Cathedral Lakes Park

Lakeview Trail – Ashnola River trailhead to Quinisco Lake
Date: July 26, 2003
Distance:16 km
Vertical Rise: 4550ft

Well…..it was %$*@ HOT!! 34 degrees in Hedley when we left, not ideal conditions for a big hike but what can you do, better than a snow storm….I think?? Made our way over the Red bridge, can’t miss it along the highway, then onto the Ashnola River FSR.

Started at the trailhead a few km’s past the parking for the LODGE, yes I said LODGE. You can pay $75 to be shuttled up their ‘private’ road or hike in 1 of 4 routes. The hike up was a constant accent, some sections long and steep, seemed like a lot more than 4550 ft. Might have been the heat or the pack factor. At about 8.5 km there was a creek, thank god, we had consumed over 4 litres of water getting there and were on our last drops. Some lunch, replenish the water and off again.

Brilliant lightly forested alpine meadows, flowers in full bloom giving off the most amazing aromas. A bit of bliss among the toil, awhile later you break into open alpine meadows, with many different colored flowers, butterflies and more to look at. About a km away from our destination I could hear a faint hummmm. First thought was a generator…..BANG on. The lodge keeps’er going until about midnight, if you camp in the Quinisco campsite you’ll hear it. Bit of a let down after hiking for soo long, you get there and all these people camping with lawn chairs, coolers, etc, etc, etc. Oh well, felt good to accomplish the accent and the first views of Quiniscoe lake and mountain were amazing. The hike in was ~7 hrs.

Found the MONEY campsite right on the water with only 2 neighbours, but forgot (left it in the truck, weight factor) my wallet for the $5/night fee. Heather was kool about it and we ended up meeting Kai in the parking lot at the end when we hiked out so we paid him (both are park rangers in Cathedral). Freshened up in the crystal clear water of the lake with fish jumping everywhere, bring a rod if you go, the fishing looked great.

Next morning I get out of the tent, rubbing away the grogginess from my eyes and I see something moving….. totally startled I focus and I’m about 10 feet away from a deer who’s having a nibble on some brush. He even lets me get my camera for some pics. Todays goal is The GIANT CLEFT. Up over the ridge to Glacier Lake, another gem, then up the scree field to a pass. Ridge walking time and the first encounter with a mtn. goat, quite tame, as you can see, lot’s of goat viewing on this trip. They are a beautiful animal, living in amazing places. All the way to the Devils Woodpile were amazing views and every 10 minutes you get a different perspective of the same area. Looking down on Glacier and Ladyslipper lakes. Devil’s Woodpile is one of the first sights of interest with some neat rock formations. (OH, forgot to mention there was a HUGE forest fire in Northern Washington state creating a lot of smoke and due to the winds on the day we were ridge walking our views of the other side of any valley were obscured. Our views consisted of what we were walking on or near. Oh well, cant win’em all, still lots to see.)

At this point the rock formations were changing every hundred yards it seemed, it’s an amazing place. From deep red stone hoodoos in the Devils Woodpile to white rounded stones that are obviously braking down into sand like basalt at Stone City. Alone enjoying the view, I was brought back to reality by a sound that was a lone goat watching me from nearby. Unfortunately, this ended up being our final destination; Smokey the Bear (appropriately named for this time and space), The Giant Cleft and other sights were totally obscured by smoke along with the possibility of scrambling to the summit of peaks nearing 9000ft (Grimface 2652m, Macabre Tower 2620m, Matriarch 2620m, etc).

On the way back just past Devils Woodpile we encountered a family of goats with one baby, very cool. At the junction where we came up, I continued solo on to easily scramble (walk) up to the summit of Quinisco Mtn (2470m), amazing view of Quinisco and Glacier Lakes, Red Mtn and looking south-west the rolling grasslands. Continued on the Rim trail dropping down to the Pass between Red and Quinisco Mts, onto a number of lush benches with a meandering creek that empties into Quinisco Lake. Tall green grass, a variety of alpine flowers, a chance encounter with a swarm of the most amazingly colored butterflies, onward below the treeline, to the waterfall I could hear going to sleep the previous night and finally to the west end of the lake and a 15 min walk back to the campsite.

Next morning, a leisurely pace ensues to pack up and start heading back. Ohhh yeah, another HOT day. Park rangers are notifying anyone left that they are on evacuation notice due to the fire. Even though it’s 95% downhill, 16km is still a long way. Back at the vehicle a little freshen up in Ashnola River and off to Keremeos for some food and fruit. It felt much hotter today than during the drive up, well……..maybe that’s because it was 39 degrees in the shade!!! Driving with the windows down doesn’t work in that kind of heat, it’s like sticking a blast furnace in the window and turning it on high, I’m melting…..

Gotta luv mother nature…..

Crew: CR & SK
Pics: CR