Mount Laughington

Trail from Airplane Creek road to the summit of Laughtington

Statistics

Directions

Follow Highway #1 (Trans-Canada Highway) to Chilliwack, taking Exit #119 South. Follow Vedder Road until a three-way stop just before a bridge over the Vedder River. Zero your odometer here and turn left at the stop sign onto Chilliwack Lake Road. At the 28 km mark and immediately after one of the Vedder River bridge crossings, turn left onto Chilliwack-Foley Forest Service Road. Zero your odometer again here.

Follow the forest service road for 2.0 km to a T-junction, located immediately after a bridge over Foley Creek. Turn right here on to Foley Lake Forest Service Road. Drive north-east another 2.4 km past the T-junction and turn left on to Airplane Creek Forest Service Road, the start of which is a gated bridge. The gate is frequently locked - if necessary, phone Tamihi Logging (604-792.8777) to borrow a key.

Reset your odometer at the start of Airplane Creek Road and follow it north, ignoring a branch road on the right a few hundred meters later. At 2.1 km, continue following the road straight and don't take the branch road that curves sharply uphill to the left. After a total distance of 4.6 km from the gate another junction is reached, with the main road continuing straight to a dead end and an overgrown road leading uphill to the right. Park near the junction or on the the overgrown side road.

Details

Starting from the junction, hike up the side road to the right. Although it's possible for a rugged vehicle to drive this section, the road is beginning to become overgrown and may cause paint damage. After 250 meters, the road is no longer drivable in any condition. Continue on foot, bushwacking through a "tunnel" of slide alder growing over the old roadway. Thankfully, the nasty mess growing over the road only lasts for less than 1 km. Conditions improve as the road gains in elevation, eventually opening up completely and allowing for unrestricted travel.

Depending on conditions and the time of year, it will take an average hiker about 30 - 50 minutes to reach the end of the road, 2.6 km from the junction. Just beyond the road is the Mount Laughington Trail's true starting point, marked with a wide variety of colored flagging tape. The trail enters young second growth forest, meandering haphazardly uphill. Given that the route hasn't been maintained for many years, the maturing forest has been allowed to completely grow over the trail. Follow the sequence of flagging tape uphill for 10 minutes, marking out a rudimentary but short route to the crest of a ridge.

Turn left and follow the rough trail as it makes it's way around the south side of a small, rocky knoll. After making your way around the knoll, watch for a faint trail to the right. It can be followed to the top of the knoll, offering a nice spot to relax and great views of the Cheam Range. A small lake, locally known as "Laughington Lake", is located directly below to the north. The main trail leads is well defined past the knoll, leading through alternating sections of heather meadows and forest.

It's a relatively easy walk through along the ridge's meadows to the summit.

Photographs

GPS Waypoints

Junction with overgrown side road (parking)	N49.13115 W121.61970	10U 600692 5442953
End of drivable road (extremely overgrown)	N49.12949 W121.62147	10U 600566 5442766
End of extremely overgrown section	N49.13128 W121.62488	10U 600314 5442960
Original trailhead	N49.13248 W121.63238	10U 599764 5443084
Knoll	N49.13284 W121.63515	10U 599561 5443120
Survey marker #538	N49.12992 W121.64548	10U 598814 5442782