How to get there:
Locate Campbell River on Hwy. 19. The fork towards the trailhead is
located about 40 kilometer south on Hwy. 19. This road is named
Strathcona Parkway. This road serves a ski area located approximately
20 kilometer west. Drive there and locate a large parking lot at the
end of the road, location
N49.74519, W125.31875, elevation almost 1100 meter. Park here.
See this summary of climbs in BC, August 2022.
Route::
Follow the signed trail towards Circlet Lake Campground. This is a big and
frequently used trail, the first part has several sections with boardwalk.
The trail gains and looses elevation, Circet Lake being about 100 meter higher
than the trailhead.
The trail to Circlet Lake forks right while the trail to Albert Edward continues
straight.
This is a popular site to camp, the first campsites (wooden platforms) are only
a few hundred meter from the trail fork.
The climb may also be done in a
long day (about 35 kilometer).
Continue from the trail fork, the trail will climb more sustained here. You emerge out
above the main vegetation and see the pretty obvious route. The trail first connects
to the main crest by curving left, then bends right
with a final, short uphill to
the summit. The trail is well marked all the way.
Comments:
We had decided to wrap up our ascents on Vancouver Island with Albert Edward.
It also seemed reasonable to hike to
the camp at Circlet Lake the first day.
Dave wanted to also collect the lower prominence "bonus" peaks in the area, this
turned out to take all afternoon.
We left around 0900 and it took us somewhat less than 3 hours
to reach Circlet Lake.
A few partys were already camped there, but many free
platforms for tents were still available.
We pitched our tent and Dave set out on his
extra hike that turned out to last 6 hours. Adam and I relaxed in the afternoon.
We started around
0700 the next morning and had a
good hike to the summit, about 2 hours.
Nice weather and nice views all around.
There was a fire across
at Golden Hinde, the highest peak on the island.
The return hike in slightly less time, Adam
went off to do a nearby bonus peak while Dave and I returned
to camp and prepaared for the hike back out to the trailhead.
Adam returned, but needed a short break, thus we stayed about 30 minutes ahead
of him also on our return hike.
Now it was time to say bye to Dave, certainly a very nice new friend. Thanks for
some very nice days together. Adam and I decided to try to meet Mclellan in order
for me to climb Silvertip, however on the ferry we received information that the
access road was washed out. Thus, we ended up with a long drive to The Pinnacles.