The Skook

[BobMcCue]

The Skookumchuck trail is now broken out. What an awesome trail, nice wooded trail with a variety of flats & steeps, plenty of places to camp at many elevations. Even though there was an attempt at this trail last week, the snow was still unconsolidated for much of the trail. Post holing with snowshoes for much of the trail was typical for me.

Amy did an outstanding job in the lead for this hike with Glenn S right behind her. I had the dubious task of making sure the trail was well compacted for anyone wishing to use it in the future, (okay..okay..I give… they all kicked my butt and I was in the rear) Brewster hung out with me, not that he had to hang in the back, just that he is nice guy and gave me some really great company for the day.

The temp started at about 4 and at the end of the day it was about up to 43. With that temp, the snow was melting rapidly from the trees making it almost rainy on the way down. With this condition, the trail should hold the pack and continue to consolidate making a nice base for future hikes.

Views at the ridge where great, we had lunch up at the junction and watched the clouds move in through the notch. It was an outstanding day, great workout, great views and most of all great company.
Much thanks to Glenn, Amy and Bruce for a really great day!!!

 

[GlennS]

That was a really nice hike with great company. Amy was a trail braking machine. We'll have to have her along more often. Laughing That was a tough go esp, for Bob on his third trip out this season.

We had a choice between going up Old Bridal Path or Skookumchuck. We decided to go the route less traveled. We left a car at the OBP/FW trailead so we could ascend via Skookumchuck and descend OBP. To say Skookumchuck is the road less traveled is an understatement. We followed Feathered Hat and Sean's broken track to about 4,000 ft. From there to treeline, the snow was unbroken and deep. There were some spots which didn't seem to have a bottom. We feared we would be swallowed up only to be found in the spring. It would have helped if we were about 4 foot tall as impressive clumps of snow hung on the branches of the trees. I got one dump on my back which almost took me off my feet. For the most part, we followed the path of the trail. It didn't look like the trail had much traffic this winter. That's too bad because it is a nice alternative to the superhighway that the OBP can become.

Sunny skies greeted us as we reached treeline. That changed within a matter of minutes as a southerly wind picked up and the clouds began racing by. It went from clear skies to totally socked in in a matter of minutes. At that point, we decided that enough fun was had and we decided to descend via the Skook.

This hike had it all....packed trail, open woods, unbroken trail, snow covered fir, cold temps, warm temps, sunny skies, cloudy skies, no wind, strong winds and route finding challenges. It was a blast.

Pic's are here

 

[Brewster]

Yes, excellent company on a great day to be out there. This was the first trip up the Skook for any of us. This is clearly the road less traveled and surprisingly so, as noted above, this route has a lot to commend it. As I look back on prior hikes, this is one of the very few times, perhaps the only time, when we've had the trail entirely to ourselves. The few blowdowns encountered presented no difficulty. Most impressive snow loads on the trees on the upper portion of the trail. Don't often see blazes at ankle level. Good views from the top while we ate lunch before the weather changed. Numerous moose tracks about one quarter of the way in.

 

[The Feathered Hat]

What a great report-- great photos too, GlennS. That stretch of the Skook above 4,000 feet where the trees are short and the snowloads on the branches are right at face and shoulder level is, uh, interesting, isn't it? I did it last winter on a sunny day and got more snow-covered than I did on another hike in a blizzard.

(I'm really sorry to have missed this hike, by the way, and thank you again for the invitation -- there will be a Next Time, definitely. This time family had to take precedence.)

The Skook is a terrific trail any time of year. Its relative unpopularity remains quizzical to me, but hey, more fun for those of us who love the route. I look forward to following your tracks soon!