Golden Hinde is the tallest peak on Vancouver Island. It stands 2,195 meters (7,201 feet) above sea level.
After my brother Mitchell, his best friend Isaac, and I went on a four-day hike on the Kluhdak Trail last year, we decided that was the beginning of an annual multiday adventure tradition. So this year we went for Golden Hinde.
Most sensible people will take the mountain from the south, parking at the Arnica Lake trailhead on the southern tip of Buttle Lake, hike up to Arnica Lake, and traverse along Philips Ridge to the base of Golden Hinde.
We were not sensible and decided to take it from the north, starting at the Elk River trailhead and following an infrequently used "trail." We knew people had done it, so why not us?
We packed our bags and off we went.
Day One
We dropped Mitchell's truck off at Arnica Lake as our getaway ride and got Isaac's brother to drive us to Elk River.
We budgeted for five days and brought food for six if needed. Our plan: two days to the base of Golden Hinde, one day to the summit, and two days to Mitchell's truck.
It started smoothly. The trail to Landslide Lake was easy to follow and not too difficult. A few kilometers in, one of us got our first wasp sting which we discovered wasn't too uncommon. There were a few nests along the trail that we disturbed. I got bitten twice right below my left eye.
Once we crossed the bridge over Elk River we broke off from Landslide trail. It was immediately more overgrown, like traipsing through a jungle of blueberry bushes. We continued in this way up the valley until we were nestled between Rambler Peak and another mountain I can't find the name of.
We wanted to make it to the lake on the other side of the saddle, but we were getting pretty tired. We camped just before the saddle in a little valley, finding the perfect tenting spot on soft ground surrounded by boulders.
It was the most vibrant mountain sunset I've ever seen. The purple on the mountains was SO beautiful!
Day Two
We made it to the top of the saddle, and what a view there was! It always takes my breath away when I'm high enough to see so many mountains stretched before me. It makes me feel so small but so thrilled. I have all of this to explore!
The trail down the south side of the saddle was steep, and Isaac rolled an ankle on one particularly slippery spot. I was the last to climb down this spot and I grabbed onto a tree just for something to hold on to. I took one step and my feet slid out from under me. I was hanging off
the tree with one arm and had to scramble around to regain my footing. I ended up just sliding on my butt to more solid ground.
When we reached the bottom of the valley it was all wet boggy ground with no markers and that's where the trail went cold.
Facing south looking into the valley we could see a lake to our left, a lake to our
right, and a ridge down the middle. Our map told us to go between the ridge and
the lake on our right, and that was our biggest mistake. There was certainly no trail. But we thought we could pick it up again at the other end, so off we went.
If the lake had been any lower we could have been able to walk along the rocks at the lake side. But as it was, we would scramble over rocks until we reached a log we couldn't pass, then up into the trees to scramble over more logs and boulders. The lake is only about a kilometer from one end to the other but it took us three hours! When we got to the other end, there was still no trail to be found.
We thought we could pick it up at the bottom of the next valley. At this point, we were marching on blind hope following a faulty map. At least we packed lots of food.
The blueberry jungle down there was worse. It was the thickest bushwhacking I've ever done.
Long story short, in an attempt to both follow the trail and take a shortcut, we started climbing up the side of the ridge just west of Mt DeVoe, hoping we could make it up and over instead of going around.
Bad idea.
It was getting late, we were almost to the top, pulling ourselves up a 45-degree slope. Rock cliffs stopped us in our tracks, with no way over or around. It was like a punch to the gut. We sat there for a few minutes and contemplated our lives. We unanimously decided that the next morning we would turn back.
That night we slept squished together between the hillside and a tree that provided a mostly level platform. But dinner was especially tasty that night. Turns out that getting your butt whooped by a bunch of nature creates a roaring appetite.
Day Three
The morning of day three was met with higher spirits in the knowledge that we were getting the heck out of there. We wasted no time in packing up and managed to maintain a steady pace. Everyone was eager to escape.
We took a different route back because the last thing we wanted to do was traverse along the side of that lake again. So we went up the east side of the ridge to the eastern lake.
It was wet that morning with dew, so when we got to the lake the first thing we did was strip as much as we could and lay out our clothes to dry. We spent a blissful two hours lazing around in the sun napping. The thick smoke that rolled in reminded us that it was time to move on.
On our way back to the bottom of the saddle, around lakes and over hills, we found what appeared to be the actual trail that we should have been following in the first place. Not at all where the map said it was. That was a little bit of a smack in the face.
Day Four
We left pretty late this morning. Mountains to the east delayed the sun's rise and made it feel earlier than it was. That's okay though, we didn't have too far to go today.
When we got to the top of the saddle the clouds started rolling in. The sun was gone and it was colourless. Grey sky, grey rocks. We almost made it back into the trees before it started raining.
It was a short day today, just to the bottom of the valley. There is a dry river bed we had walked along on Day One and nice flat tenting spots tucked in the trees there. That was our goal. We made it before it got too wet.
Mitchell had a mishap on our way down, though. The hose on his water bladder popped off and the whole 3 liters drained inside his backpack. Luckily his sleeping bag and extra clothes were at the top of the pack and didn't get too wet.
Fresh oyster mushrooms made a delicious addition to our dinner that night.
Day Five
Mitchell got up early and started without us. He wanted to get a head start and hitchhike to his truck at the other end of Buttle Lake so he could meet us back at the Elk River parking lot. About an hour and a half later we packed up and followed.
Our last day was when we finally saw a bear. The whole time we had seen nothing but birds and perverted squirrels that like to watch you while you're doing business.
I was in the lead, walking somewhat numb-brained and not paying attention, just wanting to get home. Suddenly I got this feeling that there was something in front of me in the bushes and a second later a black bear ran up the hill to my right. I'm glad he wasn't feeling social because I sure wasn't.
We finally made it back to the parking lot and there was Mitchell, sitting in his truck. Once he saw us he ran out and handed us all Werthers caramels, a reward for making it back. But the biggest reward I think was having a pair of clean dry clothes to change into and the knowledge that I don't have to wrestle with any more blueberry bushes.
Our first stop on our way home was for Chinese food and a bucket of ice cream to make milkshakes with rum.
We didn't make it to Golden Hinde, but we're still alive and not too worse for wear. Maybe we'll try again next year.
~ Gaelyn
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