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Vernon, BC
Canada
107 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 03:46 AM
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Location: Southern Chilcotin
Subject: Castle Pass area via Tyaughton Creek Trail
Date: July 1-3, 2006
Participants: DougF, Mart, Lana, Brenda
Equipment: backpacking & hiking, maps, GPS helpful.
Maps: 92-O/2
References: http://www.bivouac.com/TripPg.asp?TripId=2256
Distance: 12km to camp, +5km to Castle Pass, +2km to Cardtable Mtn. - one way.
Difficulty: On trail hiking to bushwhacking, route finding.
Bugs & Bushwhacking
The Southern Chilcotins area has always been a favourite of mine for early season backpacks. Snow usually clears from the high alpine earlier and the flowers are normally weeks ahead of other locations. In 2003 a Canada Day weekend attempt on Castle Pass and Cardtable Mountain was defeated by nasty weather. With a great dry weather forecast for this year’s Canada Day weekend a second attempt was in order!
Day 1
The original plan was for myself and three friends to access Castle Pass area from the Tyaughton Creek and Castle Pass trails. We were all to meet late Friday night near the town of Gold Bridge to allow an early start the next morning. Unfortunately the driver from Vancouver ended up having to work during the weekend, I was driving from Vernon, and the others in Vancouver didn’t have a vehicle they wanted pound along the gravel roads to reach the trailhead. Grrrr. Going solo was contemplated but the area is remote and rarely travelled early in the season. Not great if you need help… also the place is crawling with Grizzly and I get real jumpy walking alone through fresh bear poop all day…
Three keen Club Tread’ers answered my posting and we were to meet in Gold Bridge Saturday morning, and be at the trailhead by noon. I was late getting to Gold Bridge due to a flat tire just before Lillooet. A major hassle getting a tire repaired even at the start of a busy holiday weekend! We said our hellos and set off for the trailhead. Although it was a late start I figured we would have just enough time to hike the 12km to the intended campsite before dark. Saturday we would day hike to Castle Pass, then to Cardtable Mountain. If we had enough time and energy we would return to camp via Fortress Ridge. Sunday would be exit day.
Poor Martin had to eat my dust as he followed me along the maze of logging roads leading to the trailhead off the Bonanza, Tyaughton Creek and Mud Creek Forest Service Roads. I have travelled these roads many times so was blasting along slowing now and again when I could no longer see his headlights in the haze of dust in my wake. To add to the time concerns was a late evening call Friday night from a friend who warned that a bridge on the Tyaughton Lake FSR was being replaced and status was unknown. To save having to back track if the bridge wasn’t finished I chose to take the alternative route along the Marshall Lake Road which probably doubled the distance and time required to get to the trailhead. I suppose Martin and crew wondered what they had got themselves into…
Trailhead next to bridge over Tyaughton Creek. Notice Hiker’s trail leading off in upper right corner of photo. We were on the trail about 2pm.
The Tyaughton Creek trail has two different access points. One called the upper Horse Packer’s trail and the other the Lower Tyaughton Hiker’s Trail. They both join at approximately the 3km point. The horse trail is old and well defined but has much more elevation gain and loss than the lower Hiker’s trail. You also need to walk up an old double track trail about a kilometre before getting onto the trail proper. The lower Hiker’s trail is routed closer to the creek, relatively level, but is not well defined.
