Last week I had such a lovely day for hiking the hills but one of my companions was unable to come and he really wanted to get out this Saturday. He was determined to go regardless of the weather. So even though rain was forecasted and in fact this morning it was indeed raining, we still set out for the summit. We left at a leisurely 8am and made straight for the local Home Depot so I could purchase a small tarp. I had thought Brett had one big enough for two but it was not.  Done with shopping we made good time through Mission and on to the Lougheed Highway. As we came by Dewdney, the highway takes a right turn and crosses over the Nicomen Slough, today we would fortunately be going straight. We noticed that the highway was closed at the bridge over the slough, it was broken and being fixed. Numerous cars were having to be turned back.

We continued past the intersection and made our way along the flank of Dewdney Peak to reach its eastern side. Looking up we saw a cloud covered summit. It was going to be a damp one. We entered the forestry road and I announced our entry via radio, to which I immediately got a response back from a pickup coming towards us. They were the only traffic on the road frequency that we heard all day. When we arrived at the side road we were to take we were greeted with a closed gate and a sign warning to stay out due to blasting!  This was very disappointing for us. I drove past to see if there was a second road we could take, there wasn’t so we turned around thinking about an alternative.

When we got back to the gate I stopped to look at it and thought the sign was a bit makeshift. So I checked the gate and found it unlocked and no lock in sight. So we decided to head on up and drive to the ridge as planned. The drive up the slope went fairly well, it was rough in a few spots but not difficult. We did follow one wrong branch a short ways before realizing it was the wrong one based upon my previous trip. So we backed up and turned onto the correct one to continue up to the ridge.

The drive along the ridge was easy except for the fog we were now encased in. We eventually got to where I was stopped back in 2010 but now a road continues past and we travelled it to where I had marked as our parking spot for the day. The road end was surrounded by steep slopes on 3 of the 4 sides. It looked quite isolated and remote here in the rain. Well we had arrived and now we had to get out and endure the rain first hand. We got our gear organized and my rain covers on and set out for the slope.

We had only around 400 meters to walk to the summit but we had 50 in elevation gain as well. Not a huge walk but we had no trail and a slippery wet mossy forest floor to make our way across. Even though it wasn’t much height to gain the slope looked steep and challenging in the dull foggy rain. We picked our way up and over fallen trees and around some rock outcrops and slowly made our way through the trees to our goal. The GPS units made the task fairly easy as we avoided any false turns. It was fun hiking through here but even though the understory was open the sheer number of trees limited ones view to a short distance. I can now better appreciate how easy it would be to get lost. One doesn’t have to get far apart to lose sight of each other.

Our adventure began a few weeks back when we were originally scheduled to do this hike. Unfortunately back then the weather turned foul after a summer of draught conditions. So we canceled the trip and waited a few weeks for a better day. Well it arrived and off we went. Unfortunately with the delay Brett wasn’t able to join us on this adventure.  Ralph arrived at my home just before 7am and we quickly loaded up the truck and started out for mountains.

As per the normal sequence of those drug addicted members of society our first stop was to the local drug dispensary for a fresh cup of the hot beverage that keeps society moving along in a generally functional state. Once loaded up we continued along to the next stop to feed the truck before getting onto the highway for a fast trip to Hope and then the Summit of the Coquihalla. It went smoothly except for a short slow patch near the end of our drive for road construction. The only excitement along the trip to this point was when Ralph was reviewing the computer to find our exit point off the highway – he tried to zoom in on the location but managed to terminate the mapping software while we were barreling down the road at 120km and rapidly approaching our exit. We now had to find the exit the hard way – with our memory and eyes. Fortunately we found the side road in time to exit and once off the highway we got the software restarted so we could follow the right backroads to the trail head.

We drove in to the Falls Lake parking area and there we spotted a narrow rough road heading north. It looked a bit over-grown but we stopped and engaged our 4x4 system and then set off onto the gravel road. It quickly began a steep climb up the slope which was good but it was also extremely rough with a stream having ripped out large chucks of the road bed. We managed to pick our way across and soon were past the worst and driving higher up on the slope looking for a fork. We found it and started up that road which was almost as rough but also very steep so progress was slow until we reached the top where the gas line right-of-way was. Here we parked and looked 30 meters down the clearing to see the trail-head.

