A traverse can be made from Picklejar Lakes in the Highwood watershed to Junction Creek in the Sheep watershed by way of a pass over the Highwood Range of mountains. To avoid a lengthy car shuttle two groups start from either end after exchanging cars, and hopefully meet somewhere in the middle to exchange keys. While the traverse is worthwhile in both directions, perhaps starting from the Sheep end has some slight advantages: you get to descend the steep scree slope above Picklejar Lakes instead of the tiresome slog up, and you face the nice views of the peaks along the Great Divide instead of having them at your back.

The crux of the trip occurred at the Heritage Parking lot with coordinator Philip Creery striving to accommodate 22 Ramblers with varying wishes for which end to start from, and juggling them into vehicles of varying passenger capacity. Thanks Philip for doing this in an amazingly calm manner!

South Group

Our group of 12: Peter and Barb Fischer, Andrew Lapinas, Joyce and guest Doug, Yolande De Visser, Wally Drew, Manfred Czechak, Peter, Mike Bazkur and guest David, and I (Bob St.John) started off from the Lantern Creek Parking Lot just before 10am. We were preceded by a large group from the Weekend Hikers with whom we chatted with along the way to the lakes. The weather had been moderately warm, and the skies clear with good views to the peaks of the Great Divide to the south, until that is we arrived at Picklejar Lakes. Here the temperature dropped noticeably with a brisk north wind. Clouds enveloped the slopes and peaks to the north of the lakes where we were to find our way up to a high pass.

With map and compass, and the general grunts of approval from the group, we started up a scree slope that had many signs of having been traveled on before. This slope is a tedious treadmill, but by either choosing sections with larger rocks, or by using the west rockwall for traction, or by shearperseverance, we all made it to the top in reasonable time. Here we were greeted by cool temperatures (-2C), gusty winds carrying fine graupel, and zilch for views. We huddled out of the wind where we could and ate some lunch, but soon we were off down the gentle slopes of upper Waterfall valley.

It was a shame it was misty for we missed seeing much of the terrain we passed through, only here and there did we get a glimpse of what we were missing. We followed a developing stream gully, taking care while negotiating frost covered rocks. Soon we were in the mid section of the valley, and the temperature had warmed up and we could see more of our surroundings. We chose a route down a mainly open ridge in the center of the valley, with the intent of not missing the group coming up from the Sheep River end of the traverse. Finally, after much yodelingand counter yelling, we met on the ridge and exchanged information on route finding and hazards, and of course we exchanged car keys.

For us, the remainder of the hike consisted of trail walking. I was somewhat surprised at how good the trail was up Waterfall Valley, a place it would seem to me that not many would venture. Evidence of recent horse traffic may be the explanation. We stopped at the 3-tier waterfall for a leisurely break and a second lunch. Then followed a rather ho-hum 7 km stretch of the main Junction Creek trail to the Sheep River crossing just before our vehicles. For the knee deep wade several chose to change into old runners or sandals, some (myself included) attempted unsuccessfully to walk on water, and Andrew decided to take a bath - much to the entertainment of others!

Ten of us opted for a Chinese buffet in Black Diamond. Buffets always seem to be a great idea at the start, especially after a hike, but afterwards a stomach pump would not be entirely dismissed. Thanks Philip for suggesting the trip, and for bringing most participants back (who was that 23rd person?)

North Group

From the north end it was after 10 by the time we had crossed the Sheep River, were booted up and ready to go. We then played leap frog (or jump road apples?)with what appeared to be a group of guided trail riders to the three tiered waterfall where we took a brief break and a couple of pictures.Finding the trail up the side valley prompted much discussion but final success. The cairn mentioned in Daffern's guide no longer exists, but the description as being at the top of a steep climb was indeed accurate. Once we reached the open valley in the alpine, we stopped for a brief lunch. Two concerns were meeting the northbound group for the exchange of keys and finding the col, which was hidden in cloud. The former was not too serious, especially for those who had a spare set of keys in hand. We met the northbound group a little later than expected, but all was well and they gave us an accurate description of the route to the col which confirmed GPS readings. Being socked in certainly changes route finding. The scree sliding down to the Picklejar lakes was fun for most. We had a leisurely break on a knoll between lakes two and three before heading out.Larches had turned on the south side of Picklejar creek, mushrooms along the whole route were enormous and wildlife minimal. Of interest was a flock of crossbills(?) at the lakes.The creek crossing award goes to Fancisco for socks, kitchen catchers rubber bands and Tivas. Cosy and dry, Andrew take note!The 23rd hiker might have been Bob after the Chinese smorg but that would be an anachronism. Someone just enthusiastically signed up twice.

Picklejar Lakes trail

Scree route to col

Alien bubble life in Waterfall Valley

3-tier waterfall