Guanaco Peak

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Guanaco Peak is one of the Coquihalla Summit Peaks, located at the headwaters rim of the Coldwater River.    It is easily spotted from the top of Zupjok, Yak, Zoa, and other peaks in the area, but it is hard to get to.   Access is by the Upper Coldwater River FSR which goes west from the Coquihalla Highway near the Coquihalla Lakes.    The road up the valley is in good condition for 7.5 km.     There is a small campground there (Zum Peak Campground) and from there a 1.4 km trail goes in to Little Douglas Lake where there is a backcountry campsite.   The rest of the Upper Coldwater Road is 7 km long and it is grown over.   We tried to drive it, but couldn’t, so we parked and walked the road (both ways).    On our next outing we parked at Zum Creek, then mountain biked to the trailhead, secured our bikes, then hiked up to the top of Guanaco.   The trail to the summit is a round trip of about 5.2 km.   

The trail winds up through a cutblock to a trail through subalpine forest, then under the cliffs of Vicuna Peak.    The best part of the trail is the traverse to the ridge connecting the two peaks.     The route to the summit of Guanaco goes a little bit farther west to work its way up a rocky ridge to the top.   

From the top of Guanco are impressive views of Guanaco Peak and Alpaca.    To the south are views of Llama,  Zupjok, the Zopkios Ridge and Yak Peak.  To the west are the sharp peaks of the Anderson Range, a climbing destination at the end of a long forest service road from the Fraser River.   In the distance the snow-covered Coast Ranges can be seen.   To the southeast are Zum and Zoa Peaks, with Mt. Thynne in the distance to the east.      This is a remote spot with an interesting trails and grand views.    We returned the way we came, a long day because of walking or biking an extra 14 km on the old road.   

On this hike, a friend climbed Vicuna Peak.     He said there was a fixed chain to assist climbers.   I was happy to watch and enjoy the views on the open ridge.

We have hiked a number of other peaks in the Coquihalla Summit area – Zupjok, Llama, Needle, Iago, Yak, Zoa, Zum (not recommended), Flatiron, July, and Illal.    More posts are planned for this website on those hikes in the months ahead.   

Some photos from the hike are shared here in a Google Photos slideshow (or click the link to go to the album where captions are provided):

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Lime Ridge (North)

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Lime Ridge is a peak in Marble Range Provincial Park.    It is one of the karst limestone peaks accessed from the Jesmond Road.   Lime Ridge is a barren limestone 7 km-long open ridge with rugged views in every direction.     There are 3 routes that can be taken to get to the top of Lime Ridge.     The one best known is from the southwest, going up the Porcupine Creek FSR to a small Rec Site, then following a good trail to the south end of Lime Ridge and/or Porcupine Peak.    There is also a steep route on the west side near the middle of the ridge which follows an old mining road to a limestone quarry and … Continue reading →

Cwem Cwem Lake Hike

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Cwem Cwem Lake is an alpine tarn in a rocky plateau area right below Trophy Mountain.     Whereas most hikers go up the Trophy Mountain Trail through the alpine meadows to Plateau of the Tarns in a cirque below Long Hill and the West Trophy Peak, Cwem Cwem requires scrambling down a creek gully and climbing back up to the east.   There is no trail, but there may be a few cairns along the route.     The best route is to go to the last tarn below Trophy Two (West Trophy), then descend the creek gully down to the Silvertip Creek Valley.    Go upstream, following the creek to Cwem Cwem Lake.   The lake seems like an idyllic spot for … Continue reading →

Mt. Bowman Hike

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Mt. Bowman is located in the Marble Range, northwest of Clinton.    To get to the trailhead, we drive north on Highway 97 to Clinton, then turn down the Kelly Lake (Pavilion – Clinton) Road to the junction of the Jesmond Road, a good gravel road which goes north along the western flank of Marble Range Provincial Park.   The trailhead is accessed by one of two high clearance, bumpy gravel side roads (23 and 24 km north) which go to the powerline.     There is a small parking area near the creek.    A good trail follows the creek upstream with a gradual climb.   At 3.1 km a small rough camp is reached.     The trail which continues east goes … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 →