hiking 2:00:00 [3] 10.0 mi (12:00 / mi) +1500m 8:11 / mi
tried to climb Mt MacFarlane, a peak south of Chilliwack, just north of the US border. Didn't leave the trailhead until 12:30pm, so I wasn't really expecting to make it all the way, and just to force myself to not try I left the axe and crampons in the car. The approach trail would have made New England proud: no switchbacks, no water bars, just straight up for 5000' vertical. Got up to the first lake in a couple hours, then the trail started getting dodgier and it took another hour to get around it and up to the second. A few snowfields to cross towards the top, but all doable. Top lake was still frozen solid, so I rolled a giant rock into it to filter water. By this point it was after 4, and while it looked like there was a rock route up to the summit I could see, I wasn't sure if that was a false summit or not. (there was a gorgeous snow chute straight up from the lake had I had the toys). Either way it would have been 1000' and at least a couple more hours, and I didn't really feel like going down the steep trail of death in the dark, so I bailed. Collapsed a huge snow bridge on the way down and fell into a creek, which is always good for the adrenaline. And the shivers.