An amazing sunrise, extreme clear skies and 25 degrees @ 9am, time to get some hiking in. Decided on a fairly tame hike up to Alder Flats to get a better look at Golden Ears Mountain and check out the camping conditions. I was not disappointed.

You start at the West Canyon Parking lot. Quickly burn through 2 km‘ish of flat open trail until you hit some undulation and you are immediately rewarded with a nice view of river valley of the Gold Creek aptly named Gold Creek Lookout . The trail continues on uneventfully with a few creek crossings, some active some completely dry. (there are a number of water sources along this trail, but take note from people I talked to water is not so plentiful at panorama ridge camping area, so the creek about 5 minutes before Alder flats is definitely a place to top up.)

It is only 5 km from parking lot to Alder Flats and without many photo ops, a little traffic, and a few mildly challenging sections, I was able to make it in 1.75hrs (Park recommends 2.5hrs).

Aside: Met some interesting people along the way. One guy in particular that I met up above the flats had quit smoking that morning. *grin*

Once at Alder Flats the trail meanders through some campsites, passes by the washroom and turns up an old logging road(?). I continued to ascend to see if there were some better views to be had.

Suggestion: I would recommend to anyone travelling to the flats to take another 15-20 min and keep moving up the trail towards panorama ridge as the views open up dramatically to give you a clear view of Edge Peak and Golden Ears.

As soon as the trail turned in to the trees I turned around and headed back.

Summary: easy trail, no snow, some rooty sections, hardly any mud, mildly busy (passed about 20-25 people) a few mosquitoes, occasional horse / black fly... I was told they were worse at around the 7-9km mark just below the Panorama Ridge.


20120805
Trail: Alder Flats, Golden Ears
Distance: 11Km Elevation: 280m High Point: 480m
Time: 3.25 hrs
Park Gate: 7:00am - 11:00pm
No Parking Fees!
Co-organizer: Maple Ridge Hiking Group