Place Glacier and Mt. Gardiner: Steep Trail and a Snowy Ridge
The hike up to Place Glacier was very steep with little respite for most of the 1340m elevation gain. There was a nice waterfall on the way up and some limited views backwards. Close to the end of the day we had to scramble up some slabs which would have be tricky and perhaps dangerous when wet. We set up camp near a lake, at the foot of the Place Glacier, with our objective for the next day, Mt. Gardiner looming above. There were also two glaciology huts nearby which we took a look at but they weren’t too interesting. We had an early dinner and watched the mountains in…
Brandywine-Fee Loop: Steep Trail and a Snowy Ridge
Our car overheated on the way to the trailhead, and we had to stop and wait, and then drove a bit more before it overheated again. While we were thinking what to do a jeep stopped and a guy came out to ask if we needed any help. We ended up catching a ride with them, which was pretty good as with the four wheel drive they could go much higher and saved us an hour of hiking in the forest. After a short while we reached Brandywine Meadows, with some picturesque combinations of streams and flowers. Our route took us up talus slopes to a ridge that leads to…
Downton Creek and Mt. Rohr: A Stormy Labor Day Weekend
On the long Labour Day Weekend we set out for a three day trip to Downton Creek, about 4 hours away, on the Duffy Lake Road. The plan was to hike up to the alpine, make a base camp with our friends Yaron and Michelle and their kids (they were driving up later that day), and scramble and explore some of the nearby peaks. One of the draws of this area is the easy access to the alpine – a 2WD car can make it up to 1800m, and from there an hour of hiking gets you to the alpine. Anyway, we found the turnoff for the logging road easily…
Semaphore Lakes: Run Away Train
Last weekend we went on a two day hiking trip to the Semaphore Lakes area. The original plan was to go to Vancouver Island to visit our friends Jan and Warrick, but this didn’t work out, and they agreed to come over to the mainland instead. Our friend Michelle also joined us, freed from her two young kids for the first time in four years. We left Vancouver at 5am and made good time to Pemberton where we filled up gas at an exorbitant price. From there we drove another hour on logging roads high up into the mountains to Railroad Pass. Just as I stopped the car to check…
Castlegar to Midway: Cycling the Columbia and Western Railway
Gili and I are last minute people. If you ask us on Friday what our plans for the weekend are, we will probably say we’re not sure yet. Sometimes close to midnight we’ll decide where we are heading for the weekend. The plans might change completely on Saturday morning. This trip was different – we had set our minds on it for quite a while and planned it for the Canada day long weekend. Well, it wasn’t exactly a long weekend, since the holiday itself was on Tuesday. But that was even better we thought, no one will notice if we disappear for Monday as well, and then we will…
Slim Creek to Wolverine Pass: Ridge Walking in Paradise
Maya and I were entrusted with entertaining our friend Yaron for two weekends while his wife and children were away. Last year we had spent a long weekend in the South Chilcotin, and I was just waiting for an excuse to return. It also seemed like snow levels would be lower there and we could actually do some early season scrambling. We decided to make it into a long weekend by taking off the Monday too, preparation for the next weekend: the super long weekend (Sat-Tue) for Canada Day. We left Vancouver at 5am and made good time to Pemberton. From there we drove 60km on gravel roads following the…
Norske Peak: Going For Glory on Norske
A few weeks ago I read a trip report by Robin Tivy on Bivouac describing a two day trip to Manning Park and an ascent of an obscure peak – Nordheim. This was possibly the first recorded ski ascent of Nordheim, and it was mentioned that “if you really want glory”, Norske was up for grabs. I’m not one to usually look for glory, but it seemed like a good enough excuse for a trip into a relatively untraveled area. I emailed Piotr Forysinski who was eager, and Phillip Zielke came along too. Phillip had arrived to Vancouver in December (from Germany) and had only skied several times before this…
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Washington Desert: Desert Cycling, Taco Wagons and Hot Springs
Last weekend was the Remembrance Day long weekend, and we went on a three day trip to Washington state, taking our bikes with us. The idea was to cross the Cascades and spend time in the real desert on the other side of the mountains. We waited “only” two hours at the border and continued driving south. At some stage I started feeling that the steering wheel was vibrating. We stopped at a rest area and discovered that one of our tires was flat, and much worse than that – torn. I don’t know if it tore initially, or if I drove too long on a flat and it tore…
Wedgemount Lake: Mt. Cook, BC Version
On Saturday morning we drove just past Whistler to the trail head for Wedgemount Lake. The hike up to the lake is quite steep – 1200m in about 7km, but still takes only a few hours. It was foggy and gray in the morning, but around noon the sky cleared completely and we were treated to a beautiful day. On the way we enjoyed wild Huckleberries and Blueberries, but wished there were more of them. We finally made it up to the beautiful glacial lake, surrounded by rocky peaks and a snowy summit – Mt. Wedge, the namesake of the lake. There were quite a few people on the trail…
Tsylos and Wells Gray: Getting Lost and Meeting Friends for Life
The trail head is a long day’s drive from Vancouver (11-12 hours), which we split over a day and a half. On the first day we drove almost to 100 Mile House, found a deserted and dark spot just off the highway and slept in the car (the wonders of station wagons). The next day we drove to Williams Lake where we stocked up on brochures and maps (at the info centre), discovered free internet (same place), and checked out the local swamp park (lots of birds). From there we took highway #20 which goes to Bella Coola. We only saw two cars going in the opposite direction even though…
