Ref: Recreation Sites and Trails BC
Note: Estekwalan Mountain's summit is mislabelled on the topo map, the
western highpoint on the plateau is lower than the northern peak.
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Start of the service road.
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Scramble:
RT 8.0; 4.5 up (includes biking the service road). Estekwalan Mountain
came to my attention when I
wrote the webpage for neighbouring Tuktakamin Mountain. A Google search
revealed a lot of information about the objective that is unique
in this region. It is one of the thickest exposed sections of the
lavas, which form the bulk of the Kamloops Group; impressive
cliffs of volcanic rock stand out. Furthermore, the option of hiking a
loop and possibly encountering a bit of scrambling appealed to
me. My truck wasn't running very well; since I didn't trust it and
wanted to avoid a costly tow on a service
road, I decided to bike the 7-kilometer approach to the trailhead. I
probably pushed my bike a good third of the way up; it was still
faster and easier than walking. After stashing my bike, I started
hiking. The trail is marked as it climbs steeply along the
mountainside. In little time, I gained the rocky ridge. The upper
mountain's
terrain looked like it would grant some fun scrambling; however, it's an
illusion; other than a couple of steps requiring caution, it is merely
a hike. I took a quick break at the cairn that indicates the apex of
the loop trail. I couldn't see the higher peak because of surrounding
trees
but my GPS confirmed I needed to keep going due north along the ridge.
There was
still a lot of snow in the trees, luckily it was firm; it took less
than an hour to reach the true summit. I enjoyed the highpoint despite the
absence of a cairn and lack of a 360˚ view. After backtracking to the false summit, I made
my way down the loop trail. The descent along the ridge to the saddle is pleasant.
From the saddle, the trail was still snowbound; markers and cut
logs made it easy to follow. The start of the descent to the road is
well-indicated. The Vernon Outdoor Club has
placed numerous ropes along the way as the trail is very steep. In places, steps have been carved
into
the ground to help secure footing. On this day, it appeared overkill though
I can imagine this trail would be treacherous if wet or
frozen. The descent to the road was quick and direct. I casually walked
back to my bike and rode "on the brakes" pretty much the whole way
down. This loop is a great early-season objective.
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The objective comes into view.
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The trailhead.
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The trail is well-marked.
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Encountering some snow higher up.
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The upper mountain grants interesting hiking on volcanic rock.
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Gaining the south-east ridge.
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A gap in the ridge allows a view down to valley bottom.
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Nearing the false summit.
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Tuktakamin Mountain to the south.
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This cairn indicates the apex of the loop trail, the actual summit is further north.
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Continuing to the true summit.
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The Monashee Mountains to the east.
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There's no cairn at the true summit.
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Looking over the false summit with Tuktakamin Mountain on the right.
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North-western view, Mount Martin is hidden behind the trees.
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A close up of the Monashee Mountains.
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North-eastern view towards Spa Hills.
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Backtracking to the false summit.
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Heading down the south-west ridge to hike the loop.
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Looking back at the false summit.
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Pleasant ridge walk.
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Don't be inticed to descend the adjacent ridge that ends up lower in the drainage.
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Descent to the saddle.
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Following the trail is easy even with snow coverage.
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Back on the plateau.
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Numerous markers indicate the descent trail.
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Steep and crumbly!
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Ropes can be useful under certain circumstances.
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There are ropes along most of the descent.
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More rope!
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Looking back at the very steep descent from the road. There's no trailhead here, look for the red marker on a tree.
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