Skoki backpack - Peaks, lakes, and larches Scramble on 22-Sep-2025

Day 2: Tina and I had a fantastic morning going off-trail to Redoubt Lake and beyond - so many larches, plus 7 goats including a rambunctious kid. After meeting Evan and Ulli around noon at Boulder Pass (they hiked in that morning), we hiked through Packers Pass, visiting Packers Pass Peak (2540m) and the Skoki Lakes. It was a perfect Rockies late September day: warm temperatures, blue sky, golden larches, and lots of time to stop and appreciate the magnificent landscape. We were 45 seconds too late (yes, we checked the time) for Skoki Lodge's afternoon tea and goodies. We camped at Merlin Meadows and arrived in time to watch a helicopter dropping off a present of brand new food lockers. 17 km/700m.

Day 3: We broke camp - but left heavy overnight gear behind - and hiked to Merlin Lake via the scenic highline route, then continued the full length of the lake and up many levels of meadow and talus (good cairned route for most of it) to Merlin Ridge (2675m). Further than it looks! Great views but nasty cold wind. Wild strawberries!

After picking up our gear, we made it in time for hikers’ tea at Skoki Lodge - thank you, Evan, for the treats! Off to Red Deer Lakes for 2 nights; very pleasant scenery in the valley and quite an enjoyable hike despite being tired. I woke up in the middle of the night, listened to a couple of great horned owls calling for a long time, and looked out of my open tent vestibule at the stars. 20 km/900m.

Day 4: We knew the wind was going to be strong, so headed out early for Cyclone Mountain to hopefully beat the worst of it. This mountain is steep - 1000 vertical metres of Rambler fun including a bushwhack, willow whack, loose scree, blocky talus, slabs, ledges, and of course extremely strong winds. But we made it to the summit (3050m!) and marvelled at the incredible views of the Drummond Glacier! Unfortunately there was distant smoke but views in all directions were still excellent. A quick wintery lunch and we carefully headed down, enduring the knee-pounding with a brief respite when a scree run opened up on the left. After a long rest at the bottom, the hike back in the meadows was lovely, including a visit to the largest Red Deer Lake. That trip was definitely not easy because it took us 7.5 hours to travel only 11 km. This was our only day not walking through larches. 11 km/1000m.

Heavy smoke from BC blew in just before dinner - enough to noticeably sting the eyes, nose, and throat. We wandered over to the Cyclone warden cabin (I could happily spend a week there) but failed to find the other Red Deer Lakes in the approaching darkness.

Day 5: Fortunately the smoke dissipated overnight. But the wind was already strong and cold at 7 AM, so we were quite swift hiking out over Deception Pass. Lovely views but no desire to linger! We ate lunch inside the Halfway Hut and ended the trip with the dusty walk down the road. 18 km/425m.

Thanks to the others for making the trip so memorable and enjoyable!

Goodbye, Skoki - we'll be back!