Raft Peak Traverse

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Raft Peak is an 8000 foot rocky mountain north of Clearwater, just outside Well Gray Park.    It is accessed by a long (22 km) rough (high clearance and the last part requires 4WD) mountain road.     There are 5 peaks in the range.     From the trailhead to the top of the west summit is a steep 3 km scramble.   From there it is an airy scramble across to the second peak.     The north slopes descend with snowfields in the cols leading down to Cirque of Tarns.  The traverse to the third and fourth peaks is much easier.   The final peak requires a bit of light scrambling up, then down the other side.

The traverse is an all-day hike with many slow-going sections, route-finding, and some bushwhacking.   There are many fine views from the summit ridge and peaks, including the best views of the 7-9 peaks of the Trophy Mountains immediately north.    Mt. Dunn dominates the south view.   We scrambled down to Willis Lake off-trail, then picked up the lake trail back to the trailhead to finish off the loop.

Anyone wanting to hike Raft Mountain should use the road guide (included in the album).     The hike to the top of Raft 1 (West Peak) and back is about 6 km and requires no special scrambling.     The Traverse, on the other hand, is best done by experienced scramblers/hikers who can navigate in the backcountry.

Included here are some photos from a hike on the Raft Traverse.     Click the link/arrow on the top corner for the album and captions, or click the arrow to see each photo in the Google Photos album, embedded here:

Notes

  • A good detailed description of the route can be found in Roland Neave’s book Exploring Wells Gray Park (p. 241 – 246).
  • I have hiked Raft Peak several times, but the traverse only once.    I suspect it will not be repeated again.

Fifty Years on Trophy Mountain

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On a sunny and warm day in early July, an early start was important, so the hike started at the trailhead by 8:30 in the morning.     The first 2 km was through forest, winding uphill, crossing streams, working toward subalpine glades up to the meadows.    Snow was still present at the higher elevations so the slopes were mostly wet, with wildflowers, flowering shrubs, and emerging perennials all the way from the forest to the heathlands in the alpine zone.   This was the fiftieth consecutive year in a row of hiking in the Trophy Mountains.    Over the years, all of the 9 summits were hiked, some from different trailheads, some involving day-long traverses.    In later years, the … Continue reading →

Stoyama Mountain

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The summit of Stoyama Mountain is an elusive hike.    It stands as the most northern (significant) peak in the North Cascades, located in a backcountry area between the Coquihalla and Highway 1 (the Fraser Canyon).    There are a number of backroads to the area, but the main access is from Highway 8 (Merritt to Spences Bridge), then a turn south onto the Petit/Spius Creek Forest Service Road.    After a long, bumpy drive past a number of junctions, take the turn onto the Cabin Lake Road.    The road is reasonable for a while, but soon turns into a very rough (4WD) access road.   Driving all the way to Cabin Lake can be traumatic so hikers may wish … Continue reading →

Mount Thynne

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Mt. Thynne is located south of Brookmere on the east side of the Coquihalla Highway, across from July Mountain.   It is accessed by turning off the Coquihalla Highway at the bridge across the Coldwater River and turning onto the Brookmere Road.  Drive through Brookmere and turn right onto the Mount Thynne Forest Service Road. The gravel road has a number of junctions, some signs, and a number of MSC (Merritt Snowmobile Club) signs (the route to the trailhead).   From Bookmere to the trailhead is about 16 km.   The road continues past that, but it is too rough for most vehicles.   The trailhead is at the Tin Shed Shelter. The “trail” is really a rough double track used to service communications … Continue reading →

Red Plateau Ramble

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On a warm mid-June day we drove up the Red Lake Road, then turned up onto the Red Plateau Forest Service Road.     Near the 4.5 km marker, we parked, then started a hike on tracks and trails across Red Plateau.  Our route connected us with the Dewdrop Trail/Castle Butte/Red Plateau Traverse Trail.    The trail passes above the scramble route to Castle Butte, then we continued on to one of the best viewpoints on the Red Plateau Escarpment.    Rugged lava cliffs rise 700 vertical meters (2300 feet) from the Dewdrop Range below.   After exploring an arch, we had lunch, then returned by the same route. Navigating on Red Plateau requires either past experience or a good app and … Continue reading →

Stony Lake Hills

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On a sunny and breezy June day, the route was up the Stony Lake track.     This originally was a cart track that connected homesteads located near the ponds and lakes on the northeast side of Lac du Bois to the main road.   We can access the track from a spot before Lac du Bois near a fenceline or from a point near McQueen Lake.    All of this land is now part of the Lac du Bois Nature Conservation Area so motorized vehicles are not allowed and there are barriers installed.     Walkers, hikers, and naturalists are welcome to go on foot on the old track.  For this day, the plan was to hike to an area above Stony … Continue reading →

Mara Mountain NE Route

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In early June we drove the bumpy Pruden Pass Road, then hiked up to the top of Mara Mountain from the northeast side.   We have been doing this hike in spring every year for decades.    There are several routes up the mountain, but this route starts at a higher elevation and is less arduous.    There is no established trail, and the first section is mostly just winding up the open grassland and forest slopes.    After passing a small dry pond, we picked up a known trail over the shoulder of the mountain, then down through a gully, and up and out to the top of the south face of the mountain. Some of the route is up … Continue reading →

Greenstone Trails

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At the end of May I went up the Greenstone Mountain Road to hike a series of single-track trails.   I parked at the 5 km mark on the Forest Service Road then followed trails to the west, then up through the rocky hills in a counter-clockwise loop.    Although there are some old double tracks in the area, most of the single tracks were built by the mountain biking community.    There are some hand-made signs here and there, but for the most part, hikers need to navigate on their own, making choices at each junction.   I have hiked the trails a number of times and I use a mapping/GPS app (Maps.me) if I come to an unknown junction.    … Continue reading →

Buse Hill Hike

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On a mid-May morning we drove to Barnhartvale, then out the Robbins Range Road to the trailhead to Buse Hill.   Buse Hill has volcanic ridges with steep north-facing cliffs overlooking Buse Lake.  There is a BC Parks Protected Area for the ridge and the cliffs down to the lake.   A double track climbs the grassland slopes to a series of viewpoints.    Most visitors go to the viewpoint and back, but we wanted to hike over to the Buse Pillar and then loop back. We hiked a steep single track down into the forest, then followed an unsigned trail to the west end of the ridge to a spot directly above the pillar.   On the return hike, we followed an … Continue reading →

Majerus Falls Trail

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We have hiked the trail in Wells Gray Provincial Park up the Murtle River to Majerus Falls twice.    There are seven waterfalls on the Murtle River, starting with McDougall Falls near the outlet to Murtle Lake, then a series of waterfalls on the 36 km journey down to the Clearwater River – Meadow Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Majerus Falls, Dawson Falls, the Mushbowl, and finally Helmcken Falls.   McDougall Falls is accessed from the west end of Murtle Lake.    Meadow Falls is rarely hiked to since it means a very long day with lots of deadfall and grown-over tracks.    Horseshoe Falls is about 4 km past Majerus Falls, but that is a 28 km return hike with sections of … Continue reading →