Capturing the Art of Nature
Hiking Mt St. Benedict
We finally did it, after several attempts and others problems we finally were able to get going on our hike up Mt. St. Benedict!
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2010
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W e have been trying to do this hike for a few months now, so it was a relief to finally get on the trail and explore the sights to be seen. Our original goal was to hike to McKay Lake which is a small alpine lake below the summit of Mt. St. Benedict. But as the season progressed we thought the snow would be gone which would allow us to try for the peak itself. So we set out with high hopes of seeing some great vistas from the peak.
We left early so we could get started before the heat of the day and made good time to the end of the drivable section of the Lost-Murdo FSR. When we arrived we were greeted with a less than encouraging sight. A pickup was already parked up there and it had been vandalized. Someone had thrown a rock through the passenger window and rummaged through the cab. It left us feeling a bit uneasy as we setup our radio gear and packed away stuff in the back. Things like this can really set you off for a while. After considering things for a bit we decided to head on up and do our best to enjoy the day.
The first leg of the hike was along the logging road that we could not drive with the truck – now an ATV could have gotten here! It was already getting hot as we made our way up the road but soon the route left the road for a trail through the trees. About 45 minutes into the hike we were greeted by a couple of chaps heading out, they had spent the night by the lake. After a brief chat we determined that they were the owners of the truck, I had the sad task of reporting the situation to them. They were surprised as they had not left anything of value in the cab.
The trail between the road and lake made a slow climb up to the lake elevation and crossed a number of open meadow areas and thicker forested portions. It was a pleasant section to hike. We got to the lake in just over an hour and took a good rest before starting off on the climb to the peak. The lake is quite lovely and scenic but does seem a bit lacking in places to camp around its shore. The level was high due to the late thaw which could explain the lack of camping spots.
Once rested we set off for the peak, another pair of hikers were at the lake when we arrived and had set out for the peak just before we left, one of them does a lot of hiking in the area and was looking forward to this hike. We started up the trail and soon encountered some steep sections which slowed me down quite a bit. We met another pair of hikers coming down; they warned us of deep snow up above. As we continued up we started fighting through muddy sections due to the thaw and it made the way a bit more hazardous for us as we tried not to slip in the mud, it was even worse on the way down.
Soon we reached the snow level and sure enough it was soon quite deep – 2m along the ridge – at least it was hard packed enough along the top that we didn’t have to fight it too much. By now I was really starting to run out of steam and we still had a fair ways to go. We had some great views of the various peaks to the north, east and west which made it all worth the effort. After some distance along the ridge, I was really starting to reach my endurance with fighting the snow and steepness of the route. It was already approaching 3pm so we found a bit of cover and sat down to eat our lunch. Once fed, the two girls we met at the lake were on their way down and encouraged us to try for another small pond just over the next rise and grab some photos from there. So we did continue to the pond but that was the furthest for us today. We took a breather and then set off back to McKay Lake. The route down was actually quite challenging as the melt water had turned even more of the path into slippery mud. Geoff and I both went for a few slides but nothing too serious. We did finally make it back to the lake by 4:30. A nice long rest and then we were off to the truck. We encountered a few more hikers heading in as we went along but I’m sure they were only going to the lake at this time of the day.
So it was a bit disappointing to not make it to the peak but then our original goal was only to get to McKay Lake which we did with little difficulty. The views from the ridge were great and I do think the hike would be worth repeating later in the season when the ridge is snow free. That should allow us a faster hiking time and not be quite so challenging. Geoff definitely wants to give it another goal, so I guess I will need to put it on our list for next year.
We were back at the truck by 5:30 and were happy to discover that there was no vandalism to be found. So we packed up the radio gear and set off down the bumpy side road. It does look like some logging will be started part way up the road, so it will likely be in better shape before long.