| Drive to Parson on highway 95 and continue west on Parson River
Crossing which becomes Crestbrook Road. At Kilometer 17, the main road
switchbacks and heads down; go north-west on the Spillimacheen River
North Fork FSR.
Drive past the McMurdo FSR turn off, 942643 (Km46) and follow the main
service road until it crosses the Spillimacheen River, 848694 (Km58).
Drive
past the Baird Lake turn off on the right; 1.5 kilometer from the
bridge, the main road heads west, 855683, continue straight
(south-east) towards Caribou Creek. The
service road skirts the west side of the creek; don't cross the bridge
at 858666. Alders crowd the road in places but the road surface
is good; we parked at a road widening, 852654, about
400 meters below our targeted cutblock. We hiked straight up,
sometimes along a creek, to the cutblock. A road intersects the lower
part of the clearing; we followed it to a landing at the south end,
846655. We ascended the cutblock for a short distance and veered left
in a north-westerly direction; we climbed pleasant terrain along the
north side of a creek. This creek leads into the draw, staying on the
north side of the drainage avoids rockbands. At a tarn, we climbed
scree slopes to Caribou's north-east ridge; some easy scrambling is
required to reach the summit. |
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Camping at Loon
Lake, the dogs love it and so do we! |
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Fab retreives
Rupert's ball with a tent pole. |
Scrambling:
8.5; 3.5 up. This Canada
Day Weekend we decided to take our doggies
camping and hiking; since I'm the planner of such events, I
incorporated a summit! It's always a treat to be able to bring the dogs
along and share our passion with them; I also get the opportunity to
show them off to you fellow scramblers. We camped at Loon Lake, it's
our newly discovered favorite spot; we had the west side of the lake
all to ourselves, including the dock. We arrived early afternoon and
took advantage of the lake. It was excellent quality time spent with
the pack. We had a fire going and roasted some wieners before
retiring for the night.
The following day, we woke, made a fire and packed up casually; at 7
AM, we left for the trailhead. After over an hour drive, we reached our
starting point; the dogs were ready to go! The terrain isn't choked by
deadfall and undergrowth, we followed a minor drainage to our targeted
cutblock. We got to the cutblock quickly; once on the intersecting
road, we walked to the landing before continuing our ascent. Hiking the
tidy clearing was pleasant but we had to leave it behind to veer
towards the proper drainage.
We skirted a creek the whole way up; even with snowpatches,
the terrain provides easy travel. It was fantastic to see the dogs this
stimulated, they love new places; a bonus is the endless source of
water along the way. We reached treeline and hiked into the draw on
sun-cupped snow. We took a break on a bare area. We couldn't linger for
too long, we had a moderately steep snow slope to climb. The snow was
good but as we climbed, the shallower snow in the
gullies was becoming isothermal. We aimed for ground and reached the
north-east ridge safely. From there, we leashed up the hounds. The easy
scrambling was more challenging with dogs on leash; we
took our time to lead our furry partners along the summit ridge, I can't
say I would recommend this... After the exciting ridge walk, we
finally stepped on the summit. We set up the dogs on their fleeces,
gave them water and kibble; still on leash, they just settled into
nappy time. Fab and I soaked in the grandiose view of all the glaciated
mountains around, this viewpoint is part of the Glacier
National Park boundary. We enjoyed the moment, staying at the top well
over
an hour. When the dogs started to activate, we started descending.
Following the ridge walk, we made our way down the gully we ascended
while being
careful not to allow the dogs on the isothermal steep snow. Out of the
gully, we went back to the snow slope for a short glissade. Our return
was pleasant and the hounds managed to make it back to the truck
without
mishap; we couldn't have asked for anything better, it was a superb
weekend!
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Daisy roaming near
the dock. |
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Studdly Lincoln and
muddy Rupert. |
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The boys again. |
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At the start of our
ascent to Caribou Peak the next day. |
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Water along the way. |
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Reaching the road that intersects
the bottom of the large cutblock. |
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We hiked in the
cutblock a short distance; we veered left and followed a creek. |
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Very pleasant hiking; the dogs
are cool and hydrated. |
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Still
trekking along the creek, nearing the upper draw. |
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Our objective ahead. |
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Staying on the north
side of the draw avoids some rockbands. |
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Doggies on leash,
time for a break and some kibble. |
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Doggies leading the
way in the bowl. |
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A small frozen lake
below. |
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Good conditions and
not too steep. |
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Choosing the gully
just left of Fabrice. |
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Approaching the
ridge crest. |
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Although the rock
feature appears to be the summit cairn, the top is actually over the
cornice. |
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Easy scrambling
along the summit ridge. |
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Nearing the top. |
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Looking back. |
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At the massive
cairn, which also indicates the Glacier National Park boundary.
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Self-timed picture.
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Surrounded by
impressive glaciated mountains. |
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Well-deserved nap
after more kibbles! |
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Time to leave. |
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The ridge is blocky. |
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Lincoln likes to be
perched. |
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Handing Daisy to Fab
so I can come down this bit safely. |
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Dogs on leash to
negotiate the whole summit ridge. |
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Last ridge section before
we descend. |
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Sending one dog at a time to
prevent undesired roaming on the very soft snow. |
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Glissading the snow
slope. |
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The hounds are great
at backtracking. |
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Back on the road in
the cutblock. |
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Finally at the
truck, yippee! |
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Caribou Peak from
Spillimacheen FSR. |
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