Canyon Ck-Moose Mt-Jumpingpound Mt Loop Off-Trail hike on 7-Jul-2022

I last did this loop as a Ramblers trip last fall on Oct. 12, 2021, in essentially winter conditions. On that occasion we did the loop clockwise, so I thought it would be nice to do it counterclockwise for a change, and to do it in the summer. We started out from the Canyon Creek trailhead on Powderface Road at 8:30 am. The first 4.5 km or so is on an old road that runs along the Canyon Creek valley. Where this road crosses Moose Mountain Creek, we turned left and followed a smaller tributary to the east of Moose Mountain Creek to a saddle in the ridge that leads to Moose Mountain's West Peak. The route drops and then climbs again to the fire lookout on Moose Mountain's main peak, where we arrived at 12:00 noon. We continued along the north ridge to the North Peak, dropped down to the upper well pad, and then climbed back up to Jumpingpound East Ridge. From there the route continues to Jumpingpound Summit, and then down Jumpingpound South Ridge back to Canyon Creek and to the trailhead, where we arrived at 5:00 pm.

The weather forecast was somewhat ominous on this day, with talk of the possibility of thunderstorms and tornadoes, but thankfully all of this activity stayed east and north of Moose Mountain. And it was great to get away from the crowds; we saw no one all day except at the fire lookout. Thanks very much to Sim,Bill,Gary,Susan,Jane,Gary,Donna for a wonderful day in the mountains from Jack coordinator and scribe.

Total Time: 8.5 hours

Total Distance: 22.6 km

Total Elevation Gain: 1291 m according my GPS

Moose Mountain Lookout from the West Peak

The group on Moose Mountain North Peak, looking back at the lookout.

Mount Bogart from Moose Mountain North Peak

From right to left, Moose Mountain West Peak, Lookout, and North Peak

The group on the east end of Jumpingpound Ridge East, looking back at Moose Mountain

Looking east towards Moose Mountain from near Jumpingpound Summit. Most of the route is visible.