Route finding can be challenging on this trip. You really need to know how to read a map and use a compass. A GPS can be a great help but doesn’t work in the trees… usually where the going gets tough! Three years ago when I used the Hiker’s trail it was a boot worn route that was clear of debris and easy the follow. Not so this year! It is now largely overgrown, covered with windfall, and almost impossible to follow. The trail seems to be abandoned and infrequently, if at all, used. It turned into a bushwhack of game trails and endless windfall, punctuated by snippets of marking ribbon - probably left by others that didn’t know where they were going. If you are ever tempted to bad mouth horsepack trail users just remember how much work they put into keeping many trails open and passable. Hiker’s owe them a big thank you!
Every now and then I would discover a recognisable section of trail (after 3 years!) only to loose it shortly. It was hot, the bugs were hungry, and the lack of sleep the previous night was starting to take its toll on group moral. In spite of all this I did not hear one complaint from my partners in crime. Thanks guys!
Another dead end game trail. They always look so good when your desperate…
I’m sure it is down here just a bit more…
Thank goodness for GPS! Once out of the trees and in the open I got a GPS coordinate, sat down with the map and made a gues’timate as to where the trail should be. A bit of searching and was on it within 100 metres. Finally!
Martin with some ‘sucker ribbon’. He had a fantastic ability to spot the slightest, weathered shred of ribbon tape. Maybe this one is marked for logging…
The group was getting very quiet at this point… we lost the trail again - if you blinked it was gone. And the bugs were chewing us up bad.
After trashing through some nasty stuff I stopped and said we needed to go back to the last known bit of trail, have another look at the map, and start again. The others didn’t follow me. The scary part was that I didn’t realize this for awhile. I had climbed back up a steep incline, had another look at the map, found another shred of weathered ribbon on a tree, did a bit more thrashing around, rediscovered the trail and then realized I was by myself. I called, I yelled, I blew my whistle so hard it hurt my ears. Silence. Bad enough the trail being lost, but now I’ve lost my partners! Grabbed a GPS coordinate so I wouldn’t loose the trail again and headed back down to where we parted. Being sensible folk they had stayed put when I had left. Next time I will be a little more explicit in my intensions. At this point I’m starting to get tired…
The trail became a lot more defined from this point on and we had few troubles staying with it. It’s now after 6pm. We’ve gone about 4km in +4 hours… but the trail is good and we are finally making up for lost time.
Martin looking WSW towards Mount Sheba and ridges. To his left is Mt. Eldorado, et al.
On the right in the background is the nasty Bonanza clear-cut the BC Liberals OK’ed shortly after getting into power. Why did they have to make their point here? Beyond and to the left of the clear-cut scar is Big Sheep Mountain in the Shulaps Range to the east.
It is now 7pm and I realize we will not make it to the campsite below Fortress Ridge before dark. We’ve gone 7km along the main Tyaughton Creek Trail (not counting back tracking and detours!). The Castle Pass Trail Route turns off at this point just before a small, unnamed creek. This unmarked junction is about 2km west of the junction of Bonanza and Tyaughton Creeks. The Castle Pass Trail is a 5km general route that switchbacks up just east of the creek leading through a number of fantastic large meadows. Not something to navigate in falling light or dark. I’ve had enough route finding and navigating for one day! We spend the night at ‘Cowboy Camp’ just beyond the unnamed creek on the main Tyaughton Creek Trail and continue in the morning.
Day 2
Castle Pass Trail Route climbs 400m up through open forest before turning eastward through the meadows. Except for the a few sketchy bits through the open grassy areas it is a well defined trail up to the meadows.
 
