Although Vancouver Island is simply the best, sometimes it is nice to get off the rock and explore more of our vast Canadian wilderness. For our vacation this year Darryl and I were exploring ideas of going to the US or Haida Gwaii, but with our poor Canadian Dollar and the high cost of travel to Haida Gwaii we settled on a Southern BC road trip instead. We drove to Rossland, Nelson, Vernon, and Squamish with many stops to hike, camp, and mountain bike along the way.
Days 1-3: Rossland, BC
Larch ridge:
The next morning we woke up early to a scorcher of a day and headed up to do the trails in the Larch Ridge area. To get there we drove back out of town up Hwy 39 passed the marked trailhead for Old Glory (a popular hiking trail up to the seven summits) on the left and found a small pull over on the right after a big bend in the road. The trailhead for Larch Ridge is unmarked, but we found it without difficulty. Once you hit the trails everything is well signed.
The first loop we did was out on the Larch Ridge trail and then we took the only right onto a marked trail called BS. BS was a fast, flowy downhill run with some nice launches, small drops, and bermed corners. There were no crazy structures or anything too alarming here. We then took the logging road at the bottom back up to the beginning of Larch Ridge and headed out again. This time we followed Larch Ridge all the way out. The trail was a nice and easy cross-country ride up and over many smooth rocks. It eventually ended at a pretty great view point of Rossland and then turned into a trail called Monticola, which was a fast, flowy, and easy downhill trail. It was a nice long descent. This total ride took us about 2 hours since we were not in any rush.
When we finished this ride it was 1100 and the sun was high in the sky. The temperatures were easily over 30 degrees so we decided to head out to Nancy Greene Park further down the highway for a dip in the lake. After that we had lunch and an energy drink back at our campsite to prepare for another ride.
By the time we recovered from our morning ride it was probably about 1400. Still pretty hot, but we were ready for another go. We headed back out of town on Hwy 39 to the Red Mountain Resort. Here we parked in the big gravel parking lot and headed towards town on a wide gravel road. I found a glorious creek running down at the side of the road and dipped my head. It was still above 30 degrees outside.
We took a left on a marked trail called Red Top and then followed signs for Paydirt off to the right. Paydirt has an up and a down trail. The up trail was a non-technical gradual incline across Red Mountain to Granite Mountain. A few times it spat us out on gravel roads and we had to look for trail markers to find our way. I was super hot, which made this climb pretty tiring. Eventually we made it to the top at an old chairlift.
The descent was pretty great. Much more technical and steep then the Larch Ridge trails with a few jumps, rock rolls, and structures. Some of it took me slightly out of my comfort zone, but I would love to go back and do it again. At the end of the trail we saw Old Blue Eyes, which is a very short "expert" trail made almost entirely of structures. It starts off with a big roll/drop, which leads to a step up and a sweat wall ride. Here we ran into the guy building the trail who let us watch him do it and informed us that he was filling in all the gaps to make it look a little more friendly. I would love to go back and give it a try now that it is filled in!
After our ride we took a spin to the local Rossland Brewery to have a beer. It turned out that they were only selling their pale ale since the town drank them dry the weekend previous at an event. Nevertheless we had a pint and chatted with some super friendly locals before heading for an appy and another beer at the Flying Shovel Head Pub. One thing I have to say is that pretty much EVERYONE in Rossland rides. From the campground host, to the gas station attendant, and random people at the brewery. Everyone is super excited about their local trails and more then willing to give details to outsiders looking for a taste.
The next morning we awoke again bright and early to yet another smoking hot day. We headed out to Red Mountain Resort and parked again in the big gravel parking lot. This time when we got onto the trail Red Top we stayed on it. The trail started out in the trees and was a well maintained fun flowy climb. This trail is multidirectional and I can see that it would be fun to ride down. Eventually we hit a gravel road and the grade steepened as we continued up following signs for Red Top and passing the sign for Red Head (the down trail). The trail became more exposed and slightly technical as it started to switchback. This climb was pretty brutal in the heat and I was dripping sweat. Eventually we ended up at "Poochy's Cabin," which is a wicked ski cabin with a wood stove that is locked up in the summer months. We took a quick break here and snapped some pictures.
We took the same trail down until the gravel road. It was fast and flowy, but there were no bermed corners so I found myself slamming on the breaks in the dry dirt a few times. Once we hit the gravel road we stuck left and took Red Head down. It was a great trail. Steep and narrow in some sections, but well groomed with small jumps, drops, and the odd structure.
Again we were dying of heat exhaustion so we took a drive out to Nancy Greene and spent the hottest part of the day dipping into the lake and tanning. After that we headed back to camp and ate lunch waiting for another burst of energy to do one more ride.
