Monashee Provincial Park 2019

I'd never heard of this park before till Dave mentioned it. It's certainly a beauty. It's 111 km northeast of Vernon and has some of the oldest rock formations in Western Canada. The park protects substantial stands of old growth cedar, hemlock and spruce.

Day 1: 7 km / 275m gain / 950m high / 2 hour MT

Leaving Chilliwack at 8:00am, it was 4:00pm before we started hiking. We entered a dark forest with thunder booming above us, followed by spats of rain. So we were very thankful when we got to Spectrum Lake where Dave W had secured campsites for us. They actually had 3 shelters with picnic tables!

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Day 2: 10.4 km / 856m gain / 4.5 hours MT

How lovely it was to wake up to sunshine. The carpet of bright green moss on the forest floor lit up and the lake glittered. This proved to be our hardest day. The trail was steep and our backpacks were full and heavy. Once at Little Peters Lake, we'd done most of the elevation gain and were now out in the alpines. It was another hour before we arrived at our home for the next 3 nights: Big Peters Lake.

Spectrum Lake.

We shared our picnic table with Patrick & Lynn.

The steep climb.

Little Peters Lake.

Slate Mt.

Big Peters Lake with Slate Mt.

Good thing we didn't come on the weekend. There were enough campsites for all of us. Only 1 of the 10 sites had been claimed.

Case in his happy place. There were lots of trout in this lake.

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Day #3: Mt. Fosthall summit -- 13 km / 1137m gain / 2691m high

Morning mist on the lake and Slate Mt (2400m).

Ascending the gully below South Cariboo Pass.

Monkey Face flowers grow by the creeks.

northwest

Big Peter Lake. Once at the pass a whole new view opened up to us.

We soon left the trail and followed the rock cairns along the base of the ridge. We angled toward the left of the summit, onto that ridge.

south

west

southeast

northeast

northwest

north on Valley of the Moon -- apparently when there's a full moon, this long stretch of flat white rock lights up and it almost looks like day in the night

Valley of the Moon -- north.

west to north to east

Heading back -- south.

Back at the pass.

After dinner snack. Sooo good.

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Day #4: Fawn Lake - 16.5 km / 683m gain / 2050m high

This day was partially cloudy. With 2 harder hiking days behind us, we were more relaxed this day, knowing it would not be as demanding.

At this spot there was no trail. We had to search a bit and found it at the left edge of the meadow.

There was alot of bog as we headed toward Fawn Lake.

At Fawn Lake - north.

We stood on an embankment 5 km in, looking north with a huge meadow just below us. Dave W saw a waterfall in the distance. So we agreed to head for it and have lunch there.

Filled with Indian Paintbrush.

I needed Case's body because I was getting cold.

Heather, Dave and I scouted out this area just round the corner from the falls.

Interesting rock formations.

As we approached our lunch spot, we wondered why everyone was suddenly in such a rush to get going. Then we saw the hail.

We all got wet from the unexpected downpour but by the time we were past Fawn Lake we were dry once again.

Fawn Lake.

Group shot: Top row: Lynn M, Patrick R, Dave W, Anne O'L, Janice H bottom: Heather B, me & Case

Mt. Fosthall -- south.

Back at Big Peters Lake.

A curious guest.

A sure fire way to dry your clothes.

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Day #5: 16 km / 290m gain / 820m high at parking lot

We knew this'd be a full day so we got up early at 5:30am. Sound early? Not when you go to bed when it's dark (9:00pm).

Little Peters Lake & M.t Fosthall.

This time we by-passed Spectrum Lake and we enjoyed the forest more because it was sunny.

By mid afternoon we were on the road and headed for home.

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