Category Archives: challenging

Trip Report – Mt. Elma – 25 Sept 2025

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Nine of us took advantage of an overcast, but gentle day to make this lovely hike to Mt. Elma.  It has been a very dry summer on the Forbidden Plateau and the autumn colours were not as intense as some years, but deep reds nonetheless.  We walked through Paradise Meadows on the boardwalk and continued up to Battleship Lake where we admired the views from the various platforms.  We carried on past Kooso and Lady Lake before turning off on the now well worn trail up to Mt. Elma.  The route is increasingly steep as it nears the ridge and then flattens out as it meanders through the excellent sub-alpine terrain with great views and foliage.  We stopped for lunch at the south end of the ridge and managed to eat most of what we had brought, in spite of very aggressive Canada Jays.  We returned via Helen Mackenzie Lake to make the trip more varied and then were quickly back to the parking lot.  As we reached the vehicles, we saw Sandhill Cranes flying overhead and circling around. 14.7 km; 500m elevation gain; 6¼ hours.

Debbie

Thanks to Carrie, Jim and Norris for the photos

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Mt. Elma – 25 Sept 2025

Hiking – Mt. Elma, Strathcona Park – 25 Sept 2025

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The date for this hike has been changed!

Activity Hiking
Destination Mt. Elma, Strathcona Park
Date 25 Sept 2025, Thursday
Trip Coordinator Debbie Quigg
Contact Info dmquigg@gmail.com or 3710; Please contact the coordinator by Monday evening.
Description We will hike from Raven Lodge up to Battleship Lake and continue on the Forbidden Plateau trail, passing Lady Lake.  The trail up Mt. Elma is not an official, maintained trail.   The Mt. Elma summit  is 1,420m and will have good views in all directions, weather permitting.  Approximately 14 km, 420 m elevation gain, 5+ hours.
Meeting Place QCove ferry terminal
Departure Time 8:00 ferry.
Difficulty
 Moderate to challenging
Costs Ferry and fuel
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: If you wish to car pool, please make your own arrangements.  We will not do this trip in poor weather.

Trip Report – Manzanita Bluff – 8 Aug 2025

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The Manzanita Bluff hike was postponed due to weather and it was worth the wait. Attending were six adventurous hikers that survived the long drive up the logging roads to the trailhead. We were surprised to find the first 100ft of the trail recently groomed with the blackberry and salmonberry branches removed. The route is now a well marked trail up to the Bluffs following the creek bed and eventually through an open forest with beautiful mature Douglas Fir trees.  By consensus, we decided that this trip was fairly challenging.

The group had a light snack surrounded by the Manzanita bushes and taking in the amazing views. The trail taken back was a loop back to Darkwater Lake where we all had a great lunch and a few took the opportunity for a cool swim before returning to the trailhead.  

Afterwards, most of the group went down to the bay on Discovery Passage for the view. 

Total distance of 5.1km, 340m ascent and total time of 4hrs 16 min.

Louise
 

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hiking – Manzanita Bluff – 8 Aug 2025

Hiking – Campbell River Lookout (aka Broken Eyes) – 27 Aug 2025

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Activity Hiking
Destination Campbell River Lookout (aka Broken Eyes)
Date 27 Aug 2025, Wed
Trip Coordinator Les Hand
Contact Info 250-285-2029 or lhquadra@gmaill.com
Description This hike is located about 20 km north of Campbell River. It includes some difficult sections over a long, narrow log bridge and very steep climbs, sometimes assisted by fixed chains. The creek should be dry enough that you could cross on foot. There are excellent views from the summit. Elevation gain is 500 m; 7 km. For this hike you need to be fit, experienced and confident. You need good cardio and knees. This is a view hike so we need good weather. Be sure and sign up at least two days before in case date is changed.
Meeting Place Q Cove Ferry terminal
Departure Time 8:00 ferry
Difficulty
 Challenging
Costs Ferry
Trip limits 8
Dogs? No
Notes: Be sure and be at the ferry terminal early enough to get on the 8 o’clock. It is summertime busy. You need good footwear for this hike. Also, I would suggest one or two hiking poles; gloves may be helpful on the chains.. Be sure and bring a lunch and lots of water.
If anyone wants to carpool sign up early, and I will give you names of who is going, but the responsibility is yours for transportation.

Trip Report – Mt. Kitchener – 16 July 2025

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Because of the hot weather, we decided on an early start.  We caught the 7am ferry and drove to the Big Tree turnoff, then up the logging road to the trailhead.  We started hiking at 9 am.  The first half hour is a well-worn trail up through the forest, with some blow-down at the edge of the clear cut.  Then there is a rock band, with a short scrambling section.  From then on, it’s all open terrain, alpine or sub-alpine with amazing views.  We decided to do Mt. Kitchener first.  We had an early lunch and lingered there.  Initially there were clouds in the valleys to the north, and it gradually cleared.  Other than that, clear and cloudless, with some haze to the south.  We were amazed that we could see whitecaps in Johnstone Strait, more than 1,400 metres below us. and Mt. Waddington, about 125 km to the north.  After that we visited Mt. McCreight, and then descended to the vehicles.

