South Chilcotin - Leckie Lake, Aug 15-17

 

Another weekend with too much upper wind for flying, so its plan B: a hiking weekend. I always wanted to explore more of the South Chilcotin and choose Leckie Lake as destination. Minutes after getting to the trail head we are swarmed by horseflies, blackflies and mosquitoes. This has the positive effect that I grab my bug shirt. After the last trip I noted that a bug shirt wasn’t necessary. It sure was this time!

The trail in was just as described in other trip reports. Reasonably well to follow and marked with ribbons in the trees but easily lost in the many boggy meadows. Lucky for us it had been dry for some time and the meadows were not too wet, still crocs are useful. Great views, lots of bear scat and nobody else… a very nice change from the crowded hiking close to Vancouver lately. We followed the east side of Wolverine Creek up to Leckie Lake. Total time in 4:45, out 4:15. 

Amazing alpine ‘lake-scape’ and nobody else around. Except swarms of horse flies and later mosquitoes that make us get into the tent early – should have brought reading material! Stunning stars at night - after the mosquitoes went to bed. 

Next day we hike to Wolverine Pass. Just as we walk around another small lake a grizzly mom with two cubs run across the valley several hundred meters ahead of us. We move to the other valley side to give them space. Always glad to see a grizz run away.

Great view from Wolverine Pass to Taylor Pass and into Gun Creek valley. A strong wind over the pass blows the insects away so we settle down for a while to take in the scenery. We get lazy and skip a scramble up one of the ridges near the lake (the one to the east of Wolverine Creek looks easier) and walk to the east end of the lake for a look down Leckie Creek Valley and a short jump into the lake. But its too cold for swimming for me. Dinner back at camp. 

Winds have picked up and after dark bands of clouds come in. Strong wind continues all night with some rain and the odd lightening and thunder. Glad the new tent (MEC Volt2) is holding up. A bit surprising since there was nothing but sun in the forecast two days ago. We pack up under cloudy skies for an early hike out. Our trusty Deli is still the only vehicle parked at the trailhead. The sky looks a little smoky. During the night the Sea2Sky corridor Vancouver to Pemberton got hit by big thunderstorms causing many wildfires to start. I’m glad the storm didn’t make it to the Chilcotin; it could have been a serious problem getting stuck up a lonely logging road. 

We take the scenic route back via Carpenter Lake, Bridge River and Lillooet. Crazy winds switching 180 degrees several times along the eastern part of the lake and down bursts from the ridge to Anderson Lake. Checking out Nick Neyens landing spot at the mouth of Tyaughton Creek. Steep rock walls along Bridge River Canyon below the dam. Then on to our old paddling grounds, Bridge River from Yalakom Creek. Lillooet is hot… 37oC!

 

Spring Mushrooms (and Alpine Flowers)

Found my first morel! Unfortunately only one. But I dressed for the occasion; the print on the T-shirt reads: I hunt mushrooms because I have no morels!

While the driving/mushroom ratio was rather dismal for the morel (well, we have to add a beautiful hike and alpine meadows full of western pasque flowers and glacier lilies to this equation); there was no driving involved to find the other 'new to me' mushrooms. Cutting back some of the ever-growing ivy in our garden I discovered two beautiful Prince (Agaricus Augustus). Very tasty!

Fall hikes and colors

Despite the dry summer there was an amazing display of great fall colors this year. Nice weather lasted throughout October and gave opportunity to many hikes. On the trail to Blanca Lake in the Elaho valley we discovered some huge King Boletes. We finally scrambled up Mt Jim Kelly on a lot of rubble and loose shale (not the greatest hiking). My favorite was the area around Mt Bake with easy access and well groomed hiking trails (Chain Lakes, Lake Ann, Yellow Aster Bute, Skyline divide and Railroad grade). Blueberries were fantastic too!

Blueberries and colors were better closer to Heather Meadows parking lot

Nepal Khumbu - 3 Passes Trek

In October a friend and I hiked the 3-Passes Trek in the Nepal Everest (Khumbu) region. An amazing trek with stunning views of the world's highest mountains. I'm still procrastinating on the day-by-day trip report about all the impressions and sights, meanwhile some random notes and a table of our itinerary with elevation gains and hiking times.