Once parked we quickly got our gear organized and then set off for the trail. Though the road was very rough we still preferred it to having to walk the 300m elevation gain section of the slope to the start of the trail proper. The initial section of the trail is fairly steep as it winds its way through an alpine forest. Fortunately the trees offered shade and kept us cool in the growing heat. The trail was well trodden and ease to follow, it was also well marked with new reflectors placed on trees. Soon we were up to the ridge line and the climb got much more gradual. The fall colours were starting up here with the blueberry leaves coloured bright red. The ash was yellow and with the deep green of the spruce, and a small hint of white wild flowers the slopes quite spectacular to view.

Today would be our third hike on the mountain and our second to reach the summit. Our previous attempt was in 2012. In July 2012 we were stopped by snow but made later in September. Today was almost 3 years later to the day.  I was looking forward to a tougher hike than what I had been doing earlier in the year with my friends from the Radio Club. Today’s hike with Geoff would be harder but still not too difficult, having done the trail before makes it easier to follow.

Our day began around 7:30 but seemed to progress in slow motion as we made our way through the regular activities of getting some coffee, fueling the truck and then buying some beef Jerky. Geoff added one extra stop to buy some lunch supplies as he had missed a major ingredient. The drive along the highway went smoothly but it was here that we discovered that the Sumas repeater was once again off the air. We had planned to use it to co-ordinate our activities. Too late to really find an alternative we continued on. We arrived at the start of the logging road in good order and started up the rough road to the far end of the deep valley.

The road was more over-grown than before as one could expect but it was still open enough to make reasonable time up the slope. Three years ago we had to clear some trees but this trip there were none in the way. Geoff spotted a Grouse on the road at one point and we stopped so he could hunt it with his bow. The season was open for Bow hunting. He shot twice but missed and he was only able to find one of the arrows. A bit later and just before the end of the road he tried again but shot between two birds! I finished the drive along the road and parked the truck. We were the only ones on the road and in the parking area.

After getting ourselves organized and our gear loaded onto our backs we started up the old roadway, it was 11:30, a good hour later than we had planned. The roadway had a decent trail carved into it, better than what I remembered from my earlier hikes. It looked like there had been a bit of trail work done. The first thing we noticed was that the plants were quite drenched and we were quickly becoming very wet ourselves. Pushing through the plants involved knocking off the leftover rain from the night before. It was going to be a soaker until we reached the thicker forested section. Eventually Geoff got tired of breaking trail and I took over.

Once through the wet section we started up through the steeper forested segment to the ridge line. This portion of the trail is reasonably easy to follow as it takes many switchbacks up the slope to the base of a granite wall. We then made our way along the base and crossed over a large fallen tree which was cut into a bridge for the hikers. We continued up slope past a ladder crafted from two trees. It looked safer to walk alongside it rather than use it. The trail continued up the slope fairly steeply until it finally reached the ridge line where it opened up into broader meadow sections. Here the sun had dried the plants and we were no longer in tall wet bush. In fact we were reasonably dried off already.

The hike along the ridge is quite pleasant, mostly in the shadow of trees but still in fairly open country. We continued up and over the ridge to start the traverse of the heather covered talus field below the summit. In some ways this can be the trickiest part of the hike. The slope is very steep and covered in heather. One has to pick their footing very carefully to not slide or get wedged between rocks. After gaining some elevation we came by a large boulder where I could rest and get my crampons put on. Now I was able to handle the heather much easier and we made better time crossing the slope to the far ridge. We zipped up the far side glad to be done with the talus field. The views were already very spectacular and I could see the summit now not overly far away though there was still some major slope to climb. We were able to find a faint trail again on this side of summit and we followed it up the steep ridge and then across to the south to where there is a treed section that one can use to pull oneself up to the summit ridge. I sure was happy to have my spikes on. Once over the lip we were on the top ridge with only a short walk along it to central peak and the summit of Wells. Once we had both arrived we stopped to eat lunch, it was a bit after 2pm. We took 2.5 hours of hiking to get here. Not really that bad.

I enjoy a short trip to Victoria, though it really isn’t far away, the need to ride a ferry to get there definitely gives it a sense of remoteness. This year we went during the summer rather than our usual spring trip. This meant we were there in the busy tourist season but also in the better weather. Now this year we were in the midst of a dry spell, so things were dry and dusty at home and unfortunately not much better in Victoria. It also meant that our favourite hotel was booked full and we had to find an alternate location.

We left mid-morning on Thursday and caught the noon ferry, though we were almost an hour early we just made it onto the next scheduled trip, the crowds were definitely there. The ride across was uneventful, we ate lunch in the café and read in the lounge afterwards. We tried sitting outside but the announcements on the PA system were so loud it got very irritating very quickly. Once we had arrived in Swartz Bay we had a leisurely drive to Island View Park. I always seem to stop by here as the beach is interesting with driftwood and the views of the islands quite entertaining. This trip saw many more people laying around in the sun which was a new experience as it always seemed so empty on my prior visits.

