| From highway 93/95, find Wasa
Lake Park Drive from either the northern
or southern entrances of Wasa. Head east onto Lazy Lake Road and follow
for 10.2 kilometers to the junction with Lewis Creek Road (signed).
Turn right on Lewis Creek FSR. The
2-wheel drive gravel road is rough and switchbacks before heading
south, stay on the main road. At a Y-junction, 012168, go right and
cross the bridge towards the steep east facing mountainside; some
people unload their ATV near the bridge. We continued a little further
and parked at the second switchback, 008167. Apart from being narrow
with no room for pulling over, the road is in good shape. Once near the
mine site, go left at another Y-junction, 004149; this ATV trail leads
to a small
pond and the upper basin at treeline. The north-west ridge of Mount
Bill Nye is reached
via steep east facing gullies. A trail along the ridge pleasantly leads
to the summit. |
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View of the Kootenay
Valley from the Estella Mine Road. |
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Estella Mine Site
(center) and Mount Bill Nye in the background. |
| Scramble: RT 4.0; 2.0 up (from the basin). This
beautiful area is easily accessed by ATV. We had been talking about
doing
a camping trip here with our hounds for a few years, but we never got
around building a dog trailer to hitch on the ATV. We knew we could
ride
with the three dogs on the quad from a previous short trip; hence, we
started planning our excursion accordingly. The information we acquired
suggested the road to the mine site is narrow with no places to cross
another vehicle. On the internet, we saw people up there with smaller
trucks
(Jeeps) but we planned not to take any chances and parked our larger
truck at the second switchback as
recommended by
Janice Strong the author of Mountain Footsteps Hiking Guide. Fab rode
us up to the lovely pond we chose to camp by, dropped us off and rode
back
down to the truck to get all our gear. This worked out great and we
were soon ready to enjoy this lovely basin on a hot summer day. I
quickly prepared to ascend Bill Nye. Fab decided to stay behind
with Daisy; she is slowly recovering from an autoimmune disease. She
was happy to be frolicking
in the pond, chasing little bugs and such. I thought of bringing Rupert
along with Lincoln but realized it was probably better if he stayed
behind as well; all he wants to do is fetch sticks anyway! Therefore,
off I
went with Lincoln, my hiking buddy for today. The gullies to the ridge
are steep, we tried to stay to the side and tread on vegetation and
rock strata. Once on the ridge, we took advantage of the last shade for
a while. I gave Lincoln some treats and a good bowl of water. The ridge
is nice and easy, we followed a trail all the way to the top. I
kept Lincoln on leash, to prevent wandering and reduce wear on his
paws. We quickly reached the cairn at the top. We walked a bit further
along the ridge before returning to the cairn for a nice break. I
created some shade and set up water and kibbles for
my friend; he took a nappy while Fab and I conversed on the 2-way
radios. I could hear every time Rupert barked down below. After a good
pause enjoying the view over
the Kootenay Valley, we left the top. We
stopped by a snowpatch to cool off; ahhhhhhhh, the dog days of summer! |
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The mine site and a
tailing pond. |
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We set camp near a
pond higher up. |
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Fab escorts me to
the gully I've chosen to climb. |
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The ascent gully. |
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Lincoln is my hiking
buddy today. |
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He waits for me in
the shade. |
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Looking down the
steep gully. |
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On the gentle summit
ridge. |
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There's a good trail
along the way, the cairn at the top is almost visible. |
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At the top, we
continued just a little further. |
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Estella Mine Basin
and the ATV access road. |
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We return to the
summit cairn. |
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Lincoln at the top
with very little shade. |
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Mount Fisher
(center) and Lakit Mountain (right margin). |
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Approach ridge and
gullies. |
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On descent, we take
a detour towards some snow. |
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Last glimpse at the
top. |
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Good Boy! |
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Ascent and descent
gullies ahead. |
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Down we go... |
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Fab, Daisy and
Rupert are meeting us at the snow, notice the end of the ATV road
(right corner). |
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Dogs, summer and
snow! |
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Inscripted rocks are
piled at the end of the road. |
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A light breeze is
keeping the bugs away, lucky us! |
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Daisy stalks insects. |
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The gullies to the
ridge from the pond. |
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Fab already did a
trip to the truck with all our gear, now it's our turn. |
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Visiting the mine
site. |
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Remnant of buildings
and material strewn everywhere. |
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An old rock chute. |
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Lincoln swimming at
the tailing pond. |
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Fab and Rupert, the
fetching machine.
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| Back to home page |
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