Finally into the high country. At 1850m the trail pops out of the trees into the first of a number of meadows that parallel the south base of Fortress Ridge. The meadows are lush and full of flowers. Paint Brush and Arnica are just starting to bloom so it is a riot of blue and yellow.
Lana liked my new camera and started snapping photos…
Hall’s Goldenweed
Lupine & Hall’s Goldenweed
Hairy Arnica
This is what makes the route difficult to follow. Trails just vanish into the lush meadows. Finding where the trail exits on the opposite side is the challenge! Experience and GPS coordinates from last trip made it a bit easier.
   
There were a few wet spots… bugs became intense in these areas!
Check out those hand movements… focus, focus, focus!
  
Even mud can have its interesting aspects. Lots of deer, wolf and bear tracks all along the trail!
 
Lots of this stuff on the trail also. Fresh but not warm…
Fortress Ridge above the campsite. Beautiful at sunset.
We arrived at the upper camp area at 11:45am, three hours from the Cowboy camp. There are two camp areas, one below the trail and one above. The campsites are located within a triangle bounded by bumps 6891, 7972 and 7666 on the 92-O/2 topographical map, roughly straddling the 6700’ contour and closer to 6891 bump. I prefer the more open upper one as the breeze can keep the mossies at bay. The lower site is more protected by trees if the weather gets nasty. These spots are pristine with no evidence of use. Please don’t build fires or mess them up!
We set up the tents, had a bite to eat, and rigged up a food cache to keep the critters from our grub and smelly stuff.
I decided to grab my daypack and push on to Castle Pass and try to summit Cardtable Mountain. The others decided to remain at camp and hide from the bugs. Once up higher up I never saw another bug until dropping back down to tree line.
Just after starting out I noticed a small patch of moving brown fur sticking up out of the creek about 10m in front of me. With all the bear sign around I froze and then started to slowly back away. Of course I stumble and a deer pops up to see who is there. Takes a while for the heart rate to settle…
Just west of the camp there is a very rough section of route over a ridge. Scrambled up through the bush and rock and popped out of the trees into open meadows again. Got to be a better route around the south side and lower down. Castle Peak looms on the horizon.
Then another large meadow crossing before connecting up with the defined trail again. Took a approximate GPS location for the start of the defined trail from the map. This got me across the meadow to a point where I could see where the trail started. View is back towards the campsite on the far side of the hump on right side of photo.
Of course the animals like trails also. Lots wolf tracks! The closer I got to the Castle Pass the more numerous tracks became. I guess it is a major wildlife corridor to the Paradise Creek valley.
Castle Peak gets closer as the km’s click by.
    
Snow at head waters of Rook Creek. Only snow encountered on the trip. Going to be a very dry summer!
 
Contouring the southwest end of Fortress Ridge. Trail littered with fossils. Pass between Lindsey and Rook Creeks straight ahead.
 
View of Cardtable Mountain 2526m
NE side of Castle Peak, height: 2492m, from Castle Pass
ESE view from Castle Pass. Fortress Ridge on left, Eldorado Mountain, Bonanza Creek drainage to right.
SE view from Castle Pass, altitude: 2285m. Castle Peak at my back. My new Canon A620 with its flip-out & twist monitor is fabulous for mini-tripod and self-timer use.
Spreading Phlox (Phlox diffusa)
Amazing how these plants can survive in the harsh conditions of an alpine pass.
Decided at this point to forgo summiting Cardtable. Was running out of time and did not relish the thought of bushwhacking across the meadows and over the last ridge to camp. Also didn’t like the idea of stumbling through the bush after dark with all the big critter sign we’ve seen the last two days.
The only cairn (or is it a duck?) seen along the whole trail! As much as they can help with route finding I find them and ribbon a blemish on the landscape! Anyone else heard of the saying "two rocks do not make a duck"?
Return trip. Eldorado with Bonanza Creek logging visible in background.
 
Day 3
An early rise for the long trip home. Martin is immune to bugs and cool morning air…
Heading Homeward
     
Martin checking out Mr bear’s territory markings.
We chose to return on the upper Tyaughton Trail rather than endure bushwhacking back along the lower hikers trail again. The trailhead for the upper trail is a couple km’s from our vehicle so we decided to ‘make’ a shortcut and bushwhack down the ridge back to the vehicles. After a short hike down an old double track we turned off down the ridge.
[x]
As we worked our way down the slope I become concerned about having to claw our way through a kilometre of dense, ten year old, new growth amongst the tangled remains of an old forest fire. Nasty stuff! It was hot and the bugs were at us again. Not a great way to end the trip… Martin once again spotted a few shreds of ribbon that led us along the remains of an old skidder path right to the road. Way to go Martin!
A short walk down the Paradise Creek Forest Service Road and the welcome sight of our vehicles.
 
