Late in the evening of the 10th of August I hopped on ferry with a few bags of gear headed for Prince Rupert. The mission had originally by Mt. Robson but with a limited time and poor weather around the mountain we switched the destination to Weeskinisht (or as I dubbed it - Whatchamacallit). My pal Shawn was driving up from Montana with his old Chevy and met me in Prince Rupert. We grabbed some groceries and headed into the Seven Sisters Provincial Park.
Gearing up at the trailhead. This is actually the second time I've been in this park. The last time was in August 2013. Maybe someday I'll get around to blogging those photos too.
Poor Chevy had to eat it's greens. It wasn't the friendliest road but it sure beat walking.
As you can see, Shawn carried the light pack.
AC/DC anyone?
We finally arrived at our campsite at dusk. A mere 5.5 hours after we began. Dan, my partner from 2013 would be jealous of the shortcut we took.
And there goes a day. Rain and clouds met us our first day. I played tour guide to Shawn pointing out all the sights that were hidden behind clouds. For all he knew I could have been making everything up. This sign was on the other side of the mountain range. We never did get to see much more than our feet all day long.
The following day was glorious in the sense that we could see farther than our feet. There were mountains! We started up soon after it got light.
Pointing the way.
Looking down and the broad alpine plane. Considerable mining exploration had taken place in this area which is why we had a long trail to follow instead of an impossibly thick forest that would have been a nightmare to hike through. This was also the first time the sun had emerged in a couple days.
We gained the ridge next to camp and started the long hike up toward the summit. The glacial bowl was clear and we were able to enjoy the scenery. The mountain that Dan and I dubbed the Shark Fin is visible in the background.
Climbing into the clouds.
My previous climb had been along the ridge proper, this time we followed ledges along the side of the ridge and made pretty good time.
As we scrambled toward the top the ceiling seemed to be rising at about the same rate. Here we gained the primary ridge that intersected the one we had been following.
We scrambled around for a while to see if the large cumulus clouds would dissipate and allow us to climb on or grow more threatening and chase us down the mountain. It turned out to be neither - they stayed pretty much the same for the next several hours as we sat tight and enjoyed the view.
The knife edge ridge lost in the passing clouds.
Every so often the glacial cirque facing the Skeena River would clear off just enough to reveal the mountain's grandeur.
After about three hours we finally caught a glimpse of what we thought was the top... it actually turned out to be close to the top but not quite it.
The scene is big. 180 degrees from my toes to the sky and from right to left. Glacial cirques on either side made a gorgeous scene.
Enjoying the view of the Skeena.
Hiking down. Big cumulus clouds still hugged the large peaks and would drift in and out.
The ridge to the right is what I topped out on a couple years ago.
The fin.
Looking down at the broad alpine plateau that we had wandered across the day before without the benefit of seeing anything.
The knob on the left was our high point for the day.
Hiking down the long ridge.
There's camp! (that green dot)
Spotted a butterfly in the alpine. Stalked as close as I could and...
This is what happens when you stalk something through the viewfinder instead of watching the ground. I stepped off a rock and took a tumble as I clicked the shutter. Needless to say, the butterfly flew away.
Packing up camp. This "altar" is actually our picnic table. I started building it in 2013 and expanded it this time around to include a cubby for cooking, a table, cutting board and two little seats.
Shawn spotted a fossil and I had to capture it before we headed back. Reminds me of a frond from a deer furn.
Hiking down the mountain. Our camp was over the hill. This photo is taken next to a location where someone has a nice little camp amid some mountain hemlock.
Walking out of the subalpine.
I really like this stream. I should have been photographing it on our gray day. This was actually the fourth time I walked by it and each time I've done so the tripod had stayed in the pack... Until today.
Another stream photo.
Camp offers an unobstructed view of this mountain. The trail still offered a great view between the trees.
We made it back to the truck a little after midnight. Whew! What a long hike. Shawn broke out the queen size air mattress and we finally went to bed after 1am.
Jeralyn asked me to take a picture of a train. No problem! We saw a train right off the bat and I didn't get my camera out because I knew we would see a lot more. Well, we saw this one sitting in a yard on our return. I stuck the camera out the window and snapped a photo. It's a good thing I did because this was the only one we saw for the rest of the trip.
I wanted to follow what appeared to be a really neat trail on one of may maps into the alpine where there appeared to be some climbable rock. We hunted for that trail for quite some time but could never find it. I have a feeling it was abandoned quite some time ago. So we settled for another climbing spot that turned out to be quite a bit of fun. This particular pitch was the first of 6 or 7. We just went up to the first belay anchor and came down.
A nearby climbing wall offered a few more routes that we played around on until all strength was gone. Unfortunately I was on high-alert belay as Shawn crawled upside down under this roof looking like a spider on a ceiling. He pulled it off too! I was impressed. I found my way up this portion of rock but followed an alternative route that did require any spider-man moves. Next we found a mountain stream suitable for bathing. Always nice to feel clean after a few days of hard climbing and hiking. But boy, was it cold!
Shawn was bringing back an antique rocking chair from Montana to his home in Ketchikan. We decided that we should bring it aboard and use it in the morning. So as the sun got ready to rise and as we were entering Alaskan waters Shawn grabbed his mug and a book and enjoyed the lovely surroundings in a rocking chair.
Although it may appear as though we were alone, quite a few admirers were checking out the comfortable seating. Great way to end a fun trip.
