There's a note from 2005 by Justin Brown that he once tried to access Gabbro Mountain by way of the old Hanging Creek logging spur off the Widgeon Lake trail on the east side of the mountain but found this spur to be impassable with alders. In 2021, the bottom of the Hanging Creek spur is cut off by the loss of the bridge over Hanging Creek. BC Parks said April 20th, "The bridge crossing at Hanging Creek failed last winter. We are looking at options to repair or replace. The [Widgeon...

Mick Bailey has provided these enjoyable reads from forays to Mamquam River, Seed Peak and Mount Gillespie. The so-called retreads are of rough-cut stones of a certain age, temperment and ingrained habit. They tell a tall tale, drink beer from glasses, never stretch and never overnight when a good death march will suffice. The Retreads Grapple Gillespie In Two Summer Days, Mick and friend Chris B flee from a bear and thus ends their attempt on Pinecone Peak. Unnerved and then duped by...

{GPSCONTENT ["id": Crawford Peak ski loop, "elevation": 1, "speed": 1, "hr": 1, "description": 1]}   {gallery}CrawfordPeakSkiLoop{/gallery}  

Date: 2001.09.15 Approach from the Norton Lake Branch of Indian River Main. Bushwhack from the end of the road north of the lake through heavy bush to Joseph Lake. Follow the west side of Joseph Lake to gain steep timber leading to the south ridge. The first crux is a Class 3 vegetable belay to reach the knoll at 5200ft. Drop down to the gap beyond (possible Class 3) and follow rocky outcrops and heather to the summit. The photo was taken from the 5200ft knoll on the south ridge and shows...

Photos from 1992 to 1994 by Joe Foy of Wilderness Committee. The album shows the scouting of the Fools Gold Route between Widgeon and Boise valleys. {gallery}PineconeBurkeExplorers/TripReports/FoolsGold{/gallery}

Use the Drop Down Menu to access the different articles

{GPSCONTENT ["id": 194, "description": 1, "elevation": 1, "speed": 1, "hr": 1]} Crawford Peak lies in the northwest corner of Pinecone Burke Provincial Park. It's easiest to reach it from Watersprite Lake Recreation Area. There are two access routes from Watersprite Lake. The northwest glacier on Crawford Creek can be skied and egress is from Skookum Creek East Fork and out over Skullhead Pass to the Watersprite Lake trail. The east fork is not recommended for travel once the snow is...

This short traverse links the Knothole Lake trail to the Seed Peak trail. Parties have gone both ways. The crux section is north of the col between KSP and Seed Peak (shown in the first photo below). In summer, the ridge crest can be followed on good rock. In winter, the sharp divide presents a problem. Parties travel on snow slopes west of the divide.  Approaching Seed Peak from KSP. Pinecone Peak in the background. Alan Blair photo. The route taken by Alan Blair's party in spring...

In March of 2019 we got lucky. Graham R. from Black Tusk Snowmobile Club let me know that the Mamquam FSR had been plowed for winter logging on the approach to Knothole Lake. It meant we could drive part way up, which considerably lessened the length of approach. In mid-March we found a sunny day midweek and a party of four backcountry skiers headed up. We parked near the logging area at 750 meters elevation. That's only part of the difficulties. We had to find the old logging road called...

Dreadnought Peak sits on the southern boundary of Garibaldi provincial park about 1 kilometer west of the boundary of Pinecone Burke provincial park. It's a great ski peak. Access is normally from Watersprite Lake. It requires a very steep climb up from the lake on a south-facing slope. There can be avalanche danger that can be compounded by buried layers of suncrust, surface warming and other influences. This is a trip for experienced backcountry skiers. It should not be attempted when...

