Liberty de Vera Follow
Watersprite Lake
Sep 25, 2016
Before I start my post about Watersprite Lake, I hope that this trail and lake retains its remoteness and peacefulness as it should. This is probably the reason others who have gone to to this lake wrote as little as possible about the trail. And so I shall follow everyone's course in writing up as little as possible with enough information for others to read up on. However, I do know that hellobc has just written up a feature about Watersprite Lake.
This lake is absolutely stunning and in my humble opinion beats out Garibaldi Lake and/or Joffre Lakes. A definite return trip is planned for next year and hopefully summit the ridge/peaks towering the lake. I have always wanted to do this hike in the summer but the vague information found online in comparison to other hikes stopped me from going. Finally, I was able to to do it as my first autumn/fall hike.
The drive from the service forest roads took about an hour and a half, driving very carefully and slowly over potholes, waterbars and steep/rocky road. A regular sedan will not make it through to the trailhead. Go through Mamquam Road and left to Skookum Creek FSR. You will come to a junction (I got lost here, and this is where GPS will tell you that you are on the trailhead - perhaps this is the old trailhead) where you will see the "candycane". If taking the the old trail, go up the hill from the junction, if taking the new trail, make a left fromtl this junction and follow the road all the way to the Skookum Dam. From this junction it is steep and narrow and waterbars are higher. So take caution if you are not driving a 4x4. The new trailhead starts from the yellow gate bar. Start your hike past the yellow gate and up to the right will be a trail post. Follow the ribbons all the way through. Along the trail are a few several trapezoid markings but most of the time its the ribbons that will help you find your way. The path itself is beaten so its easy to follow. It is muddy for the first flat section and so gaiters would help. The trail starts off going through bushes/trees. Be careful of stumps as there are plenty of them on the trails. The first 5 km is fairly easy - not a lot of elevation gain and have nice views mountain ranges. You will cross many creeks from the start all the way to the finish. The 3.5 km of the hike will take you outback and if I am not mistaken you will see the old trail across the mountain. You will be crossing 2 boulder fields - the first not at all hard but caution is required and the second a much harder (I rate this moderate) hike up to get to the Lake. The second boulder field felt like being at Cirque Lake (of course Cirque Lake is steeper and longer). As you reach the top of the boulder field, the lake is literally 20 steps away. The BCMC hut is currently being built and from a far you can hear the workers go at it. The lake - Inhave never seen such a crystal clear lake before. The water was like a mirror glass and the reflection of the trees, island and mountains were so perfectly mirrored on the water. I ❤ the remoteness of this lake and it needs to stay as it is. There were others who were hiking up the peaks and boy was I jealous. The hike on a regular pace is about 8-9 hours (does not include drive time) Total km is 8.5 one way. Plan ahead of time and ensure to get there early. It took the same amount of time for me to get back to the highway and I highly recommend not to be driving at night on the forest service road due to the road conditions. To see some photos follow me on instagram (libertyalohadevera). Reads:485 Comments:1 Likes:5
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