(4.3 km; 5 hours; 450 m elevation gain)

Norris 

Thanks to Les and Norris for the photos

(click on photos to view larger)

Hiking – Mt. Kitchener – 16 July 2025

Trip Report – Woss Lookout and Little Huson Caves – 9-11 July 2025

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Five campers moved the trip dates forward one day due to rain forecast. This turned out to work very well as we only had showers one day and in the nighttime. We were going to camp at Woss Lake, but decided to check out Klaklakama Lake on the way and were very fortunate in getting the first place we stopped. After setting up camps, we had lunch and then proceeded to the Little Huson Caves. Atluck Creek has carved many sculpted images in complex shapes while running through Quatsino limestone. We first took a short walk and descended down the steep stairs to look at the River Cave from the north. The rocks were very slippery from the rain so we were not able to go below the platform and look into the cave. We then took the trail back up to the south opening where you could get down and look through the cave the opposite way. There are many places to explore here along the creek with beautifully shaped limestone. We also visited the Bridge Cave and then walked to Little Huson Lake. We then proceeded back to the campsite to have dinner and visit around the campfire.

(click on photos to view larger)

The next morning, we had a communal breakfast with blueberry pancakes, bacon, and devilled eggs. What a great way to start the day and fuel up for the hard hike up to Woss Lookout. From the parking area, we walked up the old logging road that is steep and has many loose rocks to the trailhead. This is a short steep hike with many ropes to help you up and over the rocks and roots. It was definitely a challenge to navigate up and even worse, coming back down due to the slick roots and rocks. At the summit, we enjoyed excellent views from the old restored lookout tower. You’re able to look up five different valleys from the top so you can see why this was such a good place for a fire tower. After descending, we drove back to camp to have another quiet evening by the lake.  (4.4 km, 3 hours, 375 m elevation gain, 35% in incline in the steep section)

Before heading home the next day, we visited the Upper Klaklakama rec site and walked the short nature loop with many fine old growth trees and some unusual trees like Pacific Yew and Amabilis fir.

Les

Thanks to Les, Jim and Norris for the photos

Multi-day Hiking – Woss Area – 8-10 July 2025

Hiking – Mt. Kitchener – 16 July 2025

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Activity Hiking
Destination Mt. Kitchener
Date 16 July 2025, Wednesday
Trip Coordinator Norris Weimer
Contact Info 285-3710 or norris.weimer@ualberta.ca.  Please contact the coordinator by Monday evening.
Description Mt. Kitchener is located northeast of Campbell River and south of Sayward in the Prince of Wales Range. The summit is 1,457m, but fortunately the first 1,000 m can be driven up, leaving about 500 m elevation gain.  The trail begins steeply through the forest and after a short scramble emerges onto a sub-alpine ridge.  As the the ridge gains height, the views appear on all directions.  We will visit Mt. McCreight (1,419 m) with some remembrances of the military plane crash from 1950.  We will continue on to Mt. Kitchener, but not visit the crash site. About 4.5 km or more if the group wants to explore; 4+ hours, plus the drive.
Meeting Place Q Cove Ferry terminal.
Departure Time 7:00 8:00 ferry.  If the weather is very hot, we may go earlier.
Difficulty
 Challenging, but not very long
Costs Shared ferry and fuel costs
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: This trip will require 4-wheel drive vehicles with some clearance.  We will not do this trip in poor weather.  Bring lunch and water.

Hiking – Mt. Seymour – 19 June 2025

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Change of date and route.

Activity Hiking
Destination Mt. Seymour
Date 19 June 2025, Thursday
Trip Coordinator Les Hand
Contact Info lhquadra@gmail.com or 285-2029
Description We will be doing this hike from the Mt. Seymour trailhead, but we will continue on to the Nugedzi Lakes and western viewpoint.
Meeting Place Community Centre parking lot
Departure Time 9:00
Difficulty
 Moderately difficult with some steep rocky areas, some elevation gain and quite long
Costs None
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes:

Hiking – Century Sam – 12 July 2025

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This hike is postponed!

Activity Hiking
Destination Century Sam Lake
Date 12 July, Saturday
Trip Coordinator Louise Squire
Contact Info lsquire@sasktel.net
Description This trip is hard to schedule because it needs good weather and the access is through a gate which is only unlocked for 12 hours on Saturday and on Sunday. Mosaic says on Thursday if the gate. will be unlocked.  Once passed the gate, the access is via a logging road which eventually has water bars. The hike itself is on a heavily used, but not really maintained trail. The creek crossings are on logs. To the lake is about 8.3 km (return) and 400m elevation gain; to the ice caves is about 13.6 km (return) and 570m elevation gain. The hiking time may be about 7 hours. The trail will likely be very busy.
Meeting Place QCove ferry terminal
Departure Time 7:00  am ferry
Difficulty
 Challenging for the length of the day, altitude, elevation gain and poor quality of the trail.
Costs Ferry, shared fuel costs.
Trip limits 8
Dogs? No
Notes: We will not do this trip in poor weather.   Come prepared for mountain conditions.

Multi-day Hiking – Woss Area – 8-10 July 2025

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Activity Multi-day camping and hiking
Destination Woss Area
Date 8-10 July 2025, Tuesday to Thursday
Trip Coordinator Les Hand
Contact Info 285-2029 or lhquadra@gmail.com
Description The activities for this trip may change depending on the people that go. We will definitely be doing the Huson Caves that is easy and the Woss fire tower lookout that is a hard steep climb. There is the Woss River trail and Schoen Park that we may check out, as well as Mount Cain. Depending on the interest of the group, we could also do a paddle with canoe or kayaks.
Meeting Place QCove ferry terminal; be at the ferry terminal early enough for the 8:30
Departure Time 8:30 ferry
Difficulty Easy to hard
Cost Ferries, fuel
Trip limits 10
Dogs? No
Notes: