[Matt]

Monday, July 9, Day 3: Drinnan Peak, Drinnan Lakes, Gwillim Lakes Itinerary Cross Valhalla outlet and traverse boulder field westward to 6700 feet. Side trip to Drinnan 8478 via southeast col. Traverse northward to access Drinnan north ridge at 7000. Follow ridge back southward to Drinnan north col at 7500. Descend to lower Drinnan Lake 6640. Take trail down to 6200 and up to Gwillim Lakes 7020.

Day 3 Map

The Valhalla Boulder Field Moving west from Valhalla Lake, we had to work our way through a difficult field of large boulders, ranging from stove-sized up to house-sized, with climbing moves between or over some of them. (In hindsight, we probably could have gotten out of the boulders quicker by going straight up from the lake rather than traversing.) At the end of the boulders, Erik, Carla and Brett decided to take a different route to Gwillim Lakes by dropping down to the creek valley.

boulder field

more boulder field

way too much boulder field

Drinnan Peak We visited Drinnan by going up a wide couloir to the east ridge. It was the easiest summit travel of the trip. We went up the couloir on meadows and rocks and came down on snow. Peaks were too many to count. Lakes were everywhere. Behind us, the long stretch of Valhalla Lake, falling into a dramatic slab waterfall and then bright tarns among the boulders. Ahead of us, Drinnan Lakes, and then Gwillim Lakes on their high shelf. Even along the way, little aqua-blue tarns in the snow at the col and at the bottom of the couloir.

easy terrain up Drinnan couloir

Drinnan's rather undercut summit

Me on Drinnan

View north from Drinnan, our route ahead

Another view of the route ahead

View southeast from Drinnan, our route behind

Boulder-field potholes below Valhalla Lake

Going down Drinnan's east ridge – more tarns everywhere

Easy snow down the couloir

Drinnan North Col to Drinnan Lakes To reach Drinnan Lakes, we had to go back down, traverse out onto Drinnan's north ridge, then come back south on the ridge crest to the 7500-foot col north of Drinnan's summit. The ridge had rock bands blocking a more direct line. The trick was to keep traversing below the cliffs out to a gully circa 7000-feet, and then find a ramp that angled out of the gully neatly onto the ridge crest. The crest itself was a delight to walk, like a wide parkway decorated with meadows, trees, and flat rocks.

boulder tarn

Looking back at the Valhalla waterfall from Drinnan's north ridge

Valhalla waterfall with Asgard & Midgard up above

West of the col, we traversed north on snow and meadows circa 7200 feet to a steep grassy meadow that dropped us right down to Upper Drinnan Lake. Along its west shore we found the Gwillim trail and enjoyed a comfortable rest by the water.

Drinnan Lake

Traversing toward Upper Drinnan

Dropping down meadow to Upper Drinnan (if you look close, you can see people near snow at bottom)

Upper Drinnan Lake with Devils Range

Upper Drinnan Lake with Drinnan Peak

Gwillim Lakes From Drinnan to Gwillim we were hiking on a trail. What a luxury! Gwilliam Lake has an amazing shoreline – peninsulae, islands, coves, jetties of rocks, and a waterfall dropping down the far side. One could probably spend all day just exploring around the circumference of the lakes.

Gwillim Lake

Gwillim Lake & Lucifer

swimming in Gwillim Lake

The only worry was that the group that had taken the low road weren't here yet. When they finally arrived, I (almost) hugged them. That evening, Brett made a hard decision. Because of difficulties with handling some of the terrain while carrying a heavy pack, he decided to exit via the Gwillim trail and meet us at the far end of the traverse. I admire his openness in discussing it carefully with everyone in the group, and his courage in making this hard choice.

Sunset highlighting Asgard & Midgard

Alpenglow on Drinnan Peak

Day 3: Cumulative gain 3400, net gain 100. 7.5 miles. 10 hours. Crux of the day: The Valhalla boulder field, but we were assured that it will be easier after this. Highlight 1: Finding good routes up one side of Drinnan and around the other side of Drinnan Highlight 2: All the lakes: waterfall and tarns below Valhalla, warm sun by Drinnan, exploring the shoreline of Gwillim Memorable: Gwillim Lake's two-story outhouse with its magic wheel of disposal. (When you pushed a foot pedal, a wheel under the seat rotated and deposited all of the waste material into a barrel below while keeping the area above clean.)