We hired a porter/guide via an agency in KTM and hiked for 21 days, starting from Phaplu (jeep ride from Kathmandu) and flew back to KTM from Lukla.

Spending a lot of time in Kathmandu may not be for everybody, especially touristy Thamel with a lot of dust, crowds, traffic is rather tiring. Accommodation in the area near Boudhanath Pagoda is much nicer and quieter (and also relatively close to the airport).

Money: extra US cash is useful. ATMs do not always work (power outages, break down). Withdrawal amounts, fees and allowed frequency vary (max 35,000 rp, in Lukla only 15,000 rp, some ATMs only once/day). In Lukla only Visa cards worked. No ATMs past Namche.

Clothing and boots: Down jacket and warm pants were nice to have for evening photo sessions and mornings in the higher elevation tea houses. I was happy with my sleeping bag (rated -7oC, but for me only to good 0 degrees), others may be OK with a thinner bag and extra tea house blankets. I had runners and hiking boots and found the boots quite useful for the first three days from Phaplu to Lukla where the trail was muddy and rocky due to high donkey train traffic and for the passes. On the Annapurna Circuit I found that light runners were prefect for most of the trail as the trek starts much lower and it can be quite warm for the first days (+30oC). Waterproof heavy boots can easily cause blister problems.

Single accommodation can be difficult to find in high-demand places (Lobuche, Gorak Shep, Gokyo) and it may be best to pair up with another solo-trekker.

The early bird gets the worm: starting and arriving early (breakfast at 6:30, start hiking 7 or 7:30 AM) helps to get better views and better choice of accommodation. Clouds/fog often formed in the afternoon when we were there in October. Below Lukla it rained every day around 2 or 3 PM, it was nice to be already in the tea house when it starts pouring.

Additional 2000 rupee ‘community development’ fee was charged just before entering Namche.

Kala Patthar: lots of people go at sunrise but I think afternoon and sunset is better for photos. The sun rises behind Everest/Nuptse, so the walls are in the shade in the morning.

The Everest base camp trail was the most crowded section of the 3 passes trek, Gokyo was a little less crowded and equally scenic. Least crowded were the Chukung and Thame/Lungden valleys.

Flying vs Jeep. The good: longer acclimatization (3 or 7 days, Phaplu or Jiri), avoid problems with cancelled flights to Lukla. The bad: jeep ride as sketchy as the flight into Lukla, the trail is in marginal shape due to more rain and lots of donkey trains (comparable to a rough hiking trail on the Vancouver North shore, rocky and muddy) and takes more time.

Booking flights to/from Lukla: best to book early in the day (weather can get worse during the day, later flights are more likely to be cancelled).

Drinking water treatment (pump, uv, pristine etc) is preferable to buying bottled water as there is no recycling and plastic bottles are often either discarded or burned in open fires.

With increasing elevation prices for accommodation, food, showers, charging of electronics, bottled water increase. Solar charger and/or battery packs and means of treating water treatment are useful. There is no free Wifi after Namche but Everest Link service is available 200 Mb for 600 rp.

Spelling of place names varies widely.

Day 

0 - Kathmandu sightseeing

1 - Jeep to Phaplu/Salleri - 2300m, 11h driving, bad road
2 - Nunthala (2200m, 7h) via Traksindo La (approx. 3050m), trail muddy with loose rocks, lots of donkey trains,

3 - Bubsa (2050m, 6h) via Dud Koshi (1500m), same trail conditions,

4 - Surkhe (2300m, 6h), same trail conditions,

5 - Monjo (2850, 6h) trail in much better shape but many trekkers from Lukla

6 - Namche (3360m, 3h)
7 - Namche (3360m), rest day, hike to Kumjung (Monastery with Yeti scalp) and Everest View Hotel (3800m)
8 – Tengboche (3800m, 5h), Monastery, monks prayer in the morning and evening
9 – Dingboche (4300m, 4h)

