D'Arcy to Lillooet via Anderson and Seton Lakes

In September Kat and I paddled from D'Arcy to Lillooet. We travelled across Anderson and Seton Lakes with a nice portage in the middle.

First we drove two cars to Lillooet and parked one at the end of Seton Lake

Kat taking in the view from Lillooet end of Seton Lake. Observing what we were about to paddle.

Then we drove the second car to D'Arcy. There is a nice dock in D'Arcy to launch from.

The docks in D'Arcy.

We enjoyed calm water as we started our journey. We generally stayed near the right (South) side of the lake. A few hours in, whitecapped waves came out of nowhere, so we pulled over and relaxed for 3 hours until they subsided.

The spot we pulled over is really nice, someone had set up a picnic table and there's a clearing for camping.

Once the weather calmed we continued towards Seton Portage, the town between the lakes. We unloaded on a dock and carried our gear up a road and through town. There was a gate on the road, it was easy to walk around the gate.

Kat packing up our gear. The portage wasn't too long. We were probably about 1 hour all together.

We did not see anywhere to set up the tent in Seton Portage, so we launched from a beach on Seton Lake and paddled until we found a nice spot to camp on the lakeside.

View from camp looking towards Seton Portage. I saw two otters here, couldn't get the camera out in time.

Seton Lake has a nice glacial blue color. There are some narrow portions of the lake with large cliffs rising on either side. Railroad tracks follow the North side of the lake, so we stayed closer to that side, in case we would need to pull out and wait out wind. We were lucky for conditions and only encountered some minor headwind.

A journey's end.

This was extremely enjoyable trip! A few notes:

-A few people warned me about wind before setting out on this trip. While this could be an issue (as we saw on Anderson Lake), there are good places to pull out all along both lakes.

-Lake water was pleasantly warm, surprisingly warm for September.

-There are signs of "civilization" all along the trip; power lines, railroad tracks, cabins along the shore.

-We saw one power boat on Anderson Lake and nobody else on the water.

-There are lots of nice places to set up camp along the South side of Anderson Lake, fewer spots along Seton Lake.

-The gate on the road from Anderson Lake to Seton Portage could be tricky to navigate around with a hardshell boat.

-Birkenhead Lake was a nice place to sleep the night before the journey so we could have an early start.

-There is a motel in Seton Portage, staying there would allow one to avoid carrying overnight gear. There is also a restaurant/pub.

Mount Rohr

With some nice mid-September weather, Kat and I decided to do Mount Rohr. Directions were fairly straightforward following the Matt Gunn scrambles book.

We camped at the far end above Rohr Lake.

We enjoyed a nice sunrise from camp.

The route to the summit was nice and easy to navigate. Mostly on talus. Summit had good views all around especially toward Joffre and Matier across the highway.

Kat's happy to be at the top. Highway 99 below and Joffre and Matier in the distance.

Very nice trip! Rohr Lake on it's own would be a worthy destination.

Mount Currie

In early September I was stoked when Dean proposed we go to Mount Currie summit.

We parked near the Mount Currie trail just passed the Pemberton Speedway. The trail is steep through the trees and pops you out in the alpine.

Dean near the end of the trail, looking back (West) across the valley.

From the point we contoured counter-clockwise around some sub-summits. Then we went up some talus that was covered with a little fresh snow. The summit looked very imposing from below. Once we reached the ridgeline, we found a good path to the summit.

Dean with the last few steps towards summit.

We had some great views on our way down.

Our return route was definitely more efficient.

We were back at the car after about 13 hours roundtrip. A really great day. This was a fun trip. Dean did a great job of preparing the route-plan before we left.

Soo River Paddle

When Peter proposed we take my kayak down Soo River I was shocked. Isn't that class 4/5 whitewater? He explained that we would be heading down the calmer section above the dam.

We dropped off the kayak at the put-in spot about 13kms down the road on the north side of Soo River. Then we parked the car near the dam and walked back up the road to the put-in spot.

