It a sunny, hot and almost smoke free day to do Skogan Peak.
Skogan Peak
The group left the trailhead at 8 AM and biked 5.4 km along the Stoney Trail where we secreted our bikes in the bush. After a short easy bushwack, we crossed the drainage and found the trail that proceeds up the left hand side of the drainage/gully. I call the gully the 'endless gully' as it goes on and up forever. We were happy to be in the shade for 90% of the trek up to the col. At the col between Mt. Lorette and Skogan Peak, the group took a well deserved rest.
Mount Lorette from the col
Damian and Bill taking a break at the col with Skogan peak in the distance
Damian beginning the traverse from the col towards Skogan Peak
We traversed the ridge ridge to the scramble portion of the trip and donned our helmets.The South ridge of Skogan is quite narrow and very exposed in sections.
Kevin working his way up the ridge
Bill on the ridge with Skogan peak in the background
We dropped elevation to the left a few times to avoid sections of the exposed ridge, but there was one exposed section that could not be by-passed, and required careful attention to traverse. A fall here would likely be fatal, so this scramble is at the high end of SC6. The rest of the route involves solid SC6 on good rock and slabs. Skogan Peak has a double summit, so even after you think you are there, you are have to drop some elevation before scrambling up the final section to reach the summit.
A well deserved lunch at the summit
Barrier Lake from the summit of Skogan Peak
John, Damian, Kevin and Bill on the summit of Skogan Peak
The group enjoyed an hour long lunch break on the summit under warm windless conditions.
Traversing the exposed ridge on the descent
We retraced our route back down the ridge and traversed back over to the col. Here the group split as not everyone had been to the summit of Mount Lorette. While some of the group headed up the easy scramble 5 path to the summit of Lorette, the others began the trek back down the 'endless gully' to the power lines to retrieve our bikes.
John starting the descent of the 'endless gully'
The fastest were back at the vehicles at 5 pm, with the Lorette faction making it back by 6 PM. The trip coordinator experienced muscle cramps and fatigue on the bike ride back, due to heat and dehydration - and this was despite drinking 3 litres of water during the day. A good reminder to all that on long strenuous trips on very hot days, there is no such thing as too much water.
Thanks to John, Damian and Bill for joining me Kevin (S/C) on a hot but enjoyable day in the mountains.
Total distance 21 km and net elevation gain was 1300 metres
