I was carrying 50lbs and I’m not sure why,
except that that is what I use to do and it seemed like the right thing to do. Duh.
Sorry some of the photos aren't that great - low light and I need to work on that.
Gearing up at home to see fit and carryability . . .
My original plan was to start in Glade and go the short distance to the Siwash Lake trail,
head up mountain and do a little fishing,
then head down and continue on the Skattebo Reach Trail
to the park and ride on the other side of the bridge from the dam.
As can be seen by the map leaving from Castlegar north on hwy 3A a short distance,
you can take a ferry to a small community called Glade.
Once in Glade you go up and turn right on the Glade road, and go to the end.
That is the start of the trail; well it is actually a bush road for quite a ways.
It starts with a bridge that may not be passable with a vehicle.
As it was, I got a late start.
I can also report that the trails are not marked except for the main trail.
So the way to Siwash Lake was unknown.
Below is the way I thought might go to the lake and didn't feel right about it.
I went a kilometer or so up but decided that if I was on the wrong trail
it was to late in the day to make that mistake,
so came back down and proceeded on the main trail to Castlegar.
This is the start of the trail past the sign, open and flat and dry
Part way in there is a trail off to the left,
not sure where it goes as it is not marked.
Further on, there is an other trail,
this one less traveled, and has an old unused outhouse.
These are a couple of small trees with the bark totally rubbed off,
I thought hardly sturdy enough to be a back scratcher for a bear ???
At the end of the road; where it turns into a trail
there is a very large rock, sorry no photo,
but this is one of the places that gets close to the water.
It may be 1/8 or less of the way along.
The trail is marked along the way and this is about the first.
Here I am about 1/3 to ˝ way in, and done,
toast,
at this rest stop I decide to become a “Gram counter”
I could have carried less water,
and used my water treatment equipment more often,
but was unsure of the availability of water along the way.
I have my pack weight down from 50lbs to 23lbs
and would like to redo this trail,
and get an early start and get to Siwash Lake do some fishing and then go at it a little slower.
With the pack weight that I had,
and that my car was at the end,
and my wife gone for the weekend,
I felt that I had to bull my way through to the end.
Next time; a little slower and more photos, this trail deserves it.
PS. It wasn’t till near the end that I saw indications of bear.
One old scat and some thing really weird;
it looked to be the size of bear scat but it was a pile of berries that looked like it was thrown up by a bear.
Sorry no photo, but as much as I wanted to
the strong urge to vacate was stronger
as it looked really fresh, and I didn’t want to stick around long.
Updates to come.
PPS. It has been a couple of weeks since this trip,
and I have come to the conclusion
that there is a lot to discover in this trail.
And it is only 20 minutes from home, and
it would be a good 4 season trail.
Winter could be a real challenge . . . I'll see,
but for now I think it will become my home trail.
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Originally Posted by mbiraman
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