Peter at the put-in spot. We wore wetsuits because this water is glacier cold.

The paddling was fun. Beautiful views of the mountains. A few quicker spots, but nothing too bad, One large logjam we had to cross.

At the logjam just before we carried the boat over.

There is a large rock next to the road around km 4. This would probably have been the better pull out location. We kept going until we got to a point we could go no further, We took the boat out and bushwacked about 20m up to the road, then caried the boat back to the car.

I'm sure glad we wore wetsuits!

A great way to spend an afternoon!

Mount Weart via Wedgemont Lake by Night

In August I went up Mount Weart. Because of my scheduling and also fear of sunburns I decided to try this trip at night. It was a great way to try something new and make a standard trip more interesting.

I left the car at 6:30pm and made my way up the Wedgemont Lake trail as the sun was setting

Looking across the valley towards Rainbow Mountain

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There's a trail around the lake on climber's left. Last bit of light went down just as I passed the lake.

Dusk at Wedgemont Lake

Past the lake I continued beside the glacier and up some slopes. Mostly I moved by moonlight. A few times I turned on the headlamp for routefinding. The photos from Matt Gunn's scrambles book were helpful. I made the summit at 1am. I was back at Wedgemont Lake for sunrise.

First light at Wedgemont Lake

I was back at the car for 9am, drove home and had a snooze.

A few notes:

-I was surprised to find the camping fee box not there. I called BC Parks, they told me that you can no longer pay cash for overnight trips. What a bummer. I explained that I would not be sleeping, they still charged me $15 for the trip, I paid by credit card over the phone. Lucky I had cell signal in the parking lot.

-I was thinking I might like to take a nap in the hut on the way back. But it looked like it was full.

-It was extremely pleasant on the ridgeline with a clear sky and a full moon. The light of the moon reflected off the glaciers prodivded ample light.

Sun God Mountain

On Saturday Matt and I bushwacked up to the lake between Seven 0'Clock and Sun God Mountain. On Sunday morning we went up Sun God, then headed home. This trip is well described in the Matt Gunn Scrambles Guide.

We parked near 7km mark of Tenas Creek Forest Service Road. The road is in good shape with large water bars.

Most scenic parking spot I have ever seen.

Then we bushwacked up alongside the creek.

Matty on the bushwack.

We got an awesome sunset from our campsite.

Small lake is just to the right.

The scramble up Sun God was very pleasant.

Matty makes the final move to the summit.

A few notes:

-I have never seen so many mosquitoes in my life. This trip might be better suited to late spring or early fall.

-After the bushwack, the alpine is extremely pleasant.

-Do-able in a daytrip,  I was happy to enjoy a sunset up there.

Mount Sproatt Hike

I recently moved to Whistler. The view from my patio looks towards Mount Sproatt, so I decided to go up to the top.

View from my patio.

I hiked up different mountain bike trails, using Trailforks as a guide. I made my way up the "Sproatt Alpine Trail". Some friendly guys from WORCA were busy finishing this new trail. After I passed them I bushwacked my way up to the alpine.

The sub-alpine here is very pleasant.

I made my way up to Sproatt summit where there is a summit cairn. From here I could look down to my house.

View from the summit, looking towards Whistler.

Overall a pleasant day. I was out for about 10 hours. Next time I would bring a mountain bike for a quicker trip up and down the bike trails.

Joffre Peak with BCMC Group

During the first week of July I was lucky to join a BCMC group for an ascent up Joffre Peak. On day one we hiked into Keith's Hut. On day two we ascended Joffre Peak. This turned out to be a 15 hour day.

Joffre Peak as seen from the hut.

There was still tons of snow in the alpine.

We scrambles some slopes up to a notch near the summit. We rappelled down into the notch, Ian climbed the sub-summit, and the rest followed on the fixed line. We left both ropes in place for the return.

Rappel and fixed line in the notch.

From the notch, it was a short scramble to the summit. We did not spend any time at the summit and headed back for a lengthy return. We tied both ropes together for some 60 m rappels.