10 – Chukkung (4730m, 2.5h)
11 - Chukkung (4730m), rest day, Chukkung Ri (5300m, 3.5h)
12 – Lobuche (4930m, 6.5h) via Kongma La (5535m)

13 – Gorak Shep (5020m, 2h) and Kala Patthar (5544m, 3h round trip)
14 – Dzongla (4800m, 5h)

15 – Dragnag (=Tagnag) (4700m, 6h) via Cho La (5400m)
16 – Gokyo (4900m, 1.5h), fourth lake (2h)
17 – Gokyo rest day, hike Gokyo Ri (5400m, 3.5h)
18 – Lumbden (4500, 6h) via Renjo La (5480m)

19 – Namche (3360, 6h)

20 – Phakding (2785m, 4h)

21 – Lukla (2850m, 2.5h)

Looking down valley from Kala Patthar, the glacier is Khumbu, pointy peak on the left Ama Dablam

Gokyo Lake from Gokyo Ri

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Euro Trip Report 2017

Our first stop is the 2260 m high Kronplatz where strange sights greets us: North American tippis and Nepalese yaks. So we don’t feel so much out of place? The Kronplatz is an isolated summit with launch potential in all directions. But it was windy and the air rough so we boat around for one or two hours and then call it quits.

Next day Emberger Alm: Smooth thermaling, almost too smooth, but very nice after yesterdays rock-and-roll. Unfortunately big and black clouds develop in the afternoon and we thought it is better to land. Apparently this summer wasn’t great for flying in the Alps, almost every day overdevelopment and showers.

First day in Tolmin at the LZ; what a surprise that the first pilot we see is Ronny, a Norwegian XC tour guide whom we know from our Valle de Bravo visits. Unbeknownst to us we arrived one day before the Nordic Open Championships started. Lots of pilots in town and in the air. We meet Hans an Iceland pilot who (according to Ronny) looks the most ‘viking’ of all. He greeted me with a big hug (‘Vikings love women… and husbands too’). I have a great flight from Kobala. Low clouds on Stol ridge, cruising along (almost) without turning. My first border-crossing flight! I turn around at the gap in the ridge and made it back too. Good thing: getting back to Tolmin from Italy would have been a major headache. For some added excitement I pushed a little too far east beyond Kobala launch. Pete watched from above as I slowly make my way back around the corner. But I make it! Nice to start the week in Slovenia with a 100km flight!

On the second day it took me a while getting away from launch and then again from Kobarid. Later I joined one of the competition gaggles and thermaled up the steep west face of Krn. Wouldn’t have ventured there without the other pilots around. A very 'alpine' feeling!

Competition pilots in the air

No-fly weather in the forecast for our third day in Slovenia. So we have a rest day and hike for 8 hours. Climbed our first ‘vowel-less’ mountain: Krn! ‘Bright’ landscape with all the limestone. First world war shells, barbed wire fences and fortifications everywhere. Only very few people out but nice to chat with three young hikers from Jena and the girl up at the hut. Made it back to the car just in time before the downpour and thunderstorm starts.

Day 4: Parawaiting for the north wind to stop. We can see the clouds pouring over the ridges north of us. Still pretty rough air along the ridge but a nice climb above the old Tolmin castle. On to Kobarid, two attempts to get away from there again. I think I know every tree on the hill east of Kobarid! Finished with a second castle soaring session.

Day 5: First flight from Stol. I followed Pete across the gap in the Stol ridge where I turned around 3 days ago. We fly all the way to Gemona. The rough air at the steep face at the end of the ridge makes me wonder if this flight ends in Italy. But we find much nicer air over the smaller hills to the south. The rest of the flight back along Stol ridge, to Tolmin and back to Stol launch is much nicer. I get some cool photos of Pete on his red Taska. But it takes work to get up again at Kobarid and back onto Stol ridge at the end of the flight. It’s a 98.7 km out and return, but 108 km open distance … so I think I’ll count this as my 4th 100 km flight ;-)

Too much wind for Kobala so we checked out Lijak on day 6. The Nordic comp also moved the task to this site. Cool to watch the comp guys from above but when they joined 'my' thermal I leave to give them some room ... ;-)

Bad weather in the forecast so we drive to the Adriatic coast on country roads to avoid the Slovenia toll highway, swim in the Mediterranean, wander the narrow streets of medieval towns (Koper, Izola and Piran), eat nice seafood and watch thunderstorm and lightening over the sea from a rain-less beach.

Back in the Alps again. The cold front brought the first snow. Hiking up to the 2600 m Kreutzspitze from the town of Kalkstein in the Villgratener Alps with some traces of snow on the ground. Even at the camp ground in the valley night temperatures dropped below freezing.

Kreutzspitze summit view looking southwest to some pointy Dolomite spires

One more flight at Emberger Alm, then a stop in Salzburg for coffee with friend from the olden old kayaking days. Another 5 hours of Autobahn driving to Frankfurt and then back to YVR again.

Usually we travel to Europe in fall when its too late for long crosscountry flights. But late August turned out to be an excellent time to visit Slovenia, with 2 of my 4 longest flights ever!

Blanca Lake and Elaho Wanderings - July 8/9

The ski bug got the better of me when I convinced Pete to carry our skis up to Blanca Lake in the Elaho valley. There was a post on FB about nice turns but that it took 1.5 h carrying skis to get there was not mentioned. I was quite excited after skiing Seymour a couple of days ago but generally we are not that excited about walking with the skis on our backs. Oh well, first time for us in a beautiful area worth visiting again in fall with all the colors.

I hadn’t been up the Elaho valley in many years so we went on an exploratory mission all the way to the end of the logging road.

The area around the last (north) 30km of the Elaho FSR (Elaho Main) have been heavily effected by the big wildfire in 2015. While large parts of the forest along the road and far up the slopes are scorched the fire stopped short of the Stoltman Wilderness/Upper Elaho Valley Conservancy … except for Lava Camp and the Elaho Giant (which is actually surrounded by clear cuts). Douglas Fir Loop with all its big trees is untouched. There are some signs (many fell off) and an obvious trail to Lava camp and Cessna Creek and a rather faint loop trail.

We didn’t explore far but from what I found online the bridges across Cessna and Marlow Creeks are still out so the Elaho-Meager traverse is not feasible at the moment. On our way back we found another washed-out bridge at Peach Creek at the start of G-main, the FSR west of the Elaho River – cutting off access to Sims creek and Mt. John Clark/Sun Peak. Two hikes I had on my to do list - too late now. Maybe eventually the bridges will be repaired.

Pacific Beach Hike - Shi Shi

I revisited the Olympic Coast to check out Shi Shi beach and Cape Flattery. The hike to the beach is just an hour so I took the opportunity to bring lots of camera gear. There are super scenic sea stacks and sea arches on both ends of the beach and the sunsets were well worth schlepping the camera gear.

I timed the tides and got to where I turned around on my visit last year coming from the south and Ozette Lake. While I didn’t meet another (human) soul during two days of my hike last year Shi Shi Beach was more popular and I had a couple of cups of tea with four fellows from Seattle.

Just like last year the noise of crashing waves only meters from my tent at high tide kept me awake and wondering. When ocean kayaking we always camp at calmer spots… it makes landing kayaks a whole lot less painful.

Shi Shi is accessed through Makah tribal land and there are fees for a recreational permit and overnight parking in addition to the National Park backcountry fee. Things to remember: map with tidal heights and ferry booking.

Hawaii

After rainy and stormy November and December we get finally some sun and warm temperatures in Hawaii! Since my first visit in 2003 we haven't been back to Maui but explored the Big Island and Kauai instead. Maui stands up to the other islands with nice beaches for snorkeling and buggy boarding and good hiking, though Big Island is still my preferred island for the variety of activities and relative scarcity of tourists. My favorite on Maui is still the hike through Haleakala crater, the same we had done with my parents 12 years ago. Good thing we didn't bring our wings, it was way too windy to even consider flying.Even our golf players had to seriously adjust their game.  Interesting to see the spread of an invasive species over much of the highlands on the southwest side - rubber vine.

