Sep 15, 2009
The road in (we went in via Passmore, and out via Slocan) isn't in as good of shape as I would've thought. Only moderate clearance is needed at best, but it was fairly bumpy in spots and the last few km are steeper and much bumpier; this is where the clearance comes in handy. There was one bit of chicken wire in the parking lot. The trail's in pretty good shape. Bit rocky, but brush-free at least, with about 5 trees across the trail altogether. Keep in mind that the cumulative gain is 850m, so the gain is pretty steady. The 2nd campground (Drinnor Pass/Wicca Lake) looked quite nice, but we stayed at Gwillim Lakes (one night). Nobody in the trail register mentioned seeing any bears. We were the 25th group in September (we went on the 15th). Looks like there's only been a few groups during the week, and then several over the weeked, plus dayhikers throughout. Gwillim Lakes has a food cache, cooking platforms, and an outhouse. Really nice campground actually. All sites have a decent view and aren't too crammed together. There's no campsite at the upper lakes and the view isn't as nice anyways. If you're going to go to Lucifer Pass, keep in mind that if you're at the campground there's 3 spots that look like it could be the pass. There's a trail leading from the outhouse up to the upper basin, and then the most obvious route actually goes up to the left of Lucifer Peak (2725m). If you intend to scramble Lucifer, like I did, then head up this way, but Lucifer pass is to the left of Lucifer Peak. The route to the right has nice views of the Gwillim valley and a better of of the same peaks you see at the lake, but Lucifer Pass grants views into areas you haven't seen yet, although the pass itself isn't particularly hospitable and is much rockier to get to. Lucifer Peak is an easier scramble, except for one moderate, Class 4 move, and a slab that would be quite slippery if wet. Give it a shot though. The crux of the scramble is some exposure, but it's not very technical. I went fairly quickly and did the ascent, from the campground, in 1hr, and would definitely recommend it to those who've done a bit of scrambling before.
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