We followed Porcupine Creek eastward until it splits, signalling the steep ascent up Porcupine ridge. From there we took the north fork, frequently rock-hopping across the now low-volume creek, enjoying the feeling of remoteness for 90 minutes.
Gorge section of North Porcupine Creek
At a north drainage past a gorge section, we started heading up the left side ridge-crest, ignoring the GPS track directing us closer to the gully. Though there were no trails where we went, the sparse vegetation allowed for progressively better views every time we stopped to make sure we were all still together. When our upward progress was thwarted by cliffs, we easily traversed right just below them to get to the gully where we put on our helmets and started upward on slab and scree.
Starting up around the cliff band
The public domain GPS track directed us straight up the messy scree slope, but we elected to head for the ridge to the east. Again this choice was fortuitous because the ridgeline had the best scrambling of the day.
The fun scrambling begins on the ridge
Fun and interesting ridge section
We were soon at the summit of Half-past Midnight and had a lunch break on the leeward side, out of the wind.
Half-past Midnight summit
Fearless raven atop Half-past Midnight Peak looking for lunch
We easily followed the connecting ridge to Midnight Peak.
Descending the connecting ridge
Midnight Peak
The SW descent was easy at first but then got more serious when we encountered steep-angled slab to the south. But there was always a scree option available on the north side. Various bumps along the way made it interesting. There were snippets of trail here and there, but it wasn't necessary because it was easy to follow the broad ridge line most of the way. Rather than hacking through more dense bush up and over the final knoll near the bottom, we bushwhacked the final 100 m vertical directly down into north Porcupine Creek and followed the valley bottom back to the cars.
We were fortunate to have sunny skies and a light breeze throughout the day. The counter-clockwise 14 km trek entailed nearly 1,200 m elevation gain and took almost 9 hours at a leisurely pace.
Midnight Peak (left) & Half-past midnight Peak (center right)
Our route
The following enthusiastic participants made the adventure most enjoyable: Arnold,Jeannette,Janice,Yoko,John,Peter,Krzysztof, and Tatyana.
Brian, Coordinator