Glorious Fall Colors at Illal - September 13

 Wonderful fall colors at Illal Meadows this weekend. The meadows had been on my list of places to explore and a couple of weeks ago a paragliding friend confirmed that it was well worth a visit. Its a relatively quick hike in so carrying over-night gear was not much of a pain. The trail is about 4 or 5 km long and elevation gain around 500 m. There are very nice camp spots in the meadows, but care should be taken to pick a sheltered spot as it gets windy here - a look at the trees tells the story ... they have no branches on the windward side.

We wandered up some ridges to Illal Peak and enjoyed views of Needle, Yak and other peaks in the Coquihalla area (even saw Robbie Reid and the Judge on the horizon). On the second day we circumnavigated Jim Kelly. Although the scramble to the top is reportedly not too bad we skipped the summit as winds were still very strong and we didn't want to get blown off the ridge.

Glorious yellow mountain ash and red blueberries leaves but the berries were almost done; the ones left had started to dry out and ferment. I had much better luck with berries at Elfin Lakes 3 weeks ago. We didn't see any wildlife such as goats or grizzlies, but some disturbed spots could have been grizz digs. Up on windy (white-capping) Illal Lake we met hunters who said they were looking for deer - not exactly deer country ?

Some more notes: Trailhead is off a branch road of Tulameen FSR (from Coquihalla highway, around 19km mark), the last 3km on the branch requiring 4WD and reasonably high clearance (the Tracker had no problem).

Glorious colors with the Old Settler, Robbie Reid and the Judge

Pete hiking on Illal Peak, Coquihalla Mt in the back

Looks like a painter had an accident and spilled his/her colors

The Milky Way from the sleeping bag. Without realizing I also captured 2 shooting stars in this exposure. Quite different from the outing on Mt Seymour to watch the Perseids when we spotted only a few meteorites and I captured just a single one.

Downton and Marble Range - September 15

Was this the last long weekend of summer or first long weekend of winter?

We convinced friends to join us to explore the Downton area some more but were stopped from getting onto the high and lofty ridges by snow. Still we did one hike/scramble into the ‘Valley of many lakes’ but I found the amount of boulder-hopping rather annoying.

In search of snow-free summits we drove on to Lillooet and north on West Pavillion Rd where we spent the night with Fraser River views on a bench above the canyon.

The next morning we took Big Bar Ferry, had a nice chat with the ferry man and went on to bag Mt Bowman in Marble Range Provincial Park.

Interesting to see on West Pavilion FSR over hundred deer grazing in the irrigated fields above the Fraser just beyond ‘no hunting’ signs – apparently these deer are educated and can read!


 

  

  

  

  

 

 

Wedgemount Lake and Elfin Lakes (August 27)

In August it was time for some hiking and exploring closer to home. I had never been to Wedgemount Lake before and enjoyed the short but steep trail that got me on a glacier in 2h driving+3h hiking from our doorstep. Glorious views to be had but apparently lots of loose rocks to watch out for when scrambling the surrounding peaks.

A week later I went for a 3-day hike to Elfin Lakes and although there were other hikers at the campsites and cabin I had most of the place beyond this for myself. Great scenery at Elfin Lakes, Gargoyles, Opal Cone and Rampart Ponds in Garibaldi Park, a mix of moonscape, Haleakala and Nepal. And there was special light show for night entertainment. The northern lights. It wasn't very strong and rather pale so at first I didn't realize what it was - just wondered why there was this bright area to the north; there are no cities in this direction. But when I reviewed the photos on my camera the green was very obvious.

Seed Peak - June 6

We finally bagged Seed Peak last weekend on the third attempt. It has been on our list for a couple of years. Nice trail through majestic mountain hemlock old growth, along an alpine ridge with gorgeous views and up the still snowy bowl of Seed Peak. Photo shows us coming down from Seed Peak, Mt Gillespie in the middle and Judge Howay and Mt Baker on the horizon.

The only drawback were the many wash-outs on Mamquam FSR. Our trusty Tracker overcame several of the obstacles but in the end we had to hike more than an hour on the logging road to get to the trail head.
There was a major washout even on the main Mamquam FSR. Would have been another 1.6 km (one way) if the Tracker wouldn't have made it across, with more smaller washouts even before this. Maybe this was caused by the same rain event that caused the Seymour slide? We were in the area last fall and the roads were OK then.