Our last ride was straight from our campground out on a trail called Drakes, which is a fairly nontechnical cross-country trail. Eventually this hit a road and we continued on Doukobor's Draw, which was again fairly non-technical and just fast and fun. All these trails were well signed.
Once at the end we decided to bypass the steep climb up Tamarack Ridge and took the road down and then back up to the trailhead of Whisky. The road ride was a bit tough since it was still quite hot, and would have been easier if we weren't so tired. However Whisky was another great trail and worth the effort. It was steep and technical with many rock rolls and launches. I was a bit nervous on some of it and took the ride arounds, but Darryl managed to do pretty much everything. From the bottom of Whisky we took the rail trail back into town, which took no time at all.
That evening we went out to the Rock Cut Pub, which our campground host suggested and had a DELICIOUS dinner and amazing beers. It was a glorious way to end our trip. I would absolutely love to go back to Rossland. It is a mountain biker's heaven.
Day 4: Nelson, BC
On day four into our trip we took a short drive to Nelson to visit my uncle John and aunt Mary Ann. It was great to sleep in a real bed, use a real shower, and do some laundry. My uncle also suggested a small hike up Pulpit Rock, which we did. It took us about 30mins from the trailhead to the first amazing viewpoint of the town. If we wanted to we could have continued on up to the flag pole, but we headed down for dinner instead. My aunt and uncle made us bison burgers and we sipped some locally brewed Harvest Moon hemp ale by Nelson Brewing Co. I was in complete bliss... Nelson would have been a great place to ride as well, but we did not have the time or the energy at this point. Also, wildfires and downed trees were reeking havoc on most of the biking trails according to a man working at one of the local bike shops. |
Day 5: Valhalla Provincial Park and Summit Lake
We took a left off Hwy 6 in the town of Slocan on Gravel Pit Rd. This as you can imagine from the name very quickly turned to a gravel road. Here there was a sign that said "Valhalla Prov Park 40kms." We passed a number of properties and then came to a split in the road. My instructions said to keep left, but that didn't seem to make any sense and there was no signage. Luckily a truck driver came along and steered us to the right up Little Slocan FSR. The road then went up a steep hill and continued on with a few branches (mainly private properties), but we kept straight.
After about 20mins we saw a branch to the right and a very small wooden sign that said "Bannock Burn" and we took it. Again we continued on and the road became a bit questionable. We passed through an old slide and barely fit between the rocks and logs on the road. Shortly after we passed a broke down vehicle missing its entire rim. Did I mention it was also very steep and we had to pop it into 4WD? The good thing was that we were again passing signs for Valhalla Provincial Park so we knew we weren't lost, but I could tell Darryl was wondering what the heck I was getting her into...
On the last switchback in the road we turned the corner and there was our first breathtaking view of Mount Gimli. We made it! Here we parked (we had the whole lot all to ourselves) and grabbed some chicken wire to protect the soft plastic tubing in the undercarriage of my truck from pesky rodents, ground squirrels, and marmots - otherwise known as snaffle hounds. We also took note that on the steep drive up our canopy had loosened and slid backwards, which was a bit alarming and could not be fixed without tools.
The trail to the base of Mount Gimli was quite well maintained. A very well used, wide trail. It started off in some thick brush and then very quickly crossed a creek and headed into the forest. Here we caught the odd glimpse of the beautiful surrounding mountains that make up the Valhalla Provincial Park. The scenery was absolutely stunning and like nothing I have ever seen. Eventually we got into the groove of hiking and I started to notice what looked like deer tracks and scat on the trail. As I was plodding along minding my own business Darryl yelled at me and I looked up almost face to face with an unhappy mountain goat. He started coming right for us so we both started yelling at it "NO" and "STOP." He was quite persistent so I got my hiking pole ready to do battle with his horns… I have never seen one of these things in my life! However, he backed down and slowly slunk away behind us. Darryl yelled at me to snap a picture of him, but he hid behind a bush and all I have is the pathetic shot shown below. |
When we arrived at Summit Lake we were able to scoop up a camp spot right on the lake. The friendly host told us that we could use his canoe if we liked, which was a total win in my books. We quickly set up camp, had a good 'ol lake bath, and then piled in the canoe to explore the lake. Here we saw thousands of giant tadpoles scurrying along the bottom of the lake. Apparently Summit Lake has a very impressive toad migration. At the end of our canoe ride a family of ducks followed us onto shore. I ran and grabbed some Kashi cereal to feed them and literally was able to pet them as they ate from my hand (momma duck included).
Day 5: Silver Star
We arrived at Cedar Falls Campsite in Vernon just before noon and quickly set up a few things before heading up the Silver Star. We were up at the mountain and ready to roll by 1300, which was still 30mins early for the afternoon half day ticket to begin so we grabbed a coffee and relaxed. This was Darryl's first time lift riding and I was super excited for her. It is definitely a whole new world. I was a little sad that we didn't rent bikes because our 6/6 all mountains got pretty beat up. It is nice to have 8 inches of travel to cushion the washboard berms.
