Flower Ridge

I decided to tackle a long hike so I woke up at 4 am and left for Buttle Lake in Strathcona Provincial Park. I waited around by the shores for a good sunrise but nothing happened so I headed down the lake to the trailhead.

I started up the trail at 6 am and wondered if there was a lot of snow at top and whether the water supply would be good. I had done a hike the day before and hoped that I wouldn’t get too tired enough to make it only part way up the mountain as there are no decent views until one gets above treeline.

I can hear the creek roaring in the forest below. This trail is steep and relentless with few level spots so I set a moderate pace and with my hiking poles I didn’t need to stop for a rest break. When I reached the spot where a stream should be it was dry as a bone. This made me wonder if I had enough water for the entire hike. I knew there would be snow on top but if you can’t melt it then it’s useless.

The trail is littered with deadfall in places; some of which are difficult to maneuver through. A couple of huge tree trunks fell across the trail and this meant climbing over them but since I was on the downhill side, there was a higher climb to get on them and with the branches sticking out everywhere it was like a booby-trap.  

Most of the forest is open but littered with debris. The trail is easy to follow although there are no ribbons as markers. The path keeps climbing up steeply and after an hour there was a short path which leads to views of the mountains across the lake. Not really a good viewpoint.

I was quite surprised that the weather was nice and clear but this may mean not so good photos because of the harsh light. I was also pleasantly surprised by the lack of biting insects so far. The air was cool the higher I climbed but I generated enough heat to make it feel comfortable. I was glad we don’t have a heat wave because the cooler air doesn’t zap my energy.

The trail is clear up to a point where it enters a dark forest and in the depression, before a steep slope, there was 2 to 3 feet of snow. This is where I lost the trail. I looked around everywhere and there was nothing which resembled a path on the other side of the snow. It felt like a refrigerator with all the snow around. I almost gave up finding the trail but I looked at what I thought was a path. It was hard to tell because of all the forest debris of pine needles and cones so the pathway blended in with the surroundings. Once I got on track and continued up higher, I was surprised to see a small cold stream running. The ground is flat; enough space for a tent. I filtered water and rested here a bit before continuing the steep ascent. The path came up to a rock slab with open views of snowcapped mountain and the ugly scar of Westmin mines. I headed up the rock and into the subalpine and came across a pool of water only inches deep. It didn’t look clean so I filtered more water where it drained into the bush. I was drinking my electrolyte/energy formula regularly and I think this helped give me the energy I needed. I headed up on to a flat area with mountain views. A good place to camp but no available water nearby. I thought this was the top as I couldn’t see the trail because from this point onward, it was covered under lots of snow. I followed someone’s footprints in the snow heading up steeply. At a point where it entered some trees, I lost the footprints so I made my own way up onto a clear rocky knoll with nice views of Buttle Lake below. I was very hungry and 4 hours has past since I first started so I had my lunch and took off my boots to air my feet. My hiking poles had sure helped me maintain my balance and take the pressure off my knees.

When I finished eating, I continued on higher up the steep snow slope. The views really opened up. There was a small pool of water fed by the snow. In a way, I was glad of the heavy snow pack this winter as it provided much needed water late in summer. Once the snow is gone, this area would be dry as a bone and it would be a greater effort hauling up lots of water.

Some bushes don’t even have leaves on them as the snow has just melted off so it would be a short season for them. Flower Ridge hasn’t lived up to its name yet; not much flowers to be seen.

I didn’t see anyone else’s footsteps in the snow this high up so I may be the first one up this time of year. I saw some deer prints but no bear prints. I think the bears are all down in the valley.

I saw some clouds build up on the horizon and knew they would drift in later. It felt so good to be high in the alpine with snow and nice views all around. When 12:30 pm came around, I decided to slowly make my way down. I couldn’t find my footprints for a while then realized that I needed to head down the snow slope to a rocky knoll. I then spotted them heading into the forest. Going downhill back to my car seemed to take forever even though it took me 2.5 to 3 hours but the trail just seemed to go on and on.

The elevation gain is around 3000 feet over 6 km and it had taken me just over 4 hours to hike up but surprisingly my legs weren’t overly tired. This was the first time I had been on Flower Ridge. Last year, I wasn’t in too good shape to make it even half way. 

     Hiking by a downed tree in the forest

    Filtering clean water

 Bleached tree trunks

 Buttle Lake below (from where I started my hike)

 Mountain views from the top of the ridge

 Distance views of Buttle Lake looking north. Looking at the mountains bordering the right side of the lake; Jack's Augerpoint trail heads up to the ridge top where I almost made it up to on July 17th but there was too much snow.