Semaphore Lakes

Sarah and I ascended Railroad Pass in the Subaru along a decent forest services road north west of Pemberton on the Thanksgiving weekend. Dan and Lesley with Ingrid and her dog Kaysa led the way in their Impreza. We parked at the wrong trailhead, bush-bashed to the real trail, and hiked a couple of hours up to the Semaphore Lakes at 1600 metres, where we set up camp beside one of the lower lakes.

Locomotive Mountain in the background, our trusty Hubba Hubba in the fore.

We ate dinner by the lake as the sun set behind the ridge and ice began to form on the surface of the lake. Temperatures plummeted and we lit a fire in the existing fire ring and drank Dan's scotch. Sarah and I were using our new sleeping bags for the first time, a pair of MEC Hybrid -20 degrees C, and they were vital. The temperature must have been somewhere between -7 and -10, especially with the nasty wind that whipped up in the night. We listened to the gentle crush of grinding ice as the wind urged it around the lake's surface. Next morning the lake was near frozen over. Kaysa's barks alerted us to the arrival of Christian and Michelle, who hiked in for breakfast, then departed due to Michelle's cold and the chill of the altitude.

Breakfast by lower Semaphore lake: Christian, Dan, Lesley, Matt & Michelle. Locomotive is to the left, Train Glacier in the centre and Face Mountain on the right.

We geared up and began an ascent of Locomotive Mountain. The region's landmarks bear the names of a railroad theme. The Railroad Group includes Locomotive, Tender and Caboose Mountains. Handcar Peak and Train Glacier are two other distinctive features. And then there's Semaphore: the mechanical railway signal system used for sending messages to train drivers.

Ingrid, Lesley & Dan, Face Mountain in the background.

We threaded our way through a handful of Semaphore's lakes, before scrambling up rocky scree to a bowl beneath the peak of Locomotive. I spotted a pika coming down the mountain with a twig of green leaves in its mouth. The pika took cover when it spotted me, and Kaysa probably gave it heart palpitations when she investigated.

Lesley, before the scramble.

We had lunch by a large rock - Dan's garlicky bean dip and Sarah's chanterelle mushroom pate proving to be winners - and continued our ascent to the ridge. From the ridge we had excellent views of Pemberton Meadows and the Lillooet River. We continued along the ridge towards Locomotive's peak, but concerns about time and daylight hours halted our group before the summit. I continued up alone, passing by berry-coloured bear scat not thirty metres from the summit of the mountain. From the top - 2340 metres - I had great views looking down at our tents by the lower Semaphore lake, and across at Train Glacier and Face Mountain.

Looking down the valley toward Pemberton.

Looking down at Semaphore Lakes from Locomotive; our campsite is by the lake at the top left.

Train Glacier from Locomotive, Face to the right.

We descended as the sun sank. The temperatures dropped again, but no wind rose to chill our bones. Ingrid made pumpkin pie and we gave thanks for the superb location. When we woke the next morning, the lake's surface of ice was solid enough to stand on. A grayish owl flew from snag to snag, pestered by another bird, as we hiked out to the road - we glassed it but the distance was too great to make a solid identification. We travelled down to the valley, searched for the Keyhole hot springs without any success, and then dispersed.

Ingrid and canine explorer Kaysa.