Mount Pope in the Snow – Winter Snowshoe Hike
Despite enjoying summer-like temperatures well into October last fall, winter came with some bite in early November and the weather has been particularly unpredictable over the last four months. It makes for a rather long, dark season in our area and, particularly with small children, its not always easy to get out adventuring. We did get out on the snowshoes as a family in early January – just an afternoon hike down to an old ferry crossing on the Nechako river – but this time we wanted to put some extra effort into a proper snowshoe hike. Mid-week Leroy suggested Mount Pope in Fort St James, so I scrambled to get permission from BC Parks to fly our drone and get things sorted at our commercial kitchen to have the day off from cooking and packaging beef stroganoff. Some extended family were happy to watch the girls for the day and the weather even looked like it would cooperate.
What with a few last minute things to tackle in Vanderhoof and the stop in Fort St. James to drop off Anna and Alice, we didn’t get the earliest of starts. The trail is almost 6.5km to the peak with an overall elevation gain of 850m, so its a significant trek, even in warmer weather. February days in the north are still quite short and we weren’t going to have a lot of time to get all the way out and back. Leroy brought a headlamp in case of emergency but we planned to be off the mountain before dark.
We’ve both hiked the trail numerous times in the summer, and Leroy snowshoed to the peak once before, but this was my first time mountain snowshoeing. It was very slick at the bottom – just an inch or so of snow from the night before over top of ice from rain and warmer weather earlier in the week. It wasn’t clear how advantageous the snowshoes were at this point, but when Leroy went back to retrieve some key filming equipment that had been forgotten, it was obvious how well the crampons and cleats were working, even on the flat spots. The familiar steep switchbacks of the first two kilometres of trail were hard work and amount of snow increased considerably along the way but the weather was mild and sunny and we we plenty warm in just sweaters. We took a bit of a break at the first viewpoint to enjoy the scenery and get some pictures and then continued on.
Just past the two kilometre mark the trail levels out and even descends a bit as it follows along a ridge towards the main part of the mountain. We made much better time, but snowshoeing is not just hiking, and even on more level terrain it is more work. The snowshoe track we were following was narrow and partly snowed in, requiring one of us to break it in wider as we went along. Once the trail started uphill again, it was obvious we were tired. We slogged up and around from the north side of the hill back around to the south where it overlooks the lake – slowly. Nevertheless, we were determined to make the next viewpoint before getting out the stove and making some hot meals and coffee.
The afternoon was getting on once we got to the clearing at the 5km marker and the weather had turned. The blue sky had disappeared behind the clouds and a cold breeze had come up from the east. We got out the stove and kettle and got some water heating while Leroy got some footage of the scenery, but it didn’t take long before the warmth from hiking gave way to chills and cold. Within a half hour of stopping we had some hot meals ready to eat – Leroy enjoyed some Stroganoff and I scarfed down a package of Lasagne. We had also brought up a bag of Mac and Cheese in case we were extra hungry, but the servings we had were about perfect and we saved the other for another day. Paired with a mug of instant coffee, we were soon warm again on the inside and feeling motivated to get moving again. Unfortunately, the weather and the daylight weren’t going to co-operate enough for us to reach the peak. It was now past three in the afternoon and the sun was low in the increasingly cloudy sky. We had about two hours to get down before dark and decided it was wiser to head down than up.
We reached the truck just as it was starting to get dark. The wind had picked up and it looked likely to snow later in the evening. I was happy to sit and warm up on the way home and we had both appreciated the opportunity to get outside for the day. Good thing too, as it looks like winter has at least one more cold snap in store for us before spring.