Pete descending Seed Peak, Mt Gillespie in the middle, Robbie Reid left and Mt Baker on the right horizon

Chilcotin Wanderings (May 23)

After returning from Europe I felt the need to spent some time in wilderness and re-visited old stomping grounds from my paddling days: Bridge River country and Fraser Canyon. Found loneliness. Dramatic skies. Lots of bear and deer.

Chilcotin Ridges

I always wanted to explore the Chilcotin Mountain ridges, so I was very excited when friends invited me on a trip. Not having done a multi-day back packing trip in a long time and with some time on my hands, I carefully compiled my gear and even made a packing list with the weight of all items. I was quite pleased with the result and my pack weighing about 36 lbs (16 kg). Turns out my plans were a little too skimpy on the food side (good the friends had some extra chocolate bars). And after the trip I quickly replaced my lightweight 20 year old 3/4 thermarest - after suffering a serious case of sleeping mat envy: everyone else had new cushy full-sized mats that were 4 times as thick as mine but weight the same.

The area is remote and trails are not always marked or easy to find. But these trails get you to high ridges with most amazing views. We had to switch to Plan B as our car got stuck in the mud en route to Leckie Lake trailhead. So we hiked in along Gun Creek and up the ridge to Mt Sheba. Our second camp was on a windy lake just below Mt Sheba summit. Next day we continued to Deer pass and dropped down to Hummingbird Lake. On the way back we met a friend from paddling days in a group of mountain bikers. Small world!

Summer Wanderings - August

While Pete and friends did more flying (and parawaiting) in Golden I took a few days off and explored the scenery around Lake O’Hara in Yoho Park and the alpine flowers at Idaho Peak in the Selkirk Mountains near New Denver. The morning bus to Lake O'Hara was full, but hiking in along the 11 km road was surprisingly quick and painless as most of it was still in shade. From the lodge I took the trail to Wiwaxy Gap and Huber Ledges up to Lake Oesa and then returned via Yukness Ledges and Opabin Lakes to the lodge. It felt like a long day, although it was not even 25 km. But I had put in a 10 hour day, starting just after 8:30 until 18:15, so I was happy to find a seat on the bus back to the highway (later I heard that everybody gets to ride out as long as one doesn't miss the departure time). Have to come back next year and check out MacArthur Lake!



Having heard of the amazing flowers at Idaho Peak I detoured on the way back from Golden. Driving through the dark ghost town Sandon and up the steep windy gravel road was somewhat nerve-racking, but I still had a good night of sleep in the back of my trusty Patriot. And what sight to wake up in a mountain meadow full of flowers.

Squamish Gondola - May 24

We checked out the new Squamish Gondola this weekend (and saw an entirely new side of the Chief). Up top are well groomed trails worth an hour of wandering around that lead through amazing variety of trees to very scenic views, plus a suspension bridge and restaurant. Also a bunch of bolted climbs and longer trails, one going over to Habrich, another towards Sky Pilot. We explored the Sky Pilot trail but didn't want to do battle with snow/slide alder mess and turned around after 45 min. Later I checked out the Habrich trail which is much nicer as it follows a route over granite bluffs to great views and tasty berry fields (later in summer).

Hiking and Flying

Still waiting for snow to fall on the coast so we went on some hike and fly adventures in the meantime. I joined the Elk boys for a few flights in the Chilliwack Valley and took a new friend from Washington up there. We also explored some new launch sites on the North Shore Mountains. The snow cover improves launching options from spots that are otherwise covered by shrubbery and small trees. One of the flights was rather exciting since we had picked a landing site in Indian Arm which is a fjord where steep tree-covered mountain sides drop into the ocean. Our flying buddies had landed there before but I didn’t entirely like the idea to land in such a tight spot I had not seen before. Good thing the tide was receding and I launched (and landed) last. The beach was several meters wider when I came in for landing compared to the narrow strip of beach the first flyer in our group had to work with to keep his wing dry.