Mt Bourgeau Off-Trail hike on 9-Aug-2024

What a fun group! Everyone accepted the challenge to blast through the boring climb to Bourgeau Lake, and after a well-deserved snack break we enjoyed the beautiful scenery through Harvey Pass. Then it was all business to climb the seemingly endless summit ridge: the first to summit were 3:50 from the cars, and the last were 30 minutes later.

The view wasn’t perfect due to some haze, but it was still impressive: we could still see Assiniboine and Ball and other giants, plus the layered topography of the Sunshine area. Some wandering along the ridge brought an amazing view looking down to Bourgeau Lake and all 3 tarns in the pass… so most of us sat on the “portrait rock” on the brink of the cliff for souvenir photos. Most of the haze cleared as we were descending from the summit (more gorgeous views), and we had another long break at the last tarn. Then it was back to business again to swiftly descend through the forest back to the cars. 25 km and 1500m elevation in 8.75 hours.
This was the first Ramblers’ hike for Phil; it was great meeting you and we all hope to see you again! Special thanks to Gary and Gary for driving the carpoolers on the extra-busy highway.

Participants: Sim,Gary,Susan,Jack,Gary,Jane,Carolyn,Donna,Ingrid (coordinator),Phil,Monica