"Best bang for your buck for getting into the alpine"
5040 Peak is 1532m high and is accessed by heading south on highway 4 from Port Alberni towards Tofino. We stayed at our buddy Jake's house on Sprout Lake the night before the hike and left his place just before 0800 in the morning. We started counting the kilometres once we passed the Sutton Pass sign on the highway, which is almost exactly 5kms to the left turn on Marion Main. 6 kms after turning onto Marion Main we passed by the north west approach up to 5040 (on the left of the road and indicated by flagging) and decided to carry on and access the Cobalt Lake route, which is another 3.9kms further.
Once we met up directly under the summit block we talked about the two options to summit by either going directly up or swinging around to the west and climbing up the back side of the mountain. We decided that the direct route did not seem bad and headed right up. We definitely chose the path of most resistance and ended up clambering through snow wells, thick brush, and rock. The dog was not impressed and it took us much more time than what was necessary. Needless to say after 1.5 hrs from the lake and 3 hours from the truck we stumbled onto the top of the mountain and it was a sight to behold.
The view from the top of 5040 Peak was amazing in all directions. I have never done a hike other than in Victoria where I could see the pacific ocean, it was beautiful. The visibility was just perfect. While on the summit we met another guy from Courtenay who had hiked solo. When I pulled out the register to sign I noticed the previous entries were dated back in December. After about 30 mins of snacking and re-energizing we decided to make our way back down the trail. Of course, since our route up was not enjoyable, we decided to take the longer descent that heads down the west side of 5040 and wraps around to the east. This was less steep and easier going, but the hard icy snow proved to be an obstacle. To wrap around the mountain we passed above a snowy bowl that was cool looking, but would send a us off into oblivion if we fell. In the picture to the left I am standing in the middle of the bowl. My head is in the way (selfie), but you can see just how far it goes. |
We made it back down to the truck just before 1500 - making our hike 6 hours round trip. I dipped my head into a mountain stream and we laid around in the road sipping beer and reminiscing about the views we had just taken in. This was my first hike in the Alberni-Clayquot area (closest being Arrowsmith) and I definitely plan on doing more!
| If you want the GPS track for the trip it is on the left. I suggest following our descent route instead of the ascent. Or else you can follow it directly below the summit and keep left. |