Hike up, run down. Wanted to finally tag this peak after two other attempts in previous years that each failed for separate reasons. Rough winter conditions and faulty route finding was one of them many moons ago.
I had a brush with Ultra Running Royalty. Heather MacDonald, the race director and creator of our very own FatDog 120 was setting up a support station in the Watcom/Dewdney trail head parking lot for a small group unofficially running this years race. The race was cancelled due to Covid unfortunately, but half a dozen Canadian athletes were still giving it a go.
As for trail beta... the first 2 hours of the Dewdney > Watcom trail to Snass is a super nice trail in excellent condition with a soft trail bed and somewhat consistent rise in elevation (totally runnable in parts up and almost the entire way down from the high pass).
The trail (*cough*) from the pass to the peak is really a mix of all kinds of route finding, steep grass/heather, scree slog/skiing and mild class 2-3 scrambling.
Had the place to myself the entire day other that meeting two young women coming down from the false peak as I topped out on the steep lower heather section.
Swatted a few mosquitoes and wildflowers were magnificent!
Distance: 24 km
Cumulative Gain: 2100 m
Average Grade: 17%
Moving Time: 5:45 hrs
Total Time: 7:45 hrs
Number of Photos: 312
Caveat: GPS track provided as a reference, use at your own risk. I recommend you get used to using a GPS track and device or two (I always have a backup), do your due diligence and hike/scramble within your skills and comfort zone.
Check me out on