What a great day! Since being introduced to this trip via the Ramblers several years ago I have shared it with many friends and we all have agreed it's a fun day out. It starts with a 5.6 km bike ride along a well packed gravel road - that takes about 30 minutes at an easy pace and yes it is gently uphill pretty much the entire way, oh, but the ride out, what fun! You lock up the bikes at the end of the road by the "cement incased oil/gas facility" and head off along side Canyon creek for 35 minutes. The water level was high today so we were on a well defined trail this time - other years I have been able to follow the creek.

This route is best done clockwise. You hike up very steeply in relativly dense forest for an hour where you gain 720 m which is most of your elevation, from then on it's up, up, flat, down, up, up, flat, down, up, up, flat. . . get the picture?

When you break free of the trees you can hike along the ridge or hike just below it on the east side which is what we opted for as the wind yesterday was a steady 50km/hr and then increased to a steady 70km/hr wind - it helped to be a "chunky-chicken" yesterday.

There is several short sections of down climbing which presented no problem to our group, however I do suggest if you take a beginner hiker on this, you may want to bring along a 8 m scrambling rope.

To find your descent walk to the very end of the broad ridge and then follow it back roughly 200 m to a small cairn on the southwest side. Work your way down an unpleasant talus slope heading for the trees. Don't go too far left (climbers right) or you will get cliffed out.

Thanks to John D, Jim P, Jen P, Yolande D, Inge S, Janice T for joining me and sharing lots of giggles (and that risque tattoo, my goodness!) Ealaine W

PS: if you want specific details on the route just give me a whistle.

PPS: You can avoid the unpleasant talus slope descent by taking the trail down that starts below the big cairn at the end of the ridge. (posted by a participant who descended via the trail)