
It took us about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to the top of Teapot Hill. We took our time and stopped to check out the tea cups and pots along the way. We had packed a couple water bottles, and a teapot to leave on the trail. There is a beautiful slightly obstructed view of Cultus lake at the top. We spent about 20 minutes enjoying the view, having a drink and a snack before we began our trek home.
Riley started out walking beside us. About halfway down from the lookout Riley started to tire and limp a bit. He was slowing down behind me instead of running up ahead so we thought it a good time to break and arrange the Kurgo. Into the backpack he went!
Normally, Riley is pretty good about the Kurgo and doesn’t mind taking a break in it while we hike on. Today however, he decided he really didn’t want to be in the backpack.
No sooner had we loaded him onto my back, the little bugger sticks one of his legs out the window! So we paused. Rearranged Riley’s leg back inside the backpack and started off again. A few seconds later my mother is laughing and Riley has shoved his little leg back out of the window. We stopped and put his leg back inside the pack, this time I closed up half the window. When we started back down the mountain, Riley kept all his limbs inside the ride!
The decline is definitely more taxing on the knees, hips and ankles so if you struggle with weakness in any of those areas I would suggest taking your time and packing a set of trekking poles. I didn’t notice a lot of strain until I put Riley on my back, then my knees really felt the grades going down.
This trail has been on our list for a while now because it is a bit shorter, coming in at about 5km round trip. The shorter trips are easier on Riley as we build up his strength in his leg around the arthritis. With us still being new to the Kurgo, the shorter trails are still on the map for us to do! It gives Riley the opportunity to hike for a while, then when tired, he gets to rest in the Kurgo and get accustomed to riding on my back. A shorter hike also means that I get in that training of having more than 10lbs on my back (Riley is about 25lbs)! That little dog gets heavy after a while.
ASR Adventures 