It was eight days into the month of March that a small group of we hikers decided to take to the old pack trail on lower Mount Thompson. Going was good on the lower part of the trail, but to get to the trail along the Mount Thompson Forest Service Road was quite a chore. Most of us didn’t expect the road to be icy, but above kilometre 1 we had to leave the vehicles and pick our way along the road, avoiding the ice as much as possible until we reached the trail head just below kilometre 2. At start, the trail was easy going with no snow or ice on it. There was no snow through the woods.
We reached the point where the trail connects with the easterly end of the Rotary Connector Trail that joins with the Mount Thompson FSR on the other end just below kilometre 4. Soon after we passed that junction we ran into patches of packed snow on the trail. That wasn’t so hard but then we started encountering more and more ice on the trail until it got so hazardous we retraced our steps to the connector trail. We had only one pair of ice cleats amongst six people.
Losing our footing on the icy trail was one thing, but the steep, frozen ground above the trail didn’t allow an alternative route and trees lodged on the steep lower slope didn’t look too forgiving if one should slide into them. One thing that the snowpacked and icy portions of the trail indicated was that the trail had been used from time to time during the winter by hikers and snowshoers. Winter hiking this winter, with minimal snow cover on many of the local valley trails and forest roads, was fairly easy, except, of course, for icy conditions.
Hiking on the upper part of the pack trail was, perhaps, like normal early March conditions; however, once we got out on the Rotary Connector Trail, heading around its south facing slope, warmed by the sun, it seemed like a day in April. From one trail to the other we went from early March to late April. (Some have thought that we have been having April weather in March).
We were not the only ones coming out with the warm sunshine, for several ticks had picked up free rides on us. A couple of last summer’s dead, previously engorged ticks, were found. The life of these ends when the tick larvae are released from the body of the adult.
To return, we hiked down the mainly ice free FSR to the vehicles. Although we were not able to do the full 3.2-kilometre pack trail up to kilometre 5.5 on the FSR, to do the connector trail was a good choice. On that route, we met over a half-dozen hikers going the opposite direction. By the first part of April most of the ice is expected to be gone from the pack trail. However, ice may form in wet areas if overnight temperatures drop below freezing. When this happens it would be a better choice to hike later in the day, wear ice cleats or walk on the side of the trail. This happens a lot this time of year on the Balancing Rock Trail.
I expect the Balancing Rock Trail and the connecting Creston Mountain Trail beyond the swamp and boardwalk, at least to the Holly Falls Trail, will be good hiking by the time you read this, unless freezing and snowy conditions prevail. Once the snow and ice is gone from the pack trail, it becomes a fairly dry trail. However, the Balancing Rock Trail stays quite wet long after the snow disappears because the trail is quite rutted, and seepage from several areas of the hillside produces little streams in the trail. Hikers need to be aware that they may get wet feet unless they wear waterproof footwear or keep to the side of the trail. When thinking about hiking at any time of year, one needs to be in tune with and prepared for what weather and trail conditions prevail. It may be warm on Creston and, say, Lister benchlands, but much cooler and wetter in the forest and more so at higher elevations.
Some hikers who hiked up to Holly Falls on the Creston Mountain Trail (beyond the swamp) a couple of weeks ago said the trail was clear of ice and snow. But Holly Falls itself was draped in a tall, spectacular curtain of ice with the only evidence of water being the gurgling and splashing audible from behind the veil of ice. The Creston Mountain Trail is usually quite wet as it approaches and crosses the brook that comes down from Holly Falls and stays that way until the flow of the falls is much reduced, usually in late May or early June. If there’s a lot of precipitation, then the falls dries up much later.
The upper reaches of the Creston Mountain Trail, above the Holly Falls Trail junction, the Lady Slipper Trail and the Sullivan Creek Trail will likely be clear of snow patches and ice sometime during the month of April. (For more trail details see “A look at the trails on Mount Thompson” in the Oct. 23 Advance.)
Great hiking and walking as you become acquainted with local trails in the Creston Valley!
Ed McMackin is a biologist by profession but a naturalist and hiker by nature. He can be reached at 250-866-5747.