Tomas rappels

Then we descended the same snow-slopes. Moving backwards because they were so steep.

Slow and steady on our way home.

Overall a great day!

Mount Baker via Coleman Deming

During late June I went up Mount Baker with Michal, Harvey, and Graham. We went up the Coleman-Deming route. It's pretty standard so I'll keep this brief with just a couple of thoughts on the subject.

The hike up to the alpine is relatively short and enjoyable. Then we camped on the glacier.

Looking towards summit from camp spot.

We enjoyed a spectacular sunset at camp.

Then we woke at 12:30am, departing camp at 1:30am to catch sunrise from the summit. Heading up in the firm early-morning snow was more pleasant than afternoon slush would  have been.

Summit

Overall a very enjoyable trip. A few notes:

-This would definitely be doable as a day-trip. It was however very pleasant to enjoy both sunset and sunrise.

-We roped up for the glacier and that seems like the most prudent thing to do. I saw a couple of skiers unroped.

-There's some more photos on my Instagram @RaberPhoto

Bella Coola to Tallheo Hot Springs by Kayak

I bought myself a birthday present this year. A round-trip flight Vancouver to Bella Coola with 4 days in between.

About 3km each way,

I flew with Pacific Coastal to Bella Coola from YVR South terminal. I was lucky to buy a sale-price ticket. Views from the flight were phenomenal.

I met up with Matt Bruce, he's living in Nimpo Lake and drove over to meet me. For two days we waited out heavy wind. We did some hiking instead.

Great mountain views in all directions.

Finally on day 3 we had our weather window. We woke up at 3 am and headed onto the water right away.

Great views on the water once the sun came up.

Tallheo hot spring felt like paradise.

We woke again at 3am the next day to beat the wind on our paddle back. We got back early and did a small hike called "Medby Rock".

All together a great trip!

Sky Pilot Attempt

In early June, Michal, Ryan and I went to Sky Pilot Mountain.

We parked at Shannon Falls, hiked up, and took the gondola down in the evening.

We started at Shannon Falls parking lot around 7am. We hiked up the Sea to Summit Trail.

A view point on Seat to Summit Trail

Then we hiked a well marked trail towards Sky Pilot. Eventually we popped out of the trees and into snowy alpine.

We kick stepped our way up snow slopes.

Eventually we made our way up to rock near the summit.

Ryan scrambling the pink slab as Michal looks on.

We deviated from the normal Matt Gunn route by replacing the chimney with a sketchy traverse. I decided not to continue. Michal and Ryan headed up to the summit and quickly returned.

Sketchy traverse... more difficult than it looks.

We rappelled the pink slab and had a fun slip-and-slide on the way down snow slopes.

We were happy to arrive at the Gondola just before it closes at 7pm. We each paid $10 for a ride down then walked a few minutes to the car. All together about a 12 hour day. Very nice trip and highly recommend it. Next time I would stick to the Matt Gunn route.

Fort Langley to Vancouver via the Fraser River

Yesterday I finished the final leg of the Fraser River from Hope to home. Ivan came along for the ride.

We took out at River District Park in Vancouver

We skytrained out to Lougheed Station and transferred buses twice to get to Fort Langley.

We put in at Fort Langley boat launch around 2pm.

We stopped for lunch on an island along the way

Just after the Port Mann Bridge

Then we continued home

Heading towards the Pattullo Bridge

We passed lots of tugboats, barges, and various other signs of industry.

A load of demolished cars.

All together an mellow and very enjoyable day!

Mount Macfarlane

On Tuesday I hiked Mount Macfarlane with Michal and Ryan.

Apparently that's 22km roundtrip.

It was a little bit of a foggy day.

First bit's through the trees. It starts to open up near Pierce Lake.

We made our way up some snow slopes to the still-frozen Upper Pierce Lake.

We scrambled a bit to avoid some of the steeper snow slopes near the summit.

We enjoyed a quick snack at the summit cairn then made our way down. Overall a great day!