Maybe next time I’ll make it to the top of Cardtable… |
Edited by - DougF on 07/07/2006 11:32 PM
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 Fungi Filmin', Wine Drinkin', 'Shroom Eatin', Early Risin', Deer Whisperin', Curry Cookin', Macro Maniac
Chilliwack + Osoyoos
3413 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 05:43 AM
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Wow!!! Great TR and pics, Doug...
Thanks for sharing...
The name of that plant is "Phlox"... 
C'Jack...
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...hang on, I'm coming... |
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Simpson quoting tree hunter and canyon rapping rockhound who longs for the return of his trapped Toyota
Somewhere deep and narrow, BC
Canada
2213 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 07:50 AM
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| Very cool. I wouldn't mind getting up to the base of Castle. |
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 | DW2
Senior Member
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West Coast, B.C.
1325 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 09:27 AM
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| Good report Doug. We started from that trailhead in Sept. 04, headed up Tyaughton Cr. and at the 12km. point headed left up to Spruce lake, from Spruce Lake to Upper Eldorado Basin, and from the Basin out to the road. Took 3 days and had some wicked winds and snow. We didn't have your problems with route finding on the lower sections of the trail, but a few problems just beyond your first nights camp. I recognize that spot from your picture, it was lunch on our first day. We posted a trail report,"South Chilcotin-Spruce Lake Wilderness". It's an area We'd definitely like to see more of! |
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opinionated-stove huggin'-fleece wearin'-arse burnin' hill virgin
Here
Canada
4293 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 09:32 AM
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Awesome report. Looks like that Fortress Ridge is an old volcanic plug?
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"Got a gear idea? Drop me a line, hb@clubtread.com"  |
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| LeeL
Advanced Member
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Extreme ski tourin, mountain bikin addict who hikes at least once a year
2022 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 09:55 AM
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In Fall 03 - I did that trail twice - the first time was before horsepackers started using it - same epic as you guys had but with bikes on our packs - broken down and strapped on. Same mess and ended up sleeping in ditches as we never got to a good campsite.
Came back a month later and the horsepackers had used the trail and cleared it up and it was easy to find. Then i can see upthread that in less then a year - blowdown and new growth makes the trail hard to find.
Truly I think that's why in large part I keep going back to the chilcotin. Well that and the views of course. |
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ass wigglin, cheese lovin, 4x4 drivin, apostrophe hatin, hiking chick who loves camping on snow
spaceship..
Canada
7142 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 09:58 AM
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Really enjoyed reading this one Doug! I can just imagine the heart racing when you realised your partners weren't behind you!!
The flowers look beautiful, and your first campsite although not the intended one looks quite comfy!
Thanks for sharing.
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Vernon, BC
Canada
107 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 10:26 AM
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Thanks C'Jack! Flipped through the flower guide book for a while but was getting tired and knew someone would help out...
LeeL - I guess we also hit the lower Hiker's Trail in '03 after the horsepackers had cleared it and had no problems there. Anybody who knocks horsepackers should suffer through one of these experiences! With the ever worsening beetle kill problem trail conditions will only get worse without a lot of maintenance. Was shocked at just how many trees are dead or dying in this area.
DW2 - you also must have benefited from the work of the horsepacker in '03.
Shadee - we were all quite surprise at how short a distance your voice or whistle travels in the heavy bush. Fifty metres and you can easily be out of earshot! |
Edited by - DougF on 07/07/2006 10:36 AM |
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| LeeL
Advanced Member
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Extreme ski tourin, mountain bikin addict who hikes at least once a year
2022 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 11:20 AM
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Doug - part of the issue of navigating Chilcotin trails (for me anyways) is how many game trails, hunting trails and odd-looking junctions there are. So I find i have to take a bearing and try to stick to it. The Gps has its limits too in that kind of heinous brush. It sounds like you did a really good job actually
Plus Im really paranoid about grizzlies and something about bushwhacking brush in grizzly territory makes my skin crawl.
I'm headed that way in mid July and also a week long in early sept so I'll be sure to post up some TRs too. Thanks so much for that report |
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Coffee swillin', wine lovin', Owl fearin' Andie McDowell stunt double, who sports retro gear
Vancouver, BC
5014 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 11:23 AM
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| Nice report!! Fantastic scenery!! Now I want to go there. Looks like a lot of CT'ers put the long weekend to good use. |
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Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
LOGAN LAKE, B.C.
Canada
8878 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 4:43 PM
