I decided to continue driving to the spur road and my vehicle was able to make it after 2km. Took 2 hours from there to reach the lake below Illal Peak. Jim Kelly and Coquihalla Mountain Traverse. Coquihalla Summit on the TCT t75; Other Parts of BC. The trail then enters into a fairly open sub-alpine area, and the views start getting better and better. We drove 19 km on the Tulameen FSR which was very well maintained and we reached Illal creek. The first hour or so was spent in mature forest with not much to see, and once reaching the meadows we could at least see the three objectives that we were going to ascend. Awesome day hike or an easy overnighter! Mt. Connor went for the down-climb and Vlad decided to fully bypass. Vlad and Connor down-climbing immediately below the summit, Connor finishing the long 3rd class ridge below the summit, Vlad followed me up the 4th class crux out of the notch, This is looking across Coquihalla River towards Needle Peak, Vlad starting down the steep stretch on lower NE Ridge, Vlad trying to pick a better line on descent, Vlad had already done Jim Kelly Peak but needed Illal Mountain, so that’s our next objective in this day. Me down-climbing 4th class crux into the notch. scramble route. The trail to Illal Meadows was unofficial, but appeared to be nicely maintained. Would also recommend camping by the tarn to the north of Jim Kelly, some great looking spots there. Driving to the Tulameen FSR was smooth but after the 19km FSR road marker you can either park your car there, to save your vehicle at some pretty serious paint job damage as the road has become very overgrown. Vlad and Connor was faster by retracing our ascent line and in another short while we were all back to the low saddle between Coquihalla Mtn. I had decided to avoid that 4th class step on the lower NE Ridge so went to explore farther down-climber’s left side. To the west there are good views of Yak and Nak. There’s a fun scramble shortcut path that’s visible from the lake to get to the top of Illal, and a more moderate route via the western side. Note the overcast sky, Arriving at Illal Meadows, looking towards “Spiral Peak” in the distance. Discover the most beautiful places, download GPS tracks and follow the top routes itinerary on a map. Photo by Connor M. Vlad scrambling the long, exposed 3rd class terrain towards the summit, Another photo of me on the summit of Coquihalla Mountain. Although the route to the summit itself requires two sections of scrambling, people who find themselves uncomfortable with the route can alternately follow a secondary route that leads to a small alpine lake. The fall colors were so beautiful on this trail and there was water running literally everywhere (probably due to the light snow). The trail is primarily used for hiking and walking and is best used from July until October. Yak Peak is located in the middle of the Coquihalla Summit Recreation Area. The trail is not marked but it is easy to follow and once you get to the meadows there are cairns (pile of rocks) which shows the trail. Loop trails, often including a Trans Canada Trail segment, allow for not having to retrace back. A popular year-round destination, Needle Peak offers supurb views of the Coquihalla area and a great hike along a sub-alpine ridge. The original plan was to reverse the traverse back to Coquihalla/Jim Kelly col but if we couldn’t see Adam and Frances we had to descend the south slopes. The route I took was 3rd class but very loose. This is not a mark trail, hikers must way-find their route to the summit. COQUITLAM BC V3E 1P1 An ascent of this peak via the traverse along with the nearby Jim Kelly Peak and Illal Mountain had been on my radar for a couple years but because the access would never fall apart I didn’t want to prioritize this trip. Thynne in the background, This is zooming-in back towards Jim Kelly Peak, Frances approaching the summit via the south side route. Overall a very good hike except the drive cause I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to off road driving. The origin… 16. Photo by Connor M. Vlad and Connor scrambling the lower NE Ridge. Facebook There are two commonly used routes and both are “scrambles”. From there -where trail starts on Alltrails map- we drove about another 2km on overgrown logging road and we parked the the car. It is a light scramble with no exposure but you should watch for loose rocks. It’s a fun class 2 scramble, with some more interesting paths further to the right. I opted for a “in-between” line that turned out to be the slowest route. Help keep our trails and parks open during COVID-19 by committing to social distancing. Jim Kelly and Coquihalla Mountain Traverse is a 12.4 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Okanagan-Similkameen H, British Columbia, Canada