Access to the northern portion of Pinecone Burke provincial park is off Mamquam forest service road reached from Squamish. The first map shows access to Pinecone Lake, Knothole Lake, Seed Peak, Mount Gillespie, Pollen Peak, Boise trail (to Fools Gold trail) and Dunkeld trail (to Meslilloet Mountain). The road naming comes from the Sea to Sky Natural Resource District naming system. KM boards are nailed up on trees and their locations are as shown. Note: Mamquam FSR ends near KM 21 and the KM...

Access to the southern portion of Pinecone Burke provincial park is currently from Burke Mountain or by crossing Pitt Lake from Grant Narrows. When Metro Vancouver opens Widgeon Marsh Regional Park, there will be hiking and cycling access from Quarry Road. Existing access to Widgeon Lake.   Planned access to Widgeon Lake through Widgeon Marsh. Type of access through Widgeon Marsh.  

Conceptual layout of a hiking trail between Coquitlam and Squamish. As part of longer range planning, it is highly desirable that a long distance hiking route between Coquitlam and Squamish be considered. Here we propose a high elevation trail that follows the Coquitlam-Pitt Divide north from Widgeon Lake. The divide provides hiking and mountaineering access to Meslilloet Mountain, the Five Fingers group of peaks and access to the ridgeline towards Peneplain Peak. Further north in the park,...

Between 2004 and 2007, his council worked with CASBC (including its Squamish representatives), the FMCBC and the other groups to formalise a Smoke Bluffs Park, comprising the FMCBC parcels and the District lands above.  A fresh management plan was drafted between 2015 and 2017. Subsequently the Bluffs bylaw came before council for change on two separate occasions in 2017 and 2019. These events and their significance are described in section 6, below.  Unconnected to any Smoke...

Smoke Bluffs Youtube Videos and Long Video Transcript    For Reference Links Click Here: Reference Links for Selling Smoke Bluffs Article For FMCBC Response Letter Click Here: FMCBC Response - Smoke Bluff Lands 15 Dec 2020Executive Summary The Federation of Mountain Clubs of British Columbia (“FMCBC”) may be considering selling the three land parcels it owns in the Smoke Bluffs Park (the “Park”) to the District of Squamish (the “District”). It has owned those...

January 6, 2021 On July 22nd last year, in a news release, the minister of environment George Heyman introduced a day-use pass pilot system for six of B.C.’s most popular provincial parks. Recreation organizations, including my organization Backcountry BC, with over 6,700 members, have had wide-ranging discussions about the day-use pass pilot program. Those discussions found serious problems with the program and provided further scrutiny of long-standing park management concerns in...

The greatest single challenge facing BC Parks is implementing a long-term plan in which we can meet our obligation to secure our natural legacy for a growing number of users in a financially sustainable way. —BC Parks Future Strategy: Securing our natural legacy through innovation, sustainability and partnership

Got interviewed for this article. Just one awkward comment got quoted about halfway down. To clarify, it meant "some members of the general public don't mind paying to ski tour." Proposed carbon-zero ski resort has B.C.’s fiercest nature lovers worried it’s all downhill from here Reference:...

I thought the purpose of the day pass system and the seemingly arbitrary, inconsistent and vague application/imposition of the term "Carrying Capacity" was to prevent the spread of Covid. Or was it? Seems to be restricting user numbers to a 'cherry picked' set of trails was the intention all along, and Covid was just an excuse and afterthought. And then there is the 70% user displacement, which we front line volunteer trail builders are experiencing the full effect and wrath of. I want to...

2019 Spearhead Mountain Goat winter range survey report A report funded by the Park Enhancement Fund. Click on the following link to view the entire report:  Spearhead Mountain Goat Winter Range survey report-2019-03-26

Direction on Day-use Pass Pilot Program Regional director for the South Coast of BC Parks recently wrote to Backcountry BC to clarify some points on the day pass system. To recap, on July 22nd this summer, the minister of environment, George Heyman issued a press release. He said frequent park users have an important role in protecting parks that's why he introduced the day-use pass pilot program. He said it will help keep people active and safe, presumably by keeping large numbers...