“Let’s go do William’s Ridge,” they said
“it would be fun,” they said
“It is only a short distance away from the correctional facility,” they said.
This was not the case. William’s Ridge was a tricky hike to find just on the basis of some hiking descriptions. I was looking under the assumption that the trail started before the turn off for Slesse Memorial Trail, but that was not the case. After driving a small loop on the road, we made the decision to attempt Ford Mountain instead and hope for the best. Unsure of the gravel road conditions, we parked on the side of Chilliwack lake road and began our trip.
For the most part the trail is a forest service road, and the actual trail started a lot further than anticipated. We took some caution going along the road since we noticed shell casings littering the road, and bullet holes through trees and posts. In comparison to other hikes I have done in this year this one did not top the charts in terms of views.
A large majority of the views are visible from the forest service road itself, and the viewpoint at the end is densely encased by trees. Funny enough from Ford Mountain’s viewpoint it is possible to see William’s peak-- the original goal that day. The view mainly overlooks the valley where Mount Rexford and Mount Slesse lurk.
I also encountered an interesting breed of quail on the way back. Because I did not want to frighten the bird, I did not take any pictures of them.