that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as difficult. ... Like many alpine hikes, the first hour or so is slugging up through the forest. Find the Trans Canada Trail nearest to you! Feature Trans Canada Trail segments and other iconic short and extended journeys. Vlad on the typical loose terrain on the lower NE Ridge. The trail became indistinct at places once the trees thinned out but we still had no problem following the path to the three-way junction among Coquihalla Mtn., Jim Kelly Peak and Illal Mountain. We summited Jim Kelly on July 24th. Once on the ridge, it is a great alpine hike/scramble with some exposed sections. Coquihalla Summit Recreation Area is a national park in British Columbia. Click to view large size. Thankfully the Tacoma was equipped for that and we managed to drive to the actual trail-head. Some trails or park services may be closed this weekend so check with local authorities before heading out. Urquhart in “East Harrison” area because I thought the gate of the access road was open somehow, and because of that I easily convinced Adam, Frances, Connor and Vlad to join. We weren’t doing too good on time. is a lonely and prominent massif, highest summit of Bedded Range south-east of the headwaters of Coquihalla River. we decided to bag the main prize first. Great weather besides wind at night, no bugs, no mud. (604) 942-6768. I had driven this way earlier in the year for Mt. Vancouver Island. This peak is highly visible and the access is “easy” by BC standard via logging roads in Tulameen River drainage. Falls Lake is a beautiful lake located in the subalpine of the Coquihalla Summit Recreation Area between the towns of Hope and Merritt. The trail is a short, well marked route that follows a creek right to the shores of the lake, offering scenic views of Nak Peak to the left and Zoa Peak to the right. I would definitely recommend taking the NE/E Ridge (Traverse) for those capable scrambling “class 3+” on not-so-great rocks. Just as we were discussing the two of them showed up and gave a “poor quality” rating of their route, not to our surprise. The up-climb out of the notch felt easier than down-climbing and in another while we were back to the far NE summit. From the parking spot it is an 8.5 km hike up a clear trail to a great alpine meadow. I really enjoyed the class-3 knife edges at times, which was fun but not sketchy. Once the initial buttress was over the rest of the scramble onto the first summit was mostly just “class 2”. The Area presents a beautiful setting for wildlife viewing, surrounding vistas and many trail systems. Adam and Frances wanted to stick to the “standard route” down and around to the south side but Vlad, Connor and I were determined to try the direct traverse, which we thought was the more efficient way to reach the summit. This further solidified the decision to reverse the traverse. The hike that had caught my attention was the hike up Needle Peak. The trail is primarily used for hiking and walking and is best used from July until October. North Burnaby / Vancouver Bike Loop (60 km), Victoria-Cowichan-Salt Spring c51 (180 km), Saanich-Esquimalt-Victoria c52 (10-88 km), BC Parkway-Central Valley Greenways Loop c36a, S Burnaby-S Van-Lulu Is Richmond-Queensborough Loop c34a, Port Mann-Golden Ears-Pitt Bridges Loop c41, Port Mann-Alex Fraser-Queensborough Bridges Loop 41a, Musqueam Cycle Loop: Point Gray and Vicinity, North Burnaby-Vancouver with sub-loops c53, South Vancouver-Burnaby & N.W Loops/sub-loops c54, Vernon to Kelowna and Kelowna Cycle Loops, Crippen Regional Park and Lakes Bowen Island w6a, Crystal Falls-Burke Mountain Village Community Loops w27, Bridges found along our trail system in Metro Vancouver, Waiver to participate in Trails BC Meetups, Cheam Cycle Journey: Othello-Hope to Agassiz for FraserFEST 2020, Kwantlen cycle Journey: Dewdney to Glen Valley for FraserFEST 2020, Kwikwetlem Cycle Journey: Three Bridges Loop FraserFEST 2020, Shawnigan Lake to Lake Cowichan on the TCT t56, Chemainus to Haslam Creek Suspension Bridge on the TCT t58, Nanaimo River to Departure Bay on the TCT t59, Wedgewood to Whistler Train Station on the TCT t60, Chekkamus Canyon to Shannon Falls on the TCT t62, Dundarave to Lonsdale Quay (2 ways) on the TCT t63, Coal Harbour to Science World on the TCT t64, New Brighton Park to Lafarge Lake on the TCT t65, Lafarge Lake to the Fort at Fort Langley on the TCT t66, Douglas Taylor Park to Wilband Park on the TCT t69, Cemetery on the Discovery Trail to Lickman Rd on the TCT t70, Chilliwack Fraser River Dikes on the TCT t71, Cultus Lake to Tamihi Rec Site on the TCT t72, Chilliwack Lake to Thurston Rec Site on the TCT t73, Hope Tourist Info to Othello on the TCT t74, Trout Creek Trestle to Glenfir Station on the TCT t53, Feature Trans Canada Trail segments and other iconic short and extended journeys.