Done with the park we drove to Victoria and our hotel – The Abigail Hotel – but not before grabbing a coffee at the standard purveyor of legal drugs, namely Starbucks. The hotel proved to be very lovely. It was all that the photos made it out to be. Our room was very enjoyable and offered a very comfortable bed – one of the best I have enjoyed while away from home. Now the place was great but the hot breakfast and early evening Hors d'oeuvres were incredible. They even operate scent free and looked after Carolyn’s wheat allergy. Needless to say that after 3 nights we were very happy with the place and plan to return on our next visit.

We ate dinner with two of Carolyn’s friends who live in Victoria at the Breakwater Café. It was a nice meal and we enjoyed the sunset and a short walk on the breakwater after dinner. Friday saw us lounging around our room and walking into down-town for a few purchases. It was a nice walk, though a bit longer than we would have had from the Magnolia, it was still quite reasonable and we enjoyed the exercise. We enjoyed dinner with my cousin Jim at the Canoe Brewpub. The meal was OK but nothing that special certainly not up to the level of our hotel. I suppose if I drank bear, they would have had some nice choices of their own production which may have made the meal better.

I’ve been coming to the park since my kids were little, the place still oozes freshness and solitude. As a change from the regular path, Nick and I turned onto the Vine Maple Trail and enjoyed a less travelled section of the park. Only a few passed us on the trail so we had it to ourselves to stop and marvel at some of the huge trees through which the trail meanders.

The initial part of the trail was particularly treacherous for photographers as there were many dog mines along the edge of the path. If one is concentrating too hard on the subject, it would be far too easy to miss-step. Do these owners actually not notice or are they just not bothering to clean it up, it really does motivate one to ban dogs. Nick brought his camera and he borrowed my tripod so he could try out stationary photography. He found it very helpful for most of his photos but for the few that needed faster action the setup got in the way.

A month ago we started exploring the upper Garnet Creek area but ran into serious truck trouble, so now with the truck repaired we returned to the region but not to the section of road that devoured us and spit us out a broken, limping mess. I guess we have a bit of a cowardly streak in us at times. Today we made good time to the start of the Garnet Creek FSR and there we immediately noticed that the construction signs at the start were missing. It looks like the work on the new transmission line was completed through here and the evidence of the work had been removed. We continued up the road and about a kilometer in we came by a group harvesting firewood. We continued on in and made for the small campsite on the Garnet we spotted last time.

As we approached the end of the spur and the campsite we noticed that it was occupied with a family spending the week-end. Geoff wanted to turn back but I insisted we continue with our plan to explore the small river gorge he had seen last trip. We parked and walked down to the creek where we saw the family and their noisy dog. They had recently purchased some sluicing equipment and were busy trying it out in the creek. I guess the TV shows where people are finding huge gold deposits is rather motivating. Their dog was a bit aggressive and did bite Geoff at one point but it wasn’t serious. After a short chat we continued up the creek to the gorge and there we started to take some photos of the rock formations.

I wasn’t able to follow Geoff over some of the rocks so we back tracked a short distance and found a path alongside the creek that got us past the section that was stopping me. Further up the creek we hopped across the rocks and found a good number of lovely views of the creek and the water running through very narrow chutes. I did manage to slip and scratch my leg up a bit at one point, fortunately the water stayed out of my boot. The flow was light which gave us opportunities to find lots of angles to shoot photos from. The smooth curved rocks were quite impressive and left no doubt as to the power of the water. This place would be a dangerous roaring maelstrom in a high flow period. Once we had explored the extent of the area we could walk without getting wet we started back for the truck. This time we stayed in the forest alongside the creek so as to avoid the dog. We chatted with one of the campers as we came past his camp spot, he told us how they had found a flake of gold on an earlier trip and this time wanted to see if they could find a more serious quantity.

We back-tracked to the fork with the American Creek FSR and started up the slope out of the Garnet Valley, the view from the road of the valley was worth a stop. The view was very lovely and the breeze up the valley was quite pleasant in the hot sun. After a few photos we continued up the mainline but soon took a side road that led up the far side of the American Creek valley. The road was recently used for building the new towers and so we were able to get to a nice overlook. While we were out of the truck taking photos we heard some radio activity which caught our attention and we set up our larger antenna to try and contact a person who we thought was a Summits-on-the-air activator on a summit. Unfortunately we were only able to hear one side of the conversation and it became clear that the two people were talking about a SOTA activator rather than it being one of them.