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Doug
Superb report illustrated with a whole array splendid photos of an area I recall so well. Like Wildernessseeker wrote, I sure would like to spend some good quality time in this area.
I will becoming back to enjoy this in the evening to get a good read of this one.
Regards, |
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vancouver, bc
Canada
119 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 9:50 PM
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nice photos doug! thanks for sharing! like i said before, i would love to go to this hike again all the way to Table Top, on a cool day.
mart |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
142 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 11:10 PM
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sounds like a great trip! hanks for sharing.
a question - which trail map is it? I have an old map with only trails, no topography, from your pics it seems this one has both? |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
981 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2006 : 10:32 AM
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Cool adventure for sure! The bugs/ bushwhacking/ routefinding sounded tough, praises to your knowledge and experience to get through there.
Love the pix of the fossils, and the white legume - looks like lupin, only white  .
That castle peak sure looks intriguing, yeah,I want to go! |
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471 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2006 : 12:48 PM
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Great challenge you guys.
I love your trip, well done.
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I am out there somewhere |
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Burnaby, BC
Canada
20 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2006 : 12:51 PM
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Hi Doug,
When we GPSed this trail a couple of years ago the trail was lightly beaten, had some diversions where the river bank had sluffed in, and had sections where the trail died out in grassy areas (but picked up again further on). There was some flagging and some blazes to mark the trail but only a few.
Up to that time there had been some horse use of this trail which helped to keep it obvious enough to follow. But what has probably happened is that there is no longer any horse traffic using this particular trail and so it has become overgrown. In general, it should be noted that early summer in the South Chilcotin Mountains is the time when trails are most overgrown by new growth and later in the season when the grass dies down, the trails can usually be found easier. We plan to brush out and mark the Lower Tyaughton Hiker’s Trail (using blazes and flagging). We have been involved with doing considerable trail maintenance and trail marking in this area.
Until we are able to do this trail maintenance work, we recommend that hikers use the Tyaughton Ck Trailhead which is located off Mud Ck-Paradise Ck FSR. This trailhead can be found fairly easily. The Tyaughton Ck Trail is a well used horse trail so it is very well beaten and easy to follow. We are also preparing a website very shortly to give much more info on the South Chilcotin Mountains including detailed information on road access to various trail heads including the Tyaughton Ck Trail and Lower Tyaughton Hiker's Trail as well as trail conditions.
Doug, thanks for the trail condition info.
Claudia
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Edited by - Claudia on 07/09/2006 2:05 PM |
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Vernon, BC
Canada
107 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2006 : 11:14 PM
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quote:
- part of the issue of navigating Chilcotin trails (for me anyways) is how many game trails, hunting trails and odd-looking junctions there are. So I find i have to take a bearing and try to stick to it. The Gps has its limits too in that kind of heinous brush. It sounds like you did a really good job actually.
Like any navigating it is all about keeping your sights set on the objective and working around the obstacles encountered along the way. The tricky stuff is when you get in the brush. It is so easy to get distracted and twisted around. Nothing beats a compass in these conditions… but you still need to have a clear sense of where you want to end up. Just picking and following a bearing to somewhere is one thing, but trying to find and stick to a sketchy trail is another…
I’ve found the GPS great for pinpointing your location on a map and getting to a specific location on a map – if you have reception! Doesn’t always work when you really need it. The real power of GPS is have a bunch of waypoints for the return trip or when you do the route another time.
quote:
Plus Im really paranoid about grizzlies and something about bushwhacking brush in grizzly territory makes my skin crawl.
I know the feeling. Any time I’ve had problems with bears its been up close in conditions where both parties have been surprised. I get real jumpy and take on a strong defensive attitude when I can’t see 100m around me… you have to let them know where you are. Bears in the Chilcotins have lots of exposure to people and aren’t too inquisitive. They usually want to stay away from you.
quote:
I'm headed that way in mid July and also a week long in early sept so I'll be sure to post up some TRs too. Thanks so much for that report
Thanks Lee. Sharing is the great thing about this forum!
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
28 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2006 : 10:24 PM
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Thanks Doug for organizing this trip; I have been wanting to check out this area for a long time.
Despite being eaten alive by the bugs, I had a great time:D. I wish we could have spend a few extra days up there...*sigh*..the area is so beautiful, and so remote.
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Southern Chilcotin-Castle Pass via Tyaughton Trail
