When I called this trip on the Sunday, it was still autumn in the mountains, but by the time we did the trip the following Tuesday, it was pretty much full-on winter. When we arrived at the Canyon Creek trailhead at 8:15 am, it was -15 C, and the mountains were covered in snow. But on the positive side it was a crystal clear blue sky day. We were on our way at 8:30 am, and after walking a short distance down the Canyon Creek trail, we headed up Jumpingpound South Ridge, arriving at Jumpingpound Summit at 10:30 am. The wind blew hard for the rest of the trip, making a chilly day even chillier, but the views, the sunshine, and the company easily made up for that. We continued east along Jumpingpound Mountain's East Ridge, arriving at the east end of the ridge at 12:00 noon, where we found a sheltered spot out of the wind for a quick lunch break. Next was the climb up to the North Peak of Moose Mountain where we arrived at 1:00 pm. This is followed by what Gillean Daffern refers to as the "delectable" North Ridge, which leads to the Main Peak and the fire lookout. Up to this point the snow on the route slowed us down only slightly, if at all, but the snow on the broken up rocks and boulders of the North Ridge made this part of the route much more challenging than when it is snow free. We arrived at the main summit of Moose Mountain and the fire lookout at 2:00 pm, where the wind was particularly strong, so we didn't linger. We then descended down the slopes towards the last and final climb of the day up to the West Peak, where we arrived at 3:00 pm. From here it was all downhill along a lovely open ridge, where at its low point we descended into the Moose Mountain Creek drainage, which leads to Canyon Creek and then back to the trailhead, where we arrived at 5:15 pm.
Thanks very much to Sim, Bill, Alda, and Damian for joining me Jack on this "winter" adventure. I must admit I was tempted to cancel this trip when I saw various photos and webcams showing how much snow had fallen, combined with the forecasted low temperatures and strong winds, but not one of these very experienced participants even hinted that we should not go ahead. Thank you for your enthusiasm!
Total Time: 8.75 hours
Total Distance: 22.9 km
Total Elevation Gain: 1349 m according to my GPS, but taking into account all the ups and downs, Bill worked it out to be more like 1534 m
On the summit of Jumpingpound Mountain
On the summit of Jumpingpound Mountain, with Moose Mountain in the background
Walking along Jumpingpound Mountain's East Ridge
On the summit of Moose Mountain's North Peak
The view west from Moose Mountain's North Peak
Hiking along Moose Mountain's North Ridge
Descending towards Moose Mountain's West Peak
On Moose Mountain's West Peak, looking back at the North Peak, the North Ridge, and the Main Peak
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