A multi-use trail with 360 degree panoramic views of the Highwood Pass area. Typically ridden counterclockwise, the hike-a-bike trail follows an undulating ridge with a mix of exposure, technical riding, and chunder. When the trail reconnects, the Mist Creek portion is similar to Jewel Pass. The bumpy 700m descent takes you down the final shoulder and into the trees. The occasional climbs during the return will wake some tired legs. Water purification tablets are handy if resupplying from the creek as the trail is popular with equestrians.
Park at the Mist Creek recreational area parking lot and follow the trail next to the outhouse north.
Follow the trail north across the highway and onto a wide track through the trees. Continue on the spacious double track until you reach the Mist Creek intersection. From there, turn right at the fork and climb through the undergrowth until the saddle comes into view. Continue to another fork and take a left downhill (right takes you to the south hill). A brief but welcome downhill brings you to a small creek crossing where the real climb begins. As you reach the saddle with Mist Mountain coming into the view, either push your way up onto the ridge proper or follow the off-camber undulating trail into the trees. A large hill guards the first of many high points (setting off Basia's roller coaster of emotions). From there, the trail is easy to follow but strenuous. Exposure is present but can easily circumvented on foot.
During the summers of my graduate studies the mildy sweet and gritty taste of paintballs peppered my lips on a near weekly basis. There, I met Kyle. It wouldn't be until many years later that his mountain biking exploits would fill my imagination (and feed) with vistas of incredible trails that I never would have thought possible on our two wheeled sidekicks. A recent wrist fracture kept me away from riding features this summer and slowly pulled my curiosity towards the world of backcountry biking.
My expectations going into this trip were cautiously tempered. While Kyle reassured us that we could easily hike our bikes around the more exposed sections, it was hard to say what 'definitely black' meant to a rider of his calibre. Coming from Jewel Pass and the ridge rides around Jumping Pound, this was definitely a step up for us in terms of physical exertion. The full loop took around two hours longer than we had anticipated due to the amount of hiking involved.
Leaving the parking lot, we were lulled into a false sense of security as we happily pedalled along a nice abandoned forest road. It wasn't long before we reached the Mist Creek trail intersection (2.5km~) and took a right through the undergrowth. After 1.5km of being assaulted by vegetation we came around a bend with a view of the saddle in the distance. For those that also suffer from eczema, a long sleeve shirt and/or long pants would be very helpful.
Basia hates going up - hiking, biking, you name it. As rock climbers you would think it's oxymoronic but it turned out once she had a taste of rappeling, she enjoyed that even more than the climb. Earlier this summer in Revelstoke we incoporated "No down is free" into our vernacular - Basia's incredibly distilled and succint view of any and all climbs. After leaving the forest, this marked the beginning of the hiking portion of this loop and Basia's overture of displeasure.
With Eagle Ridge and Mist Mountain in the background, we pushed our way out of the treeline and into the alpine. Looking back towards our approach, the old cutline towards the south ridge disappears in between the two peaks - perhaps an outing for another day. Morale improved a little after fueling up on some delightful caramel s'mores clusters that we recently discovered at Costco. After bonking during a ski touring trip a couple years ago, we have consistently upheld Ben's suggestion to ingest some sugars every 45-60 minutes.
After a few switchbacks to gain the bench we were finally able to spend some more time on our pedals. With views of Highwood Peak in the background towering over Pickle Jar Lakes, we reached the saddle that would mark the beginning of an off-camber traverse through tight trees. To the right of the obvious dirt trail was a direct route onto the ridgeline. Unsure of what the exposure looked like up there, we proceeded to follow existing GPS tracks and Flintstone our way through the sinusoidal traverse instead.
After a little over a kilometer of threading our way through the loose horse-beaten forest trail we emerged onto a techy corner atop a steep slope. After pushing our way through this crux we stood at the base of a rather large hill guarding our first high point. Looking back on the ridgeline from this side, I would be tempted to eat the extra climb in exchange for some actual riding and downhill next time. Morale began to decrease as we once again dismounted and pushed for the top.
One of Basia's favourite segments of Physical 100 were the challenges fashioned after the greek gods. Olympic skeleton racer Yun Sungbin competed against 3 others in the Sisyphus challenge of endlessly pushing a boulder up and down across a track for time until they could no longer move. Basia's grunts of frustration from the depths of Tartarus began drowning out her hopes of doing any actual riding as she looked up at the upcoming hill. This became a theme for the day. In contrast, Hillary's roadie conditioning proved invaluable as the lactic acid buildup began wearing on us.
We could finally start to see our destination...sort of. It turned out the ridge was comprised of a series of curving subpeaks. Coming around each shoulder only to see yet another slope to hike-our-bikes had Basia on the verge of a conniption - the only thing that held her back was the price of her shiny new pimento. The loose dirt also sapped our energy. Fortunately the trail spares you some elevation and stays below the actual sub peaks.
Le Fournil has beena frequent stop for us when we go climbing and we tried to recreate their turkey baguette sandwich. By whipping butter and folding in chopped craisins and fresh rosemary, it felt like a bite of thanksgiving. We enjoyed our lunch break, had a chat with a pair of passing hikers, and braced ourselves for the next leg.
Enjoying some actual riding where we could, we made quick pace across the flatter segment of the traverse. As we reached the last two subpeaks the trail got more chunky. A long rock garden segment was all that was left between us and the descent and we were growing impatient. The timing could not have been better as both Basia and Hillary were starting to run out of gas.
The descent to the shoulder was a breath of fresh air. Steeper, slightly loose, and a little techy with some exposure over a steep slope to your left. It felt rewarding to use some different muscle groups finally. A group of equestrian riders had waited for us to make our descent, recording a video for their grand nephew who would be enthralled by such an undertaking. We shook out our legs, said hi to Duchess, and prepared for the long ride back.
As we began rounding the shoulder, disaster struck and Basia got snagged