Chris N. on the Alouette-Stave trail:
“Last Saturday was one of the most thoroughly rainy hiking days I have experienced. It was with trepidation that we drove up the Florence FSR towards the trailhead. It’s 2wd the whole way but it does get rougher after the 11 km mark and traction could be an issue on the rocky uphills. Watch your odometer carefully since it can be tricky finding the right turn-off – it’s around 19.6 km on the left. About 200 m in, there are 2 locked gates but lots of parking. We walked down the road to the last switchback where there’s a lot of flagging tape marking the well-trodden track of the Robie Reid trail. Multiple streams poured down from the slopes above and the trail was a creek in places. There were some overhanging branches in places but not a lot of blowdown. The major creeks were almost topping the bridges. We found the cabin after a brief bushwhack but never did find the junction with the Alouette-Stave Lake trail (bivouac.com mentions that the intersection is at 49.39176, -122.32243 but I didn’t have that waypoint with me). We went as far as the Alouette River (which was raging!) before calling it a day.”
Tag Archives: Maple Ridge
Alder Flats, 27 Jul 2013
Kamen at Alder Flats:
“Four of us set out on a slightly overcast day to explore the approach to Golden Ears. The sun was out and shining when we hit the trail. Light conversation followed as we made good time hiking this fairly well-maintained and not-busy-at-all trail. Some of the bridges and boardwalks were in various states of disrepair which were easily circumvented due to the dry weather lately. We hiked 20 mins past Alder Flats until we got a viewpoint with a fantastic view of the Ears and surrounding mountains. We enjoyed the sun and views for awhile before heading back to the car and back to the big city.”
Golden Ears 13/07/10
Jennifer on Golden Ears:
“Getting an early morning start Valerie, Tamara, Jonathan, Darcy and Jen headed towards Maple Ridge and Golden Ears. Fortunately Valerie stepped in to drive as our driver did not call or show up for the hike (thanks Valerie!) The morning was clear everywhere except a big mass of clouds over Golden Ears. Our group set out despite the overcast skies, and after a lovely stroll through the forest, and scamper up onto the ridge, we were met with snow right down to the trees. Panorama Ridge didn’t give us any sense of its name as we wandered into a cloud to start our final push to the summit. When we got to the top, we were above the clouds and it was lovely and warm… but with no views. There were a brief couple of metres of scrambling but generally hiking all the way was possible. We sat at the summit trying Jedi mind tricks to part the clouds for almost an hour while eating lunch and relaxing. On the way down finally the clouds parted and we got wonderful views of the surrounding peaks and lake. Breathtaking as we ran/slid/butt scooted down the alpine sections of our hike. While not essential, ice axes did come in handy for some of us! Salmonberries galore kept us energized for the long hike out. Everyone hiked at roughly the same pace, and total hiking time was 5.5 hrs to the summit, 4.5 hrs back to the cars. We ended this long but fabulous mid-week escape with milkshakes and dinner at a local diner. Thanks everyone for a great Tuesday!”
Hector Ferguson Lake 15/05/10
Erez at Hector Ferguson Lake:
“This was a 2-day camping trip. Michele and I started hiking around 10:30. The first ~11 km of the trail are very well marked and we had no trouble getting to the Gold creek crossing. There are a few places where one needs to cross very minor creeks, but that is easily doable with no need to take the boots off. We set up camp at the sandy patches on the east side of Gold Creek, had lunch, and by 15:00 we continued to the lake. Gold Creek is now passable, with two branches to cross. The first crossing is wider but shallower and with no strong current. The second one is deeper and has a pretty strong current but with a stick and some careful stepping is not a problem. The level of the water was thigh-deep at the deepest place. After the creek the trail is more overgrown, but still pretty easy to follow. Very close to the lake there is a land slide and the trail is harder to find. You need to hike through the dry creek bed-rock a little up the slide and then veer left following the orange markers into the forest (thanks to Michele we added markers so this should be pretty obvious now). From other trip reports I read, I believe this is the place other people left the trail and got stuck. The marked trail does lead all the way to the lake. We stayed there for 1/2 an hour and hiked back to the camp for some nice dinner. This was an awesome trip.”
