DIRECTIONS: Drive to Mount Washington Ski area, then hike up the trail to Mount Albert Edward. create
SUMMARY: The terrain is easy with no exposure. Selected 'moderate' only because of the distance. Its a very long day hike, or you can split it into two or three which is more common by camping at Kwai or Circlet Lake. create
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Mount Albert Edward
Aug 3, 2014
The marquee hike on the Forbidden Plateau, Mt Albert Edward is the sixth-highest peak on Vancouver Island. The summit is only (!) 2094 m, and more than half of the approach from Circlet Lake is above the treeline so make sure you have plenty of water and ways to protect yourself from the sun! The views from the summit are stunning and it is easy to understand why this is such a popular hike.
The trail up from Circlet Lake has a couple of extremely steep, borderline sketchy sections, that would probably halt inexperienced hikers in their tracks. The steepest sections of the trail are badly eroded requiring careful foot placement and/or hand holds (yes!). Be thankful for tree roots. One section of the trail goes straight up a loose gully - there is an alternative route on the right hand side but it's not obvious to spot. However, to be honest, the alternative route was in worse shape than the gully. Going up was way easier than coming back down - take it slowly unless you're a trail runner with extra-springy legs.
Once above that, there is a delightful section on a small plateau before another climb to leave the trees behind. Once out of the trees it's a matter of picking whichever cairns seem to define the best route for you. There are multiple routes, all equally-well marked with cairns. There are well defined trails through the grassy/heathery sections. So don't do what we did and worry about choosing the "correct" route: they will all get you there. Having said that, it's nice to find the great big cairn with the signposts on it so you know for sure which direction you're heading! In poor visibility route-finding could be tricky - I think a compass and/or GPS are necessary to keep on track.
Did I mention the views? Moat Lake looks fantastic, Jutland Mountain looms to the north, the jagged cliffs of Castlecrag to the south-east... It's a real feast for the eyes and camera.
A bit higher up and the route becomes rock and talus only. I saw a couple of hikers having trouble on this section. The rock slabs are great for walking on, though some might be slippery in the wet. There is one deep notch to cross that may require a short (fun) scramble though easier ways exist. This notch has fantastic views of Mt Albert Edward and down to Gem Lake.
After 2-3 hours you'll see a sign pointing left to Castlecrags: stay right and it's about an hour's plod to the summit from here. There were a few very welcome snow patches to help cool off. The final grunt up to the summit is not as steep as it looks from a distance and, despite being well above the treeline, is a veritable wild-flower garden (with a few stray canola plants) with phlox, moss campion, paintbrush, harebells and more.
Be sure to sign the summit register: you'll see our names in there ;-)
Highly recommended! But start early to beat the heat and give yourself lots of time.