List of Club Maintained Trails Added to Site

@chrisl - 501 Posts

Created: 10 years ago

I have added an inventory of all of the current B.C.M.C. maintained trails to the site.  They are found under the "News - Media" Menu and the "GPS Trip Routes" Menu Item.  

If you have photos of the relevant trails, I would love to add them to the trail descriptions.  Furthermore, if you are aware of a club maintained trail that is not listed, please inform me so I can add it.

Please be aware that the B.C.M.C. Trail and The Lions Trail have been intentionally omitted form this list as we are no longer actively maintaining those trails.  I strongly believe that it is no longer in the best interest of the B.C.M.C. to do so.

@gum - 27 Posts

Created: 10 years ago

I built the Yak Pk trail in 2000 and have since worked on it every few years. It's well traveled now and doesn't need much upkeep. Even the one rope section doesn't seem to age much, though I don't know it's present condition.

@wernerg - 156 Posts

Created: 10 years ago

Omitting or using the BCMC Trail on our Web Page?:

 1. As the past BCMC Marketing Manager for 2-3 years I spoke to thousands of Vancouver outdoor enthusiasts (most of them potential members) at various MEC’s and Outdoor events during our discontinued promotion events.------ I think almost *All* of those outdoor enthusiasts knew the BCMC from the BCMC trail!!-

2. For probably 60-70% of those thousands of hikers-climbers the BCMC trail was the only thing they knew about the BCMC!

3. The BCMC trail is the biggest, most valuable marketing asset the BCMC has – we should make some use of it in our advertising/branding.

3. There are thousands and thousands of Grouse Grinders passing (some are using) the BCMC trail weekly – we just have to pick up 5% of them  as members.  Many of those hikers know us positively only because of  the BCMC trail!

4. The BCMC Trail is and can be developed/monetized as  the biggest marketing/branding asset the club has - I suggest that we prominently support and feature the BCMC Trail on our web page!!! - Develop it into the 'hen that lays golden eggs'. The BCMC trail can easily add 30-50+ members each year - thousands of dollars in club revenue over the years!

@chrisl - 501 Posts

Created: 10 years ago

I disagree with you Werner on quite a few points.  First of all, we have not been involved in the maintenance of the B.C.M.C. Trail for many years (if not decades).  Thus, it would not be true to claim that it is a B.C.M.C. Maintained Trail.  Secondly, I would not invest my personal time to maintain a trail where the financial benefit goes to a commercial ski operation; an operation that should pay for and perform such maintenance.   I do not believe that reflects my core values, nor the core values of the B.C.M.C.  If our goal is to attract "Grouse Grinders" to become members of the B.C.M.C. under the guise of store discounts, then by all means we should invest our time into maintaining the BCMC Trail.  I am not convinced that this is desirable.  In my experience, that kind of membership tends to be ephemeral in nature.

I will state, however, that if you or any other B.C.M.C. member wishes to take the initiative by organizing work parties to maintain the B.C.M.C. Trail, then that trail would become relevant to add to the list.  I can state in no uncertain terms however, that there is little to no appetite amongst the core trail builders in the club to take on such a project.

@chrisl - 501 Posts

Created: 10 years ago

 

I built the Yak Pk trail in 2000 and have since worked on it every few years. It's well traveled now and doesn't need much upkeep. Even the one rope section doesn't seem to age much, though I don't know it's present condition.

Hello Peter.  

I notice that the Yak Peak Trail is not indexed in Bivouac (but is of course in 103 hikes).  It would be nice to have a recent report on the condition of the trail and a photo(s) before proceeding.  Furthermore, I require a GPX file of the current trail in order to include it in the listing.

@gum - 27 Posts

Created: 10 years ago

Bivouac.com   Trip Page   Home   gum@triumf.ca
Yak and Nak - New Trail #3245 by Peter Gumplinger
Update   UploadPhoto   Upload Raw Gpx   ShrinkPhotos   Edit Log   Checkoff   Radius Search   GMap ?   JavaMap   ZoomMap
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Trip_3245.gif
  Subject Mountain:Yak Peak   RangesPacific Cordillera / Cascade Range / Canadian Cascades / Zopkios Ridge
  Park: Coquihalla Summit Recreation Area
Download Trip Waypoints as GPX file?
Closest Town: (25 km W of Tulameen). 
September 15, 2000   (1 days) Calculated Length: 2 km   Value: 19
Difficulty: 

Access:   

