Mellow day to visit Alder Flats at Golden Ears Provincial Park. This spot is often known as a resting stop prior to ascending Golden Ears peak. This hike ends at a clearing about 100 m over the Alder Flats campsite. The clearing allows for amazing views of Golden Ears. Alder Flats is at about 600m high, so I'm not expecting much snow.

Please meet at West Canyon Parking Lot at 9:00 AM.  See the location on Google Maps.  Note that the park gate closes at 5:30 PM, so we'll want to be done by 5:00 PM to give us time to drive out and past the gate.

Distance: 14 km
Estimated Time: 5 hours
Low point: 151 m
High point: 585 m
Elevation gain: 543 m
Cumulative Elevation gain: 875 m

1. Start at West Canyon parking lot and head along West Canyon Trail.
2. Take the fork to Alder Flats.
3. Return back to junction to continue on to East / West Canyon Trail Connector.
4. Return via East Canyon Trail and Lower Falls Trail.
5. Return to West Canyon parking lot from Lower Falls trail parking lot via Menzies tail.

Approximate Trail Map: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/alder-flats-loop--3

• Pack your lunch.
• Bring your 10 essentials.
• Pack microspikes if you think you might need them, but our highest elevation is at 600m only.

Sign up delayed until Saturday evening because the current notice says: Road and campground closed due to hazardous weather conditions – high winds and debris falling from trees as of Feb 11.  I'll check to see if it says that Golden Ears Park Road is open by Saturday.  If it isn't open, I'll reschedule the for another weekend.  Source: BC Parks Status Page and Alouette Parks Twitter Feed

COVID-19 Notices:

No carpooling being arranged due to COVID-19.

If you are sick, just let me know and stay home.  If you are unsure about how you are feeling, use this screening tool: https://bc.thrive.health/covid19/en

• After answering the questions, the tool must return a "You do not need a COVID-19 test at this time" or a "You don't appear to have symptoms of COVID-19" result.