It was great to get a trip in before the heat wave hit. Thirteen Ramblers set off (2 by ebike and 11 on foot) up the Burstall Pass fire road at 9 AM. We were soon at the turnoff to Piggy Plus Valley and headed up the old skid road. We encountered only a few small patches of snow on the trail just before the creek crossing at the mouth of the valley. We also came across fresh bear tracks, but never did catch sight of the culprit.

Small Grizzly ? - fresh tracks near the creek

We followed the usual path up the creek on firm snow before exiting right into the hanging valley.

Piggy Plus col from the hanging valley

There the group took a short break before heading up the valley towards Piggy Plus col. The firm snow made for very easy traveling all the way up to the col.


Heading up the snow to the col

Bart near the top of the col

Only one of the group besides the coordinator had done this trip previously in the summer. The col provided it's usual spectacular views with Mt. French and Mt. Robertson and the French Glacier to the South and Mount Birdwood and Commonwealth Peak to the North.


View of the hanging valley from the col

The French Glacier from the col

"The Dirty Dozen" having lunch at Piggy Plus col

The group settled in for a long enjoyable lunch at the col.


Easy travel back down to the hanging valley

We then retraced our steps back down to the hanging valley , took a short left hand turn and did a short traverse up the base of the North end of Piggy Plus Ridge to another superb viewpoint. This viewpoint provided excellent views of the Robertson Glacier and Mount Sir Douglas.

The Robertson Glacier from the second viewpoint

Enjoying the views at the second viewpoint

The group enjoyed another long break at the viewpoint, while 4 of the group explored the terrain higher along the ridge. From there we retraced our route back to the creek and down to the Burstall fire road. The group was back at the vehicles by 3:15 PM, having enjoyed a spectacular day in the mountains.

My thanks to Sim,Jim,Phyllis,Shirley,Inge,Jack,Sonja,Jane,David,Cathy,Bart and Rob for their great company and for joining me Kevin (S/C) on a fabulous day exploring K Country. And as an added bonus, we never saw another hiker the whole day, even along the fire road in and out.

Total elevation gain 700 metres

Total distance 13.5 km

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