A new hiking trail gives easy access to the alpine below the summits of Yak and Nak Peaks. The trail starts not far from the Zopkios Ridge rest area on the Coquihalla Highway. From Vancouver, take the 2nd exit before the tollbooth; proceed through the underpass to the north side of the highway, then straight ahead into the upper lot where there are picnic tables. To find the trail, walk east up the ramp and start counting lampposts as you continue beside a concrete divider. Near the fifth lamppost a large stone cairn marks the beginning of the trail. At first, the trail leads down the embankment, crosses a creek which flows here in the middle of a swampy perimeter, and then enters the mature forest. The trail climbs in the trees to the tongue of a talus slope that drops from near the start of the popular 'Yak Crack' rock-climbing route. Cairns along the far (west) side of the scree slope mark the easiest ascent option. Climb to the very top of the talus where a short trail through heather gives access to the very base of the magnificent granite face.

As you turn the corner and begin to follow the trench between the wall and the slide alder, watch for climbers overhead who may accidentally dislodge small rocks. The trench holds a stream during run-off or after heavy rain. Short detours bypass the wettest and waterfall-type sections. The trail leads eventually away from the wall, cuts up through some patches of alder, and arrives at the base of a separate small granite slab. This slab can be friction climbed directly when the rock is dry, or else, a swath exists through krummholz to the left of the slab. Above this section, the route follows an obvious draw until it emerges near the foot of a hanging basin. Several large cairns and many ribbons on nearby trees mark this spot. The route becomes sketchy from here on up with the terrain wide open. So don't proceed in whiteout conditions unless you are very confident that you can find the locality again on your descent. It is a classic place where, once off-route going down, you can get into a dangerous situation.

A few more ribbons continue up through the middle of the slope, touch a corner in the vegetation, then lead toward the broad ridge. From here, it is rambling along the ridge, over a hump, and on to the summit of Nak Peak. There is no trail but the few bushes do not pose much of a problem. To gain the summit of the closer Yak Peak, hikers must be prepared to climb an intervening, permanent snowfield safely. It is only about 40m wide, but steep enough that a short slip can result in serious injury. Scrambling up steep rock on the south side sometimes avoids the snow (This snow field had melted completely during the summer of 2001). A short excursion leads left to the top of the false summit. This is a good place to get a feeling what it is like to climb the face; just don't lean over the edge too far! For the true summit, return to the broad col and ascend near the edge of the trees.

Much of the trail is covered by snow well into the summer, making this a spectacular late summer and autumn hike. It is only about two to three hours up from the cars.

Waypoints

NAD27/WGS84   WGS84 Lat-LongKmDescription
368-951   368-953   49.59529, -121.10656 0.0 trailhead
370-956   370-958   49.60010, -121.10374 0.6 talus slope
370-957   370-960   49.60114, -121.10358 0.7 base of slab
372-959   372-961   49.60260, -121.10060 1.0 route
370-962   370-964   49.60504, -121.10379 1.3 yak sub peak
369-964   369-966   49.60684, -121.10513 1.5 Yak Peak

@chrisl - 501 Posts

Created: 10 years ago

I now understand my confusion Peter.  There is no trail entry for the Yak Peak Trail in Bivouac and the waypoints you presented are from your trip report in 2000.  I notice that those Waypoints are also identical to those provided on Club Tread.  Do you know the manner in which they were generated/gathered?

I have editor status on Bivouac and can add the trail in Bivouac as well, and can help by performing a little research into the current status of the trail.

@gum - 27 Posts

Created: 10 years ago

No Chris, I don't know/remember how the waypoints were gathered. All I know is that I didn't have a GPS in 2000. My guess is that Robin somehow added them later and somebody (maybe even me) added the whole of bivouac to clubtread.

There is an update on the conditions at: http://forums.clubtread.com/27-british-columbia/30029-yak-peak.html

and: http://forums.clubtread.com/8-british-columbia-mainland/7954-yakyakyaking-about-yak-peak-2.html

but both are over 10 years old since.

@ScottNelson - 116 Posts

Created: 10 years ago

I've run a number of BCMC trips to do work on the Hanging Lake and Beverley Creek ski trails in the Callaghan Valley, and I plan to continue to do so in the future.

@chrisl - 501 Posts

Created: 10 years ago

Hello Scott and Peter,

I have added both of your trails.  If you have recent photos you would like to include, please send them to me.

@Peter, I was able to find a very good recent writeup with photos of the Yak Peak Trail from 2015.  I included that link and reference in the GPS entry for the trail.