Monday, April 23, 2012

Mt. Artaban, Gambier Island, BC

A few weeks ago, my hiking friends and I decided that Mt. Artaban on Gambier Island would be our first camping trip of the year 2012. We synched our schedules and made plans for the end of April. Weather was a consideration, but in order to make sure we all had the same days off, work was notified well in advance, so we just had to hope for the best. Days before leaving, the weather forecast was grim. Cloudy with showers on the Saturday we would camp and rain on Sunday. Fortunately, the weather did a 180° turn and both days were beautiful and sunny.

From 2012-04-21 - Mt. Artaban, Gambier Island, BC


In order to get close enough to the trails leading to Mt. Artaban, we had to get a water taxi. We decided on Cormorant Marine which made the trip from Horseshoe Bay to Camp Fircom/Halkett Bay Dock at 9am. That meant waking up at 5:30 to start the public transit commute at 6:30. We arrived with time to spare and enjoyed a coffee and cinnamon roll at the local coffee shop. After about 45 minutes, the coffee kicked in and we high tailed it to the west dock where our chariot was just rolling in.

From 2012-04-21 - Mt. Artaban, Gambier Island, BC


Arriving on Gambier Island, I consulted the photocopied map from my copy of 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia. Our starting point was different from that in the book, as we arrived at the Fircom dock instead of the main Halkett Bay dock further east. We got our bearings and started our trek. The first 40 minutes or so we followed the gravel road from the dock. After a short distance, we started seeing signs pointing us to the Mt. Artaban trail head. Along the way we ran into a friendly little dog. He followed us all the way to the trail head and eventually to the peak. We met a local who told us the dog had a habit of ushering people through the trails. His name was Jack. For such a little dog, he was nimble and stayed ahead of us the entire ascent!

From 2012-04-21 - Mt. Artaban, Gambier Island, BC
From 2012-04-21 - Mt. Artaban, Gambier Island, BC


The trail on the north face of the mountain was beautiful. It was a moderately easy climb with subtle hills and valleys. Mossy covered rock faces poked out of the ground here and there and the old growth firs towered over us, letting in random dots of light which made the forest feel hidden and magical. Everyone in the group was captivated by the lushness and serene beauty.

From 2012-04-21 - Mt. Artaban, Gambier Island, BC


After a couple of hours hiking we nearing the summit. Just prior to the last small push, we came across a small pond and that was filled with chirping frogs. We approached as quietly as we could so our presence wouldn't startle them into silence. Oddly enough, we could talk and walk normally and they didn't mind one bit. I don't think Jack the dog quite knew what to make of the noise.



After enjoying the chirping frogs, we hiked the remaining length of the trail to the summit of Mt. Artaban. This was the location of an old fire lookout tower. Such a location would demand a clear view, and of course there was. The view was spectacular, dropping steeply into the sea and then blunted by a wall of mountains from Deet's Peak to St. Mark's Summit among others. The city of Vancouver was just visible to the extreme south of the view and directly east of us was the Lion's Bay shadowed by the West Lion - a hike I am very much looking forward to.

From 2012-04-21 - Mt. Artaban, Gambier Island, BC


We arrived early as it was only mid day. We quickly realized this hike would have been better suited as a day hike. As our water taxi wasn't going to return until the following day, we decided to the make the most of the weather by lounging and eating; Some things I am very good at. Hours past and it was time to set up our tents. While the weather was mainly sunny and warm, as night fell, winds picked up to about 25mph. Enough to shake our tents violently and wake us from our slumber.

The next day we lazed around a bit and explored the area around the peak. We found a steep cliff that fell into a wild, snaking gorge that we later discovered cut a swath over the entire north face of Mt. Artaban. Unfortunately, the perspective couldn't be adequately capture by a camera, but trust me, it was really cool.

Around 11am we were packed and began our descent down the north face of the mountain. The first 1/4 of the descent was covered in dead fall and dried, pale moss on jutted rock. It was beautiful in its own way and only added to the variety of scenery we experienced on the trip. We quickly made our way down and into more supple landscapes filled with lush fern and thick, wet moss. I am glad we decided to ascend on the south face as this side was much steeper with little respite from the continuous downhill grind.

From 2012-04-21 - Mt. Artaban, Gambier Island, BC


The trail ended rather abruptly at a gravel road we assumed circumvented the mountain's perimeter. We trudged on for sometime before coming to what appeared to be a dead end. We still had a few hours before our water taxi was scheduled to arrive, but we were concerned that we may have to double back. A small amount of searching revealed a trail head which lead south-east into a forest. As this was the direction we needed to head to get back to Camp Fircom, we decided to test our luck and see where the trail led. As luck would have it, it led directly to Halkett Bay, just a couple of KM east of Camp Fircom. This is where the journey starts according to 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia. We consulted the photocopied maps and determined where to go. After a short lunch on the picnic tables facing Halkett Bay, we continued on our way to Camp Fircom. By far the most pleasant and relaxing portion of the journey, this trail was a meadow of ferns hidden by old growth. Very level and a pleasure to walk through. If anyone hikes Mt. Artaban, I highly recommend this trail which is north of the bathrooms at Halkett Bay.

By the time we arrived at Camp Fircom we were only a half hour from our designated pick-up time. We were all pretty tired and were looking forward to a burger at Troll's. Richard, lying down, said it all without saying a word:

From 2012-04-21 - Mt. Artaban, Gambier Island, BC


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