From the lookout we spotted a small lake to the east which was under the older transmission lines. This lake was the one I took photos of back in 2009 when I last did this loop. It looked inviting so we decided to forego lunch up here in the sun and drive down the slope and then along the main road to the lake. This didn’t take too long and soon we were driving a road which didn’t exist last time I was here. Back then we had to follow a very steep and rough power line service road up the slope to connect to the eastern part of the FSR. Along that stretch the view of the lake was quite nice. Today the new road stayed lower and connected to the eastern segment without providing a nice view of the lake. We eventually drove alongside the lake but without a clear view. A short distance past the lake Geoff turned the truck around as he really wanted to eat lunch next to it. As we drew nearer Geoff spotted an over-grown road beneath us and so we found the access and drove it. The road led across a stream bed which was a bit soft and I was a bit uncertain if we would get stuck but we made it across without issue. After climbing up over some large rocks we emerged at the base of a tower and a lovely view of the lake.

My last visit to Strachan was back in September 2009 and I was long overdue for a return visit. Last time Ethan and I hiked the summit by following the long route which starts by following the Baden-Powel trail towards Hollyburn Mountain there the route to the summit splits off and backtracks at a higher elevation before starting to climb in earnest. It is a long hike through the woods and adds a couple of kilometers for little elevation gain. It is a pleasant hike and fairly well shaded but today I was joined by some friends from my radio club and our goal was to do some radio communications from the summit; we wanted a shorter hike so we could spend more time at the summit. So we decided we would hike up the service road which is a bit steeper and not as scenic but is the shortest route to the summit.

Saturday Morning came and my fellow club members Ralph and Brett arrived at my door ready to take on the task of activating the summit of Mt. Strachan. The day was clear and sunny which of course meant it would be a hot day on the slope. Sure enough the hike was a hot one made worse by the lack of shade along the road which served as our trail. Even the summit had very little shade due to the stunted trees that were growing there. So we were in the blazing sun for most of the day.

Upon arrival at the parking area we noticed that there were a large number of cars parked along the roadway. We were directed by a park worker to park alongside the roadway and start a new line of vehicles. He noticed my Ham license plate and asked what we were up to. We learned that he was also a radio operator but that he had not heard of Summits on the Air so it was quite interesting to him. He also explained that there was a major outdoor event taking place this morning and that was the reason for the number of cars, and loud music.

We geared up and began the hike up the service road. The first segment went smoothly but the sun was definitely beating us down and the heat was rapidly climbing as the day wore on to noon. There were few places with shade on the road but when we did come across a patch we stopped for a needed break from the heat. Even with the road being the short way, the heat slowed us down and it took almost 3 hours to reach the south summit. Once on the ridge we found a shaded rock and had a longer rest to regain some strength for the final assault of the northern summit.

Several years ago Ethan and I managed to drive the Garnet Creek FSR all the way from its start on the Lougheed highway, through some narrow roads and across to the Talc Creek FSR and finally ended up at Harrison Lake. It was a challenging drive but we saw some amazing scenery. I have tried to get back there a few times since but was always stopped short by wash outs. So today I thought we could try again.

Our adventure began much as usual with a stop for 1) coffee, 2) fuel, 3) dried meat then it was onto the highway and a quick drive to the start of the Garnet FSR. At the beginning were some notices about construction that we stopped to read and set the radio to the road frequency. Then we started up the bumpy start of the road. We quickly made our way up to the section which in winter presents a tall wall of ice and is usually very beautiful. Today we came across a notice warning of steel plates on the road! The road was disappearing and the gaps were covered by plates. That could be a bit disconcerting but we drove over them with little further thought. Before much further we came by a side road leading towards the creek. Here we stopped by the base of a transmission tower to gather some photos. Geoff noticed a smell of gasoline and so we checked our spare tank and noticed it on its side and leaking. So we secured it in an upright position and continued on. We found a partially obscured road leading down the slope which we followed to just short of the creek. We parked and walked along the broken remains of the road the rest of the way to Garnet Creek and there we enjoyed a very pleasant view of the almost dried up creek.

Once we had looked over this area we returned to the truck and carefully turned it around in the narrow road way for the climb back up the slope to the main line. The truck seemed a bit sluggish but we got up without a problem. We continued on and came to the main fork with one branch continuing up Garnet Creek and the other leading to American Creek. We came to see Garnet so that was our choice. I wasn’t sure how far we would get as last time it was only a short distance. Today the road was in better shape and we continued in past all the old washouts. We took the lower fork of the next split and followed it a short distance to its end which left us a short walk to Garnet Creek. Here we parked and got out to explore the creek. It is an amazingly beautiful location with a nice rocky beach alongside the creek, a waterfall on the left and a lovely gorge to enjoy to the right. A great place to camp and explore in detail. I grabbed a number of photos and then we returned to the truck and started up the other branch.

