Trip Report Details

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Trip Date: 12-Jun-2010
Activity: Trail Hike
Destination: Sanson Peak via Sulphur Mtn Road

Report:

OK Where is everybody? A beautiful day, only one Rambler trip called, and only three members show up?
We headed up from the Cave & Basin parking along the Sundance Canyon trail around 10:30. The coordinator missed the turnoff to the Sulphur Mountain road and we walked an extra few hundred meters towards the canyon before correcting. There has been quite a bit of tree clearing along the road and so the views are better than they used to be.

The long walk up the Sulphur Mtn access road (Pilot and Cory in the background)

We made it to the throngs walking on the boardwalk from the gondola station to Sanson Peak before 1:00 and had our lunch right by the Cosmic Ray measuring station. There were a lot of gold-mantled ground squirrels and Clark's nutcrackers pestering us and everyone else for food. There was even a hoary marmot putting on a show within a few feet of the tourists.

Clark's nutcracker looking for a handout

Carl, Sim and Bernie on Sanson Peak

We then went through the gondola station and decided to do a side trip to what might be called the first peak of Sulphur Mountain about a mile south of the station.

Climbing to the first peak of Sulphur Mtn (Bourgeau, Pilot and Cory in background)

This peak involves a little bit of SC5 scrambling.

Carl on first peak of Sulphur Mtn (Cascade and Aylmer in background)

Then we were back to the gondola station. What a treat to have cold drinks and ice cream at the top of a hike! We might almost have been in Europe.

Wildlife on Sulphur Mtn (Aylmer and Inglismaldie in background)

We then descended via the very nice trail below the gondola. Because we had only three, we had driven in one car, and so we had to walk down the access road and then cut across below an area closed as a wildlife corridor back to the car at the Cave & Basin.
With the side trips we were around 23 km with over 1000 m of climb. The temperature was about 14 when we started and low twenties in the afternoon.
Many thanks to Sim and Bernard for coming out on this great day, Carl (C/S). Thanks also to Brenda for suggesting this trip a few weeks ago (when there was snow almost everywhere else).

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