Heather at Russet Lake:
“Laurie, Ming, and Kim joined me on a great overnight trip to Russet Lake on Sept 13 & 14th. The weather was glorious allowing for great views of the mountains behind Blackcomb, Whistler and the Garibaldi Lake area. The hardest part of the hike is getting through the armour-clad mountain biking mobs in Whistler village and finding the start of the trail. It took about 5 hours up, the first three on a gently rising forested path, the last part opening out into Singing Pass and over the crest to the lake. The trail had a few washouts in places, but nothing too hard to get past. The hut at Russet Lake has been `renovated’ so the door closes and there was no sign of mice! A spectacular moon rise over the mountain was a highlight. Day 2 had us hiking up & down the musical bumps to Whistler peak where we took a free ride down the chair to the restaurant, had some drinks and then took the gondola (free again) down to Whistler village. Although it saves the knees from having to do all the downhill, it’s a bit disconcerting to arrive at the top and suddenly be amidst crowds wearing flip-flops, mini-skirts, etc. – like a glorified Grouse Grind. We had some debate over who would prefer to hike back down the original trail instead. A recommend hike for an `easier’ overnighter with beautiful views.”

Andy on Golden Ears:
“Without doubt the views from Golden Ears and its very own Panorama Ridge are unsurpassed in the Lower Mainland. But make no mistake: this trail is hard with an overnight pack. Once above all the nasty stuff on the lower trail (described in Astrid M.’s report from 31 Aug), the trail is beautiful, passing through wonderful mixed old-growth forest on its way to the sub-alpine, although it’s not without several steep, challenging sections. Then you reach the final never-ending ascent to the emergency shelter and the fantastic views. Unbelievably fantastic. We opted to relax for the rest of the day and go for the summit on Sunday. That didn’t quite work out, thanks to a little exposed ledge, and only Maria earned the full 360-degree experience, while Merewyn and I searched unsuccessfully for an alternative approach. Next time… A ghostly pink moonrise, a brilliant sunset, moonlight so bright that headlamps were unnecessary and then the most fabulous of sunrises made for an unforgettable trip.”

Chris in search of the Blackwater Trail:
“Another small group with Cara and Lucy joining me on an exploration of the ridges to the east of Common Johnny Creek in the Cayoosh. Parking was on the north side of the Duffey Lake Road at a gravel pullout just past the Blowdown road. Cayoosh Creek is crossed by a footbridge (with various obstacles designed to stop motorized access). Just over the bridge, a right fork leads to a First Nations protest camp (and, as far as I know, the start of the new WCWC trail up Melvin Creek). We turned left and took the uphill option at all forks beyond that. After the first switchback, there is the remains of a burned bridge but the creek crossing is pretty easy. We reached the site of the old winter cabin (also burned but the outhouse is in great condition) in the alpine bowl in 2 hours – all travel to this point on roads. Here we climbed up a steep(!) meadowed gully on the north side of the valley to reach our camping spot near a small lake (another 35 mins). From here, it was 15 mins to the ridge of the Common Johnny Creek and views in all directions (including to peaks near the Stein and Garibaldi and to Whitecap and further peaks in the Bendor). We spent a good portion of Saturday and Sunday travelling the ridge from a point above Duffey Lake to overlooking Barkley Valley. Walking was easy except for one step that would require confident scrambling skills for 10-15m on crappy rock. The meadows to the east of the ridge also provided easy travel and probably a few good camping spots. All the meadows were a light golden and the blueberries bushes provided patches of red and orange. Only Mountain Monkey Flower and some sheltered Paintbrush were still in bloom. Lower down, the raspberries and thimble berries were ripe. Unfortunately, the Blackwater Trail eluded us. Given the steepness of the meadows in Common Johnny, it’s possible that the trail didn’t cross over our ridge but somewhere else; or was in a completely different valley.”

Su-Laine at Garibaldi Lake and Panorama Ridge:
“Seven hardcore backpackers plus myself headed up to Taylor Meadows on Saturday. Three went up to Black Tusk that afternoon while us other five mere mortals enjoyed a gentle walk to Garibaldi Lake. After surviving a freezing cold night and morning, when the main topic of conversation over breakfast was winter sleeping bags, we all headed to Panorama Ridge on Sunday. We had the incredibly good luck to be doing this trip on a clear weekend with blue skies, and Panorama Ridge was the most eye-filling hike I’ve ever done. September seems to be a good time to do this trip; the trail was dry, some of the wildflower show was still happening, and there were plenty of good campsites at Taylor Meadows.”

Tim on Mt Gardiner (NOT Mt Gardner!):
“Tim and Dean climbed Mount Gardiner (2406 m) above Place Glacier on Saturday Sept 6th. We drove up to Pemberton on Friday night after work and camped at at Nairn Falls. On Saturday morning, we ate excellent bacon and eggs at Grimm’s Gourmet on Frontier St. at 7am and were at the trail-head by 9am. The hike to Place Glacier is 1400 m and very steep. It takes about 4 hours. Worth every drop of sweat. There is an impressive waterfall early on. Also a tricky headwall just below the glacier that requires scrambling some narrow ramps with a little exposure. Place Glacier is phenomenal. From the Glaciology Huts (1800 m), it is another 600 m (2.5 hours) to the summit of Gardiner. Matt Gunn’s book is very useful. The mountain is a superb ridge scramble with no real exposure. The weather was good. The views were outstanding. On Sunday we set off to scramble Mount Oleg, but stopped halfway there, at a sub-summit on the NE ridge. Axe and crampons proved useful on the second day. To reach the summit probably requires crossing a glacier with associated hazards. There was much evidence of mountain goats (fresh prints) but no sightings.”

Chris at the Blowdown-Van Horlick Divide:
“Jana, Peter and I braved the unknown to visit what turned out to be a beautiful untouched wilderness on the Blowdown-Van Horlick divide. The Blowdown road was in good 2wd condition – some minor rutting and a new culvert at 9 km. Also, a new waterbar on the hill past 9 km and possibly more further along (you may have minor scraping in a 2wd). We intended on taking Branch 4 at 9.5 km but it has just been decommissioned – the culverts and bridges have been pulled and a big rock blocks the road at the start (but could be avoided in a narrow 4wd). The road has been copiously waterbarred (5 in 20 m at one point). We walked the road to the end (just before an avalanche path – perhaps 2 km), bushwacked 100 m and climbed a second avalanche path about 400 m to steep meadows. We sidehilled to the upper valley (tricky due to wet plants) and wandered beautiful meadows to the pass. Descending into the next valley, we camped near some small ponds. In the morning, we checked out the main lake (beautiful) and spotted some mountain goats high on a ridge. We meandered back up to the pass along a different route and descended back into the Blowdown valley along the edge of the scree slopes (lots of rocks and a short brushy bit just before a wetland so slow going). Definitely going back and spending some more time exploring what looks like easy ridges to the NW.”

Astrid M. at Golden Ears:
“It took our group 7 hours to reach the small emergency shelter. Recent wet weather created several muddy patches and made the roots and rocks slippery. One bridge over a creek is broken and slanting down southwards (hold onto the north handrail). A good part of the lower trail is more a creek bed than a trail, meaning lots of loose rocks. After setting up our tents at around 5:30 pm we heard distant thunder. Three of us decided to try to summit before the storm moved in but got turned around by hail and lightning. Luckily the sky cleared and we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. The next morning we awoke in a cloud. We waited until 11 am to see if the sky would clear, but visibility stayed poor so that the summit was not possible. We returned to the parking lot in 6 hours back.”

Anne at Joffre Lakes:
“Three of us took off on the Labour Day weekend for an overnighter trip to Joffre Lakes. The last part of the drive from Pemberton to Joffre Lakes Park was quite painful because we had 3 (!) RVs in front of us – so it seemed to take forever to get to the parking at the trail head. Once we started hiking we were accompanied by light rain most of the time; but it wasn’t too bad because the sun was poking through at the same time. At the second lake we had a pretty dramatic encounter: Kim got attacked by a Whisky Jack and had to give up an entire chocolate bar to the vicious bird! We still made it in pretty good time up to the Upper Lake and arrived early enough to find great camping spots right on the water. By the end of the day almost all camping spots were taken – it sure is a popular destination for a weekend. We had all sort of weather; sunshine, rain and hail. Unfortunately there was not much of evening entertainment possible because it just kept raining and hailing in the evening and it was REALLY cold. (Lesson learned: do not forget your toque!) The next day we woke up to great sunshine, after breakfast we set out to explore the glacier – well, actually we only wanted to walk up a bit on the ridge but somehow ended up right at the glacier. The cracking noise of the glacier and the terrain was a bit intimidating, but we got some great views. During the day the clouds moved in and out, on our way down back to the car we had some more rain. The trail was by then really muddy, so gaiters sure came in handy. Once we got back into the car and started driving back towards Pemberton we encountered a bear right on the street. We finished off a great weekend with a steak in Whistler before heading back to Vancouver.”

Chris at Tenquille Lake:
“Cara, Dean, Lucy and Michele joined me on a trip into Tenquille Lake and to share the joys of west coast weather. The Hurley had just been graded so, though the surface was loose, the potholes and washboarding were gone. Branch 12 (the Tenquille branch) had some large water bars right from the start but the Isuzu Trooper made it through without a problem courtesy of Cara’s driving skills. The alder was pretty overgrown so we got some pinstriping but, on the way out, we met a couple guys who were in the process of cutting it back. The trail was in pretty good condition with only a couple blowdowns right at the start. Even with a stop for lunch (and berries) we made it to the lake in about 3 and 1/2 hours. After setting up camp, Dean took off to scamble Tenquille Mt. and Goat Peak (and saw goats!) while the rest of us went to Finch Ridge to gaze at the unlogged vista to the north. The next morning lived up to the worst of the forecasts Michele had seen for the weekend: “Rain, heavy at times”. It turns out that the cabin at the lake is in pretty good condition considering that it is 60 years old – kept the rain out and the resident mouse was fairly quiet. Wearing as much waterproof stuff as possible (Cara fashioned a poncho out of plastic sheeting from the cabin), we hiked out stopping only to graze on more berries (easier to pick with your teeth than with gloved fingers).”

Carollyne at Elfin Lakes and Opal Cone:
“Six of us hiked with our backpacks to Elfin Lakes on a hot, clear day with spectacular views of the mountains and meadows. Although it was busy at Elfin Shelter, there were enough bunks in the shelter for all of us when we arrived there at 1 pm. After unpacking and having lunch by the lake, we hiked out to Opal Cone, which turned out to be a bit of an adventure. As we began our descent to Ring Creek, we met a couple of hikers turning back saying the trail was gone, others who had made it but warning us to get as much water as we could. We continued on and found the slope must have had a recent landslide as the descent was what might be called a goat track in soft, dusty moraine. We made it down and then boulder-picked our way across the first fork of Ring Creek, with wonderfully clear water, across more rock, then finally across the bridge over the raging second fork. Going up the incline, the group separated, with the three fastest hikers scrambling up a direct route with difficulty. Ted and I found, then lost, then found the marked route with its long switchbacks – which we all used on our return. Atop the ridge, a stunning contrast was before us, with a green and flower filled bowl and a lovely trail which we followed to the end of Opal Cone ridge. Four did the last scramble up to the snow filled crater, while the writer enjoyed the view and the pikas (much larger than Columbia Ground Squirrels). We returned, very tired, to a now very full Elfin Shelter, by 7:30 pm. A full moon, three lovely kids and choral snoring stand out as memories. Sunday morning, with light showers chasing us, we returned home, glad we endured the heat to see Opal Cone on such a brilliant, if hot, day.”