[Matt]

Tuesday, July 10, Day 4: Forecast received from Yana on 6/8: Tuesday rain in the forecast between 6 am and 6 pm, with the larger amount of rain between 6 am and noon. Forecast received from Yana on 6/9: Chance of precip up to 80% for tomorrow but no longer predicting thunderstorms, precip starting earlier, some increase in expected amounts of precip, still forecast to be dry after 6pm tomorrow. [Play ominous foreshadowing music here.]

Itinerary Ascend north halfway up Lucifer Pass. Wait in tent for 1:15 hours for rain to stop. Ascend to Lucifer Pass 8400. Wait in tent for 5:15 hours for rain to stop. Descend north to Rocky Lake 6920 and Hird Lake 6840.

Day 4 Track (purple line is side trip cancelled due to rain)

Gwillim Lakes to Lucifer Pass We needed to complete another leg of the traverse in order to be in position for future days. The Plan: Start hiking despite the threat of rain. If it starts raining hard, quickly set up the Megamid for shelter until it stops. We left camp at 8:20am, 7000 feet. Rain stopped us at 8:55am, 7350 feet. I waited a bit long before pulling out raingear and got my clothes wet. At least the tent was on somewhat grassy ground.

First rain stop (Lucifer Pass in background above).

Eric sharing his daily packets of uneaten crackers.

Hudding in the tent

Started upward again at 10:15. Stopped by rain at Lucifer Pass 11:15am, 8280 feet. This time we were on a pile of rocks. Occasional gusts of stronger wind and snow. Ate all the snacks and lunches that we could scrouge together. Sent InReach messages asking for weather forecasts. Eventually started one reactor stove to make hot beverages and hot water bottles. Stefan periodically went out and scouted, found water to refill bottles. Since the only other feature provided by the tent was a pole, Stefan did a pole dance. Inreach Message received from Mike Helminger: overall rain pattern shows you're at the southern end of a large rotational system. the system is moving very slowly NE, but is huge and extends into Edmonton also, precip noted in b-ham, vancouver BC, whistler. pea soup views at elevation. sunny in seattle after cloudy spitting morning. tell HW hi. and stefan i guess weather.com shows precip magically disappearing in 1-2 hours. looks suspect. InReach Message received from Yana Radenska: Looks like precip should pass around 4, a couple of smaller pockets may return around 6, though they should miss you (they're further north). I'm amazed there's room for the stove with seven of you in the megamid. Inreach Message received from Suzanne Hartman: 85 & sunny here!

Hiking past Upper Gwillim Lakes

Cold and damp

Hot stove

Lucifer Pass to Hird Lake Under low clouds we hiked down the headwaters of Evans Creek, then cut over to Rocky Lake and Hird Lake. Along the way there were some cool falls running down slabs like stairsteps, but mostly still snow covered. There was some slight drizzle along the way. At camp the clouds stayed low but dry and breezy, so we hung up gear everywhere to dry.

Hiking down from Lucifer Pass

Continuing down. Rocky & Hird Lakes at upper left. Some cool water meadows at the bottom.

Stairstep slab waterfalls

Silvery Rocky Lake

Hird Lake camp

Yard sale drying out gear at Hird Lake

Day 4 stats: Cumulative gain 1500, net loss 200. 5.9 miles. 4:00 hours hiking, 6:30 hours waiting in tent. Crux of the day: Rainstorms, but we were assured that weather would be better after today. Low point: Waiting in the tent High point: Getting out of the tent Thankful for: Being in the tent instead of in the rain Also thankful for: Weather info from Mike & Yana

[silence]

Incredible trip! Thanks for posting all those photos guys ... awesome scenery.

[b00]

better late than never? :>)