This one followed the old route on the map and gained some elevation as it made its way up the creek valley. Eventually we passed an old gate and now the road got quite rough in places with some challenging cross ditches to get past. We had a bit of clearing to do and even a tree to saw and move. We were getting past the really rough area and I could see the tone of the road changing to be the area I was hoping to get to. But then the truck flashed up a problem – low battery! Not at all what we needed. We checked for a blown fuse but found nothing and so we decided we had to turn back and not risk getting stranded out here. We had the spare battery but we didn’t want it to run out while we were not on pavement and it seemed like the alternator was not functioning.

This year, Brett and I wanted to try something different for the annual international Field Day radio event. Rather than just join a club activity or set up in one’s yard, plans were made to travel to a mountain summit and try a low power operation from the high altitude.  We needed a summit that met a long list of requirements and found that Blackwall Peak in Manning Park fit the bill very nicely. So plans were made to operate from the area near the old BC Telephone microwave repeater station.

The nice thing about this location is that there is road access to the repeater site though the last 350m was closed to vehicles. The elevation was 2000m with a broad area to set up on. The Manning Park resort was at the base of the mountain which gave us a restful spot to spend the evenings. Brett went up to the location a week earlier to get a feel for the site and scout out a number of possible spots. He found the location very enjoyable and left looking forward to his return the following week-end.

On Friday morning June 26, we set out for the park. Our first goal was to re-scout the summit area and decide on the location for our operation. When we arrived at the resort we were able to check-in early and then eat lunch in the café. Done with lunch, we started up the road to the summit. Upon reaching the summit parking area we walked over the sites Brett had found the previous week and after some discussion settled on the area next to the old repeater facility. It had a wide road area we could setup on which not only gave us a good operating location but also allowed us to stay off the very pretty wild flowers that were in bloom. Having selected our site we returned to the car and then set up Brett’s new portable yagi antenna. We walked to a shaded picnic table just below the car and attempted to contact various repeaters in the region. We were unable to reach anything in the Fraser Valley so that was not good news for our planned 2m work during the contest. We did reach a Merritt repeater and the Apex Mountain system where we had a chat with a chap in Vernon. After trying a number of other ideas we packed up and returned to our cabin.

We only had a short time to rest before we had to set up the Brett’s portable Buddipole antenna so that Brett could copy the ARRL bulletin which gives extra points for the Field Day contest. We had a few challenges during reception including a momentary radio shutdown but between two attempts we had a complete bulletin in our log. Done with the bulletin we packed up the gear and signed off for the night.

We left for the summit around 7:30AM and arrived a bit before 8 which would give us lots of time to get ready. We parked close to the gate and started carrying items to the operating position. In total we made 3 trips; it was a lot heavier and harder to do then we had expected. Once everything was carted to the location we were able to start setting up the Buddipole. The assembly went quickly but then we had issues with tuning it. We were using both Eric’s new tiny VNA and Brett’s Comet analyzers. The VNA gave nice charts but we were just learning how to use it. Fortunately the results of the two generally agreed. We fiddled with the Buddipole far longer than planned and now we were actually running late as we still had to set up a second antenna. We had selected the location with two clumps of trees set the right distance apart and facing the correct orientation for the wire antenna so now we had to raise it. It took a number of tries to get the rope into the trees but soon it was in place and the wire suspended.

Lighthouse Park never fails to enthrall me. Every visit offers new sights and gorgeous scenery . Today Nick had a Saturday off and though I was still recovering from a bug, I felt I could handle a short walk along the western side of Lighthouse Park. We left mid-morning and picked up some gas in Cloverdale then made quick time to West Vancouver where we arrived a bit before noon. We stopped to buy a sandwich and a few items for lunch then sped down the slope to the park. It was busy but there were a number of parking spots open and so we were parked and ready to go soon after arrival.

Now as it was noon and we didn’t really want to carry sandwiches with us, we decided to eat first and then head out. So once done with eating we walked out the lower western trail and headed straight for Juniper Point. It had been close to 3 years since my last visit and I was surprised to see the number of trail improvements that were in place. The point was a bit less endowed with trees than when I was last here. Several of the Arbutus were dead and I am sure some were even missing. Fortunately my favourite evergreen was still hanging off the rock face looking much as before.