After a flat beginning along the Evan-Thomas trail, this route becomes an unrelenting climb of over 900 metres. Our strong and hardy group was up to the challenge and we stopped a couple of times to shed layers in cloudy and cool conditions.

The crux of this trip is a large, messy rock field that is steep and slippery and was made quite tricky due to the several centimetres of fresh snow. We slowly made our way through, being extra careful because the snow was often hiding the safest places to step. Unfortunately we were so focused on traveling that no one thought to take any pictures! We reached the top of the rocks just before 11 AM and paused to reflect and share personal family stories from WWI and II.

We continued upward and, after one final steep scrabbly slope of scree and shale, stepped onto the ridge. We walked north in increasing sunshine, admiring the views in all directions, and stopped for a lunch that was quick due to the cold bitter wind.

The descent through the rock field turned out to be easier than we thought it would be because some of the snow had melted, and we had a swift trip back to the cars, talking the whole way. We only saw 3 people on the trail, of which just one was seen briefly on the summit. Approximately 14 km and 950 m in just over 6 hours.

Thanks to everyone for joining me on one of my favourite early-winter hikes: Ron second photo, Carl, Deb last photo, Ingrid coordinator.

Snack spot

Rough scree trail just below Old Baldy knob

Sections of deep wind-blown snow

Ramblers with Old Baldy behind

Leaving the ridge