Our first couple runs at Silver Star were a bit rough. Mostly because I hadn't done this type of riding in years and it was Darryl's first time. Also, the trails we started on weren't the best. However, once we hit the trail Superstar things got pretty fun. There were lots of jumps and I came out of my comfort zone a little and let off the brakes more. After that we did a trail called LTG, which had a bunch of fun structures and small drops. We also tried out Jedi Mind Trick, which was just okay… and ended the day of with Snake Pit, which took us back to the main village. All in all it was a great day.
Day 6: Joffre Lakes
I knew that Joffre lakes was a pretty popular and touristy spot, but with the day creeping into late afternoon and after smashing around in the bush, I was happy with an easy hike. By the time we parked the car and unloaded our gear it was around 1600. I did a quick bit of research on the web and assumed it would take us a good couple hours to get to the camping spot at the upper lake.
The trail was very well maintained. If there were not any stairs after the first lake you could literally push a stroller up. We easily passed the lower lake in under five minutes, but did not stop to take a look. Instead we just hiked right passed up to the middle lake, which took us about 45-50 mins. We passed a number of day-trippers headed back to the parking lot. The view once we arrived at the middle lake was breathtaking. The only problem is that we had entered serious wildfire country and the backdrop was clouded by smoke.
Once we were all set up we tried to use the last bit of sunlight before it dipped below the mountain to inspire us to dip in the lake. However, within seconds of putting our feet in the water they started to ache from the cold. We instead opted for quick bird baths (a splash in the arm pits and face). We then changed into dry clothes and made a warm supper. At this point I noticed that the liquid in on of my Pristine bottles for water purification had leaked out. This would have been catastrophic if we had been on that multi-day hike up to Lizzie Lake and the Stein Valley… Boiling drinking water is a HUGE pain. I guess it didn't work out for a reason…
We retired in our tent at about 1945 utterly wiped from the long day of driving and exploring. I had a poor sleep that night since it was still quite warm and the smoke was thick enough to taste in the air.
Day 7: Garibaldi Lake
By the time we parked and heaved on our packs it was 1200 and the sun was hot. We started up the wide, well-maintained trail and made the plan to do the 9.5km hike to Garibaldi Lake and then decide if we had time and energy to whip up to Black Tusk and back. The climb was pretty relentless- about 6kms of steady switchbacks. However, we kept a good pace with no stops and passed a number of people making their way to Garibaldi Lake as well. When we arrived at a camping spot that met our standards it had been 2 hours and 15mins. I was quite impressed with our speed and we both still felt pretty energetic. Therefore we set up our tent, had a quick refreshing dip in the lake, and made up some day packs to carry on up to Black Tusk. We decided on a turn around time of 1700 to be safe. |
By the time we were skipping up the trail again it was 1500. We still had another 7kms and 850m of elevation to travel before we would get a taste of some downhill hiking and I was slightly unsure. We passed a few people headed down from the mountain that were surprised with our late day summit attempt. However, eventually we noticed a couple boys coming up behind us on the trail. After a few more switchbacks through the forest we broke into a stunning alpine meadow. The wildflowers and surrounding mountain were absolutely picturesque. After about 55mins Black Tusk was finally visible and I was very happy with the time we were making. |
We arrived back at Garibaldi Lake at 1830 and I was utterly exhausted. Including our hike our from Joffre Lakes that morning we had travelled about 29kms and gained around 1740m in elevation. I was feeling pretty gross and sweaty so I took another dip in the lake, which was surprisingly not that cold. I even swam around for a bit while I waited for Darryl to jump in. It was glorious. My only complaint was the bugs. They were pretty relentless, but not nearly as bad as the Valhallas.
We spent the evening making a warm supper, chatting with other hikers in the cooking shelter, and sipping fire ball by the lake. It was utterly amazing. Needless to say I slept very well that night.
Day 8-10: Squamish
Once we hit the bottom of Rupert's we headed back up on Track and 50 Shades until we hit Entrails. This trail was a bit much for me. Very technical, rooty, and steep in some sections. Some fun structures and the occasional fun roll, but mainly a bit too jarring for my liking. This shot us back closer to the truck and we took a fun trail called Roller Coaster back to where we parked. It was a fun bermed downhill-ish trail.
After our ride we hit up the hotel to get clean and spent the remainder of the day sipping beer at the Squamish Beer Festival. It was a great success all around.
After our ride we said goodbye to Squamish and made our way home. Looking back on this trip, I would ride and hike in all of these places again. They were all great. Any questions, just ask!