Capturing the Art of Nature
Vedder Mountain for Three
A lovely day for a hike through the trees
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
Summits on the Air
2019
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The trail along the Vedder Mountain ridge is a very pleasant well maintained route which would be usable year-round. It is a lovely walk, not overly hard but it is almost 5km each way, so a bit long. It is a summit and hike I plan to do annually and this year I was saving it for an outing with my son Nick. The day finally came and we got things organized for the day. We were fortunate to have Ralph join us, so the three of us made a day of it.
Ralph came by my place for 8:30am and we quickly loaded our three sets of gear into the truck and started off for the trailhead. The drive went quickly with the two standard stops and low traffic on the highway. Soon we were starting up the logging road and then the final rougher spur to the trailhead. Once parked we quickly donned our gear and started off. The first thing we noticed were steps built into the deep cross ditches that blocked the start of the trail. The ditches were there to keep atv’s out but they made crossing a bit hard. Now with the steps in place it was a very easy crossing of the ditches.
The trail continued along the old road for a couple hundred meters before it turned off into the forest. We soon were walking the trail proper enjoying the cool air in the trees with the start of the fall smell in the wind. It was really a lovely experience walking through the trees. The trail does go through a series of ascents and descents as it follows the ridge but none are overly long or steep. As we neared the first lookout to the north we met a couple coming back. They had enjoyed the hike to a point a bit beyond the lookout but they hadn’t made it to the summit. We continued by and soon we were enjoying the view of the Fraser Valley.
After a rest we continued the trail. There had been a number of improvements along the way including a number of new steps dug in at the steepest points. After a bit more walking we came to the stone outlook to the south. There is still a small bit of view left here but most of it is over-grown. A shame as it would be a lovely view of Cultus Lake from there. Once re-energized we continued along to the sub-peak and then down the long descent to the lake. The boardwalk was partly covered in fern growth but prior hikers had worn a path of ground up fern along the walk. It looked kind-of cool amongst the tall growth and plank walkway
The next section of trail worked its way along another pond and then started upwards to the steepest part of the hike. We needed a breather at this point as the steepest section was next. Nick was not impressed with the next bit of trail but he was determined and so he started up and soon he had passed this hard section of trail. Next came the ‘fun’ bit with a short bridge crossing a vertical cliff and then a rope for help climbing a rock face. All was passed with little ado and then it was the final rope climb to the top ridge. Here we noticed that the rope was still there but a notch log was gone. In climbing it without the log I actually found it easier then with, so I guess others felt the same.
Once on the top we followed the trail to the small summit area and there we flaked out and after we regained our breath we ate some lunch. Now it was time for our radio work. Ralph went off to set up his vertical antenna with my KX2, I set up my 2m yagi and as soon as it was on I heard John Bell calling from a summit up Howe Sound! He was really strong considering he was only using a handheld with small antenna! We made a Summit-to-Summit call and then we worked a few more stations in tandem before he finished and I continued for a few more. Meanwhile Ralph was raking in 20m CW contacts. Once Ralph had enough in his log, I managed a single 20m Phone contact. We both had enough contacts in the log and so we called it quits and packed up. We made fast time down the steepest section and then along the trail. We encountered a few groups coming towards us as we were walking out but there weren’t many on the trail today. So it was a nice experience with the place mostly to ourselves. Once back at the truck we were able to relax in the comfort of a soft truck seat and the cool A/C. As it was Labour Day and the crowds were packing the highway we drove the backroads to home, that went quickly and we were home by 6pm! Another great day out in the hills and getting exercise and fresh air all at once.
