1. Entered via Doumont Trail
2. Turned right south of Boomerang Lake
3. Right at next intersection towards the power lines route
4. Onto the power lines route heading west
5. Trail leading towards Decosmos Mountain
6. The climb... Very old and overgrown trail... Turned back at ~790m
7. Okay Mt Valley towards Rhododendron Lake
8. Rhododendron Lake to take pics of rhodos!
9. Rain! alt route back towards 142 main
10. 142 main back to Doumont and civilization
The plan was to follow this pink route:
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| Left... Beginning the "Decosmos" trail. |
It was a tall order and I really didn't expect to make it all the way, but I wanted to see what it looked like out there. The trail wasn't that bad for the most part: There was the odd rocky patch, but it was generally pretty easy to pick through it. It became difficult towards the end, not because of the climb, but the incredible overgrowth of alders on this pretty old disused logging road. I got pretty fed up of stopping to pull branches out of my way and as it began to thicken with small trees I eventually gave up the ghost. I'm still wondering how far you can get on this road though; there were occasional quad tracks leading through all that mess. I'll head back this summer and give it another go.
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| Mirkwood! |
It was beautiful at the lake today. Not a soul around for miles. I reached the lake, hiked in and took my photos:
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| 180 degree panoramic of the lake |
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| Some blooms are done already, but there are plenty about still |
That was it... I took the alternate route back to Doumont along Englishman River Main to Branch 142. 72Km of logging roads altogether.
Thanks Andy -- the rhodos are beautiful still, thank you for posting these pics! Sounds like quite a day.
ReplyDeleteNice try, Andy. It'd be nice to have a small chain saw to cut some of that Alder away and allow better access. Hopefully quadders will break through some of those trails. It only takes a couple of years for alder to get to be 6 feet...Nice shots of the rhodos and the lake.
ReplyDeleteAndy ... great photos! I would like to stick my KTM knobbies on some of your trails up there. I carry a folding tree saw (folded up about 8 inches long) and some hand pruners in my back pack or panniers. They come in handy from time to time.
ReplyDeleteM-I-L: Not quite as bloomin' amazing as I had expected, but it was nice all the same. Might be back out there very soon... I'll have to try and take a few more and compare.
ReplyDeletePaul: I'd love the quads to head out that way and clear it out. There's a good chance that it goes to Nanaimo Lakes if the steepness/rockiness of the terrain doesn't make a mess of things. I have a smallish chainsaw! Hmmmmmmm!
Terry: A KTM with some harsh knobbies would be a real treat out there. We've stopped on a few hills where that would have seen us to the top. The tree saw is a great idea. Easy to carry too. I'll be picking one up to save ripping my jacket to shreds. ;)
Went back up on the 28th. ALL of the blooms are done.
ReplyDelete