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Saturday, December 14, 2024
Isolillock Peak - via Eureka Mine Road, October 2023
Located in the BC Cascades immediately SSW of Hope, BC, stands Isolillock Peak. Along with nearby Hope Mountain and Wells Peak, it is a prominent summit that towers above the confluence of Silverhope Creek and the Fraser River. For those that have motored southbound on Highway 1 in the vicinity of Yale, BC, Isolillock and its lesser twin Silver Peak dominate the view ahead, just to the right of Hope Mountain visible at center. Until recently, access to the peak was from Sowerby Creek to the south, via a steep, bushy and reportedly unpleasant grunt to the Silver-Isolillock Col. Today, thanks to the restored Eureka Mine Road that ascends the north side of the peak, one can "drive" a rugged 4x4 to within a mere ~1500 ft of the summit! Okay, okay, not so fast...that was true as of a couple years ago, but unfortunately recent washouts have now rendered the FSR partially impassable after just ~2 kilometers from where one leaves the road to Silver Lake Campground. This leaves over 7 kilometers and ~3500 feet just to reach the road's end, ugh! Doable yes and still better than the southern alternative, but Andrew and I had a plan to make it even better!
By "partially" impassible, a longer wheelbase vehicle such as my 4x4 wouldn't be able to make it, but a compact Jeep, ATV or motorcycle on the other hand would be no problem! Neither of us own a Jeep or ATV, so we hatched a plan whereby Andrew would give me a tow on my mountain bike with his dirt bike. There are videos of people doing this on YouTube, albeit on mostly flat ground, so what could possibly go wrong?! Suffice it to say, on a steep and loose FSR such as this, it's a LOT harder than it would seem, both for moto and mtb alike! As Andrew had to maintain some speed to keep from spinning out, I had myself a white-knuckle ride, struggling to hang on and sucking on fumes and dirt being kicked up in my face. Navigating the switchbacks was particularly difficult, being flung wide and in so doing pulling back on Andrew who then had to gas it while fishtailing for traction. Any slack meant that a violent lurch forward was imminent, with the rope repeatedly getting tangled up in the moto drivetrain. Another washout at about 2.5 kilometers gave us a short reprieve from the ongoing struggle as we pushed our bikes through before steadfastly resuming our comedy of errors.
Finally, somewhere around the 5-kilometer mark, after repeated stops and starts the road got bad enough such that we both had to proceed on our own. I walked my bike though this stretch, while Andrew after making a valiant effort of it, ditched his moto and joined me now on foot for the remaining hike to road's end. We passed a mine shaft where the road makes a couple tight switchbacks, before rounding a shoulder and proceeding into a small valley below Isolillock's North Face. The road ends near another mineshaft, beyond which a short bit of side hilling leads to the Silver-Isolillock Col. We donned our helmets here and scrambled up steep heather interspersed with some talus, slabs and the odd "veggie-belay" to reach a broad talus slope shortly below the summit. Didn't find anything particularly difficult here, but I'm not sure I'd want to climb this when wet! Found ourselves on the summit before long admiring the outstanding 360-degree views! Looking north, where the Fraser winds its way past Hope makes for a particularly memorable sight, as does the view looking towards the Cheam Range and south up the Silverhope Creek Valley. And then of course there's the rugged North Cascades on full display farther south near the USA - Canada border. There's just something about the October lighting that makes for stunning mountain views!
Andrew had places to be later than evening, so we cut our summit stay short. Made our way back to the road end, checking out the mine shaft for a bit before continuing back to our stashed 'cycles. With good ol' gravity providing the "tow" this time, the ride down was a blast, and we made back to our parked vehicles a mere 2 hours after having left the summit! Only 6 hours round-trip, so despite the struggle, clearly the moto-assist was a big help! That said, unless you enjoy soiling yourself being towed up a mountain road like this, I might suggest exploring other options!
Lone Goat & Snow Camp Mountain - via Skyline I Trail, September 2023
Late September now and Summer took a brief hiatus to allow for cooler temperatures and a healthy dusting of snow on the higher peaks. Mindful of the conditions, I decided no better time than the present to go for a nice "walk" in Manning Park. On the program were a couple ~6500-foot pup-friendly peaks, both of which are served by a well-maintained trail: Lone Goat and Snow Camp Mountain. Situated just north of the border at the western end of what one might consider the "Canadian Pasayten Wilderness", these two peaks form the culmination of the east-west trending ridge separating the Nepopekum Creek Valley to the north and the Lightning Creek Valley to the south.
Starting from Gibson Pass, shortly before the Manning Park Ski Area, I followed a good trail some 6 kilometers up to the Skyline I Trail intersection on the ridge crest. Following this trail now, heading west, I descended a bit towards Despair Pass, making my way past Snow Camp Mountain intending on tagging Lone Goat first and then Snow Camp on my return. The main trail undulates along the crest and traverses below both peaks on their south sides before descending in earnest into Mowich Creek Valley. Leaving the trail just prior to this decent, I followed a spur at right leading up Lone Goat's SW shoulder to its open summit area (2.5 hours to here). Nice views, albeit with significant cloud cover looking south toward the Hozomeen Group, SW towards the Picket Range and Redoubt-Spickard Group, and east towards Frosty and company.
Lingered up top long enough to get cold, and so headed back down to Skyline I Trail and followed it back towards Despair Pass. Quick detour to tag Snow Camp before continuing back to where I was parked. Checked out the tiny ski area there at the end of the road before calling it a day and heading home. This is a scenic area and a great option for some "mountain time" without much of an agenda or effort for that matter.
Spent a few days around Agata's birthday relaxing at a close friend's lovely beach house on Gambier Island. We've stayed here now several times since, and it's always a relaxing mini-getaway, close to home, but still sufficiently removed from the ruckus of the city. Simply put, it's a rejuvenating dose of "island time" without the attendant big production of getting to and from. Loaded up a Rubbermaid box of provisions, strapped it to a hand truck and along with our backpacks onto the Horseshoe - Langdale Ferry we go (on foot). Disembark the ferry 45 minutes later and then a short water taxi ride to New Brighton, where we walked with our gear in tow for ~10 minutes more to our home for the next several days. Promptly stripped down to the bare minimum without running afoul of the neighbors, and voila, Island Time!
Not one to miss an opportunity to bag a peak, I took a break from my busy beachside schedule to run up one of the local summits. Gambier boasts a few minor peaks popular with the "Bagger Challenge" crowd, of which Mount Killam arguably has the best views. Out the front door with Pepper by my side and off for Killam we go! Onto the West Bay Road, for some 2 km from the New Brighton jetty before taking a trail at left where the road makes a sharp 90-degree turn to the right. Pleasant travel through the forest, reaching an overgrown road after about 1.6 km. Stayed right to continue on the trail, ignoring a fork to the right shortly before crossing Whispering Creek. Crossed said creek, and followed the trail left (north), reaching another fork in short order. Right here, now officially on the Mount Killam Trail for a little over 2 km more to reach the no-view summit.
As expected, Killam's treed summit isn't the prize here. For that, one needn't go further than a couple lookout spots about 5 minutes shy of the summit proper with great views panning from the SE to the SW. Basically, the entire mouth of Howe Sound from Landale on the Sunshine Coast to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver! Didn't linger for long as cold beer and an afternoon swim were calling on this particularly hot September afternoon, and so down we go returning to our starting point in about 5 hours round trip. Photos include a walk around the Southwest Peninsula to Gambier Harbor and Avalon Bay.
A granitic wonderland dotted with numerous pools, lakes and peaklets, the Mountain Lake area is an underappreciated gem of the Sea-to-Sky south of Squamish. Second visit, this time to bag the mighty Ben Lomond which eluded me previously. Okay, at under 5500 feet, "mighty" is a bit of an overstatement, and it isn't to be confused with the famous Ben Lomond in Scotland, but it is nonetheless an aesthetic looking peak that makes for a very worthwhile scramble. At least that's what I said to myself the last time I was in the area standing atop the tallest of the Mountain Lake Group, Mount Sheer. From that perspective, Ben Lomond appears as a prominent horn rising from the Seymour River headwaters, the river valley extending southward from directly behind the peak. I made a half-hearted attempt at it the morning after climbing Sheer, but a combination of excessive heat and a relentless mosquito onslaught had me calling it off upon reaching the summit of nearby Ben More. My motivation sapped; I returned to the trailhead unsure of whether I'd ever bother coming back for another go.
Fast forward a year and one month, and there I was once again sweating my arse off on the ~11-kilometer pedal up Furry Creek FSR just to reach the trailhead. Fortunately, this time I didn't have the additional burden of an overnight pack! True, as a member of the BCMC I could have obtained a key for the gate at the start of the FSR and drive to the trailhead, but where's the fun in that? No sir, just a 35+ km bike n' hike day trip was on the menu this time! For something different, I opted for the alternate start via Britannia Creek FSR as opposed to the usual one from the end of Seaview Road in Furry Creek. Go ahead and ignore the no trespassing signs as they are pointless and spare yourself the extra vertical by going this way as well! Started up the trail after stashing the bike, making my way towards scenic Wind Lake. Contoured alongside the west shore before turning up and right to gain the slabby north shoulder of Ben More, whereupon I could finally see my objective.
Rounding the corner, I descended a bit and traversed to a small talus slope. Crossed that, then up to the crest of the ridge connecting "Bens" More and Lomond. From here on out it was just a matter of navigating micro-terrain up and down over several bumps and small steps to reach the final summit block. Working left here, I proceeded into the alcove beneath the peak's North Face before turning right and scrambling along ledges to regain the ridge crest. Then a short hike from here to reach the summit 5 hours and 15 minutes after first hopping on the bike. Yeehaw! You know what's coming next: a synopsis of the view, which as expected did not suck! NW towards Sheer and the Sky Pilot Group, north over Red Mountain with Garibaldi in the distance, NE/ENE towards Mamquam, Seed and Gillespie, east looking over Loch Lomond and Bagpipe Peak with Meslilloet Mountain in distance, S/SW from Cathedral to Brunswick, and finally west looking towards Sedgewick and company. Not bad at all for such a wee little pile of rocks, eh? And rest assured, having paid my dues in blood (the mozzies, duh), sweat and tears(?), I can now confidently say that I won't be returning anytime soon.
About 6 kilometres as the crow flies northwest of local giant Mount Outram and directly north of the infamous Hope Slide, stands MacLeod Peak. It is joined by a couple other "seven-thousanders" Mount Hatfield and Mount Manson forming a scenic cirque at the headwaters of Eleven Mile Creek. The second tallest of the three, MacLeod boasts a short but enjoyable rock scramble on decent rock up its SE/E Ridge, an off-trail approach without too much brush, and good FSR access for some 8 kilometers after leaving the highway. Its 7135-foot west summit (MacLeod W1) is prominently visible from the highway east of Hope at about where Highway 3 and Highway 5 diverge. It's an attractive horn from this perspective, enough at least for me to be lured into exploring this overlooked corner of the BC Cascades. Curiously, while the west summit reportedly stands about 3 feet lower than the named summit, CalTopo shows the west summit to be slightly higher. Other topographical maps disagree, so I guess it's still inconclusive which is taller. Either way, Kevin and I called it good at the named summit, which seems to be what most parties do, so there's that.
As mentioned, the FSR to where we parked is in reasonably good shape by South Coast standards at least. That said, there are numerous cross ditches which become progressively bigger the farther one drives, so a 4x4 of some sort is recommended. We couldn't drive to the end of the road mind you, as the ditches after ~8 km were too big and deep even for my truck. No matter though, as it's not much of a walk to the obvious cutblock we crossed to access the lower SE Ridge. We then dove into forest for a bit aiming for a talus gully to the right of the cliffs directly ahead. Some inconsequential brush both before and after the gully, mostly blueberry bushes, before reaching the crest. Continuing up, we took a meandering path weaving along either side of the ridge avoiding minor obstacles and whatnot before reaching open terrain above. Had our first unobstructed view of the scramble portion of the route from here - an aesthetic buttress of grayish rock cast against the deep blue sky. This is what we came here for!
Started up the rock, enjoying the fun scrambling, mostly 3rd-class with opportunities for more if you go looking for it. Sticking to the crest as much as possible seemed to offer the most excitement, with a short semi-exposed slab pitch on the lower third being the highlight for me. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and the ridge abruptly terminates into a large sloping plateau. The true summit now was just a short walk across and up the final knob away. Kevin and I relaxed up there for a good while admiring the views - Tulameen to the northeast; Hatfield, Outram, Dewdney and Snass to the east; Silvertip, Rideout and Payne to the south; southwest towards Slesse and Rexford with Baker in the distance; and finally, WSW past Grant towards the Cheam Range peaks. Good stuff! The west summit looked interesting and tantalizingly close at hand, but we were satisfied with MacLeod proper and so didn't bother. Returned the way we came for a whopping 5-hour day round-trip (3 hrs to summit).
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