Tag Archives: Raft Mountain

Cirque of Tarns

Kamloops Trails Posted on by  

The Cirque of Tarns Trail is a route on the north side of Raft Mountain.    The trailhead is off the Spahats Creek Forest Service Road which branches off from the Trophy Mountain Road.    It is a good high-clearance gravel road that follows the creek valley between Trophy Mountain and Raft Mountain.   The same road can be used to access trails into the East Trophy Range, Caligata Lake, and Spahats Hill.   At about 14 km along the FSR near a sign that indicates a Provincial Park Boundary (Caligata Lake).    There is a sign at the trailhead.   The first part of the trail is through a wet meadow above the lake.    We usually used an old pair of running shoes through the meadow, then changed into hiking boots once we reached the forest.    the trail is a rough single-track up into a pass between Spahats Hill and one of the Raft Mountain peaks.   In the pass, hikers can go to the top of Spahats Hill, down to Crystal Lake, or up a steep route past the tarns.

The route up to the upper tarn is steep, rocky, and not well-marked.    Watch for cairns.    Three small tarns are passed on the way up.    The final tarn is the largest, in a cirque below one of the Raft Peaks.   A small glacier/snowfield hangs under the north face of the mountain.    For most hikers, the cirque will be spot for lunch before returning by the same route.    It is possible to scramble up the steep rock slope on a ridge to the Raft Mountain rim for more views of the Raft Summits, views to the south (Dunn and Baldy) and a wider view of the area.      It is not an easy route up and down.   

We have hiked the trail a handful of times and each time we have explored side routes.    The whole area is rugged and challenging, but also rewarding.    The return hike to the upper tarn and back is about 10 km (with 560m elevation gain), and much of it is slow-going.    It took us about 4 hours.   

Some photos were taken on the hike and shared here in a Google Photos Album slideshow:

     

  • Click on any photo link to see the caption (link to album)
  • Trailhead – N 51.44.920 W 119 50.347 (1653 m elevation)
  • Cirque – 51°43.915′,  W 119°51.151′(2200 m elevation)
  • Raft Two Summit – N 51°43.905′,  W 119°50.882′ (2338 m elevation)
  • Cirque of Tarns (YouTube)