Chris M. on Tim Jones Peak:
“We visited Tim Jones Peak on the last day of November. Travel was on snow the entire way but was only a few inches deep. Using the micro-spikes after Brockton was helpful but not essential. After Tim Jones Peak we went for a small wander west and then back to Pump Peak. Other than the banana bread, all other shared food & drink involved chocolate, even the one with Baileys. It was peaceful on the way up but by the time we came down it was quite busy.”
Category Archives: Day hike
Crumpit Woods, 28 Nov 2014
Stephen H. in Crumpit Woods:
“Apparently, I should have labelled this callout as “exploratory”. Matt, Mary, and Saeed set off with me to ascend the Seven Summits of Crumpit. After getting the help of a Squamish local to find the Smoke Bluffs summit, we decided to bypass the majority of the hilltops on the agenda and make a beeline for the tallest, Mount Crumpit. After a few hours of navigating the maze of mountain bike trails in this interesting area, it was clear we wouldn’t make our objective and return before sundown. So we looped back on the Summer’s Eve trail, making our trip the One Summit of Crumpit. Watch out for my Mount Crumpit callout in the future.”
Sawblade Falls, 24 Nov 2014
Stephen H. at Sawblade Falls:
“This was a lovely rainy-day hike. Four waterfalls, foggy forest, and a huge stump. Matt, Mary, and Chris joined me for this loop involving the Coquitlam Lake View Trail and Woodland Walk. Signage was much better than I expected. Sawblade Falls is quite impressive – definitely worth a visit to Pinecone Burke Provincial Park.”
Levette Lake, 9 Nov 2014
Stephen H. at Levette Lake:
“Fred, Gabriela, Seth, and I lucked out as the forecasted rain didn’t materialize on this hike. And what an enjoyable little fall hike it was. We took the Copperbush, Silver Summit, Skyline, and Fraser-Burrard trails, stopping for lunch at Levette Lake in the middle. As the clouds cleared, we feasted on Tantalus Range views as Fred recounted his adventures on Mount Fairweather and other treacherous peaks. An old Douglas-fir provided the final highlight as we neared the car.”
Zoa Peak, 1 Nov 2014
Eugene on Zoa Peak and at Adams River:
“Four of us traveled to Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park east of Kamloops in order to watch one of the largest Sockeye salmon runs in the world. The official festival has already ended, however, the spawning season was at its peak. The fish count follows a mysterious 4-year pattern and is dramatically higher this year.
As we were walking along the river, we had plenty of opportunities to have a closeup look at sockeye, as they were too busy struggling against the strong current in a desperate effort to reach their life-long goal. Portions of the river bank has accumulated a large amount of dead or dying fish. And yet, as we walked along those graveyards, we could easily spot the beginning of a new life with plenty of fish eggs lying around. Overall, it was a really dramatic experience watching the fish, as the sockeye offered us another perspective on life and death.
Another highlight of the trip was the spectacular Thompson valley and the city of Kamloops with its well-preserved historic downtown. This was a great place to escape from the never-ending Vancouver rain…
On the way to Kamloops, we did a short hike to Zoa Peak. Most of the trail was covered by fresh snow, which started at about the 2 km mark and became over 20 cm deep at the peak. However, there were still a few open rock sections in the middle part.
Route finding to Zoa Peak was a challenge, especially on the upper portion, where there were virtually no visible markers. We were mostly following the footprints of some small animals that appeared to follow roughly the same route.
Unfortunately, the main Zoa Peak was hidden in clouds, so that once we reached the fully forested minor peak, we decided to turn back. Nevertheless, as we were walking along, we had plenty of opportunities to enjoy the gorgeous views on the surrounding peaks and valleys.”
