Mount Albert Edward

  • Mount Albert Edward
  • 2093 m
  • Prominence 1201 m
  • Location: North 49.67770, West 125.43166 (GPS)
  • Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
  • Difficulty, YDS class 2
  • Climbed August 23, 2022.

Information:

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.

Resources: