Hello blog! I'd like to welcome you all to season 2 of "Hiking with Eric". Ahhh does it ever feel good to be back. It's been over four months since the last post, 130 cold dark days of winter to be exact. ;) Have no fear though, summer is around the corner and the adventures have already begun (I'm a little too excited)!! Over the last few months, while daydreaming about hiking, I've made myself a list of over 30 hikes I want to do this summer. Clearly I won't get to all of them, but nonetheless, I should have some good content for the blog.
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| At this moment I would like to ask you to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride! |
Our first big storyline is, SNOW. IT'S STILL HERE...sadly, and it's been putting all my favorite summit views on hold. Risking being swallowed by an avalanche isn't worth it in my books, but hey, if that's what floats your boat, let me show you what you're up against. All over the news lately I've seen avalanches and slides blocking roadways all across BC and Alberta, whether it be Revelstoke, Jasper or Lillooet, they've all been ENORMOUS! Here's some pictures with their sources if you want more info.
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| Picture taken between Jasper and Lake Louise. A so called "controlled" avalanche by Parks Canada turned out to be not so "controlled". (click here to view article) |
On a serious note, even areas in the lower mainland are under extremely high avalanche risks, so please be very careful. The warnings are out there, please trust your gut and watch your steps! Being out in the alpine during this time of year, you can here the cracking and the rumbling of avalanches as big patches of snow break off the mountains.
Enough chatter, it's time for our main event, the hike! With one of my last sunny days off for the foreseeable future, I've decided to give Bear Mountain in Harrison a go. In the past two years I've been ogling her from the ground while working in my canola field just below. Today was the day I would conquer her. (Hmm, I wonder if humanization is as offensive to mountains as objectification is to humans. I guess I'm kind of doing both here... Oops, sorry mountain? I'm still going to conquer you though.)
How to get there?
The gravel road that leads to Bear Mountain FSR is quite tricky to find. At the traffic lights in Harrison Hot Springs, turn right and reset your odometer. The parking area is at 4.9km from the lights, but the gravel to get there also has two private driveways that come out on it. It's easy to think that the whole thing is just a driveway. Fear not, follow the gravel road for just a few meters and you'll see a gate and an old mine sign saying no trespassing. According to reports, the mine hasn't been active for several years and to back that up, all three gates are open with trees growing in front of a couple of them.
Trip report
A few minutes into the hike I stumbled upon the remains of the old mining office and an abundance of old (invaluable, I assume) core samples. Sadly like all abondoned things, it has been rummage through and vandalized, but it was still cool to look at some of the core samples. Roughly 100 metres past the office there's the entrance to the old mine shaft, caged off sadly, but probably for the better.
Even then, seems like some hooligans tried to pry themselves into it...or maybe a angry bear looking for a hibernation hole! ;)
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| The old mining office. |
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| A few of the leftover core samples. There was many racks of these. |
Growing up in a mining town in Northern Ontario, on trail runs I've often stumbled upon core samples and I remember being fascinated by them and wondering where the hell they came from. All that to say, I had a weird nostalgia feeling as I explored the samples near the mining office.
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| What I believe is the entrance to the mine. I might be out to lunch on this one, but why else is there a caged off hole on the side of a cliff? |
Past the mine opening is when things get confusing. The directions I followed simply said; at the forks, take the most obvious route. Well thanks tips, too bad all routes look the same, probably because of people lost and confused like me wandering everywhere. Anyway, from the mine, first take a left, at the second fork, a right and at the third, another right! None of the forks are marked and there's barely any marking tape for the next little while. To add to the confusion, the trail then enters a badly overgrown section which makes you questions all of your decisions. Good luck! :P
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| The start of the overgrown trail, some sections of the trail are barely visible. |
Luckily for me, as I made my way out of the overgrown trail I passed a couple that reassured me I was on the right route. From this point on, I was now on a wide deactivated FSR which aloud me to make great time. There was more marking tape on the FSR (the most obvious route ever), than anywhere else, go figure. The FSR leads all the way to a junction where you can decide whether or not to head to Bear Lake or to the top of the mountain. At this point, my ankles were already in snow and I just wanted to get to the top, therefore, I opted to skip out on the lake.
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| Immediately after getting out of the overgrown section near the beginning, you get your first view to remind yourself that everything will be just fine! |
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| One of my favorite views about midway up. A wonderful view of Harrison Lake and the Harrison River. |
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| The old Forest Service Road that you follow all the way to the lake junction. |
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| Thank you to whoever put these up, you're a lifesaver! |
The last little bit to the top, I used my location on google maps to guide me. Due to the snow on the ground, and the overgrown nature of the trail, route finding was near impossible. I followed old footsteps in the snow for as long as I could but they eventually vanished as perhaps I took a wrong turn? Luckily, it didn't matter, the mountain is basically a ridge at this point, therefore I knew to just keep going towards the top.
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| The "trail", no markers, just what seems like something that can be a trail. |
Two and a half hours into my hike, I made it to the top. JUST TO BE GREETED BY CLOUDS COVERING MY BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAINS. :(
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| Dear clouds, screw off. Sincerely, Eric. |
I impatiently waited at the top for over an hour, hoping to get a view of the Cheam range. I even had the chance to collect a few sticks to make myself a little fire to satisfy my pyromaniac needs.
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| Found a survey stake while exploring the area. Imprisonment for 7 years if removed...like anyone is strong enough to do that. I'm sorry I didn't carry a jackhammer up with me. |
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| Oh hello Fraser Valley. |
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| "Waiting, waitinnng, waiting on the worlllld to change!" :) |
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| I got really creative with my selfie stick, until the wind blew it over and almost made my phone tumble down a cliff... |
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| It's an ok view I guess ;) |
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| Waited an hour for this girl to come out of the clouds, unfortunately she couldn't drag her friends out with her, but I won't complain. |
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| Oh Chilliwack, you're one of the prettiest places in the world. |
Even if the whole Cheam range didn't come out of the clouds, the hike was still a success. Bear mountain offers great views of the valley and an awesome angle of Mt.Cheam. The hike took me 5 hours and is just shy of 18km in length. Apart from the steep sections near the beginning, the grade is very moderate and in good conditions, can be done way faster! All in all, a perfect spring time training hike.
Bonus photos
I don't think this blog post is juicy enough yet, so I've decided to add in some pictures of other adventures that I've done so far this spring!
Elk Mountain
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| A nice view of some of the peaks on the South side of the Chilliwack River Valley |
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| Border peaks on the left, Tomyhoi on the right. |
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| The snowy peaks of the Cheam Range. |
Flora Peak
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| This picture was taken from a ridge just below Flora Peak, as avalanche conditions made it too risky to get any further. |
Mt. Thom
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| A short little hike, but always nice sunset views. |
Porcupine/Goat Peak
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| Chilliwack lake, on a very moody day. |
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| Chilliwack and Lindeman lake separated by Flora peak. |
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| Enjoying the view with a few snowflakes. |
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| The beautiful blue/green water of Lindeman lake. |
Mt. Mercer
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| A rusty old gem I found. The bumper still looks though! |
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| My favorite mountains to photograph, the Border Peaks. |
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Bottom left: The General Vokes firing range in the Chilliwack River Valley is one of the few remaining remnants of the old Canadian Forces Base in Chilliwack that got shut down in the mid-1990s. To this day it is still used for military training and the odd public competition. From what I can see, I bet the view while on the range is absolutely amazing. With all that beauty from the American and Canadian border peaks, how can you even focus?
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| I stopped to pee on the way down and realized I was in a perfect spot for a Jeep advertisement. Shout out to this little beast for getting me where my adventurist soul wants to be. |
Glider launch near Bridal Falls
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| Chilliwack, the city within the fields. |
That's it for this blog post. More adventures are sure to come, but for now, we must wait for the snow to melt!
What hikes have you done so far this spring? Leave a comment! I'm always looking for ideas.
As always, stay safe my friends!
Cheers,
Eric Boudreau
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