Joffre Lakes, 1 Nov 2014
Jaime at Joffre Lakes:
“We headed out for the long drive past Pemberton and up to the Joffre Lakes trailhead. The day turned out to be gorgeous, sunny and frozen. The trail is very different now and most of the way up it’s a hard packed gravel path. The path has been filled in right over the boulder fields so the risk of injury is lowered. It is now a trail that is very accessible to people with all different levels of physical fitness. I think that it’s a good place to take someone on their first bigger hike, or a visiting friend, but I wouldn’t drive all the way there to do it again. It’s a very quick hike now. Snow started on the trail just before the second lake and the terrain was so stunning with the fresh layer of snow. The low, bright sun made it pretty tricky to get any good photos.
On a side note, we saw a guy propose to his partner at Upper Joffre and she said yes. If we hadn’t been there they would have had the whole place to themselves, so we felt a bit bad about that. It was an almost perfect proposal, except for us.
After the hike we headed into the Pemberton Meadows and along the Lillooet River for a dreamy soak in the springs. The fall colours were so super perfect. I always forget how pretty Pemberton is in the fall. It was a fantastic 2 days with a lovely group of women.”
West Knob, 26 Oct 2014
Stephen H. at the West Knob:
“Sunday’s forecast-as-rainy day ended up being the perfect somewhat-sunny day. Angela, Svetlana, Nuria, Rebecca, Eugene, and Rasham joined me for a satisfying hike on the Whyte Lake, B-P, and Donut Rock trails to this viewpoint on lower Black Mountain. Views were enjoyed, mushrooms identified, and riddles solved. Trail junctions were easily spotted, though not necessarily well signed.”
Seed Peak, 8 Oct 2014
Steve v. at Seed Peak:
“After a failed attempt last year, I learned from my mistakes and Andy, Pete, Janice, and Danielle joined me for a successful peak bag on a balmy October day.
With more confidence in our GPS tracks and an early start, we were able to guide our driver, Danielle, to the trailhead without issue. She made quick work of the obstacles and a high clearance 4×4 was required.
The trail itself has 4 distinct phases: a clearcut and wooded trailhead, a rolling ridge-like ascent, a barren rocky section with tarns, scree and glacier, and the peak view area (also a ridge). The thing about this trail is that all parts are extremely scenic (especially in fall). In fact, I would consider none of this trail to be the usual “chore” section that exists in most BC hikes.
Wayfinding was needed, but not much, and the drive is very long so do your homework, but I’d rank this as one of the top 10 in the 103 Hikes book (though know the stats under-represent the elevation gain and distance).”
Burke Mountain, 4 Oct 2014
Stephen H. at Burke Summit:
“A rainy day saw wet shrubs soak the pants and boots of Rasham, Sandra, and I on Burke Ridge. We followed the Club Tread directions, with assistance from a GPS device, taking a logging road much of the way, then the Burke Ridge Trail the rest to the top. Lots of blueberry bushes, mushrooms, scenic ponds along the route. Clouds meant no views on top. Still, the hike to Burke Summit proved to be a mostly enjoyable 6.5 hours.”
Deeks Lake, 28 Sep 2014
Jaime at Deeks Lake:
“Four of us headed up to Deeks Lake on a sunny Sunday. Myself (Jaime), Ingrid, Susan and Andrew had the perfect fall day for hiking. The gate at the bottom of the logging road was open so we tried to get closer to the trailhead. The logging road is SO drivable except in one steeper area where it’s pretty washed out. Totally doable with decent clearance. I wanted to go all the way but my rusty undercarriage and wiggly exhaust begged me not to. We made it part way to the TH at least. The hike up was great, really well marked the whole route. Under cover most of the way so it would be a great rainy day hike. We saw some other Wanderungers on the trail, which was a lovely surprise. When we got to the lake I had an AMAZING swim. Swimming in mountain lakes to me is like being in liquid magic. Andrew was brave enough to jump in and Susan and Ingrid were content to shake their heads at us 🙂 We had a long, lazy lunch in the sun. On the way back, that logging road seemed endless and boring. It would be so much better to be able to drive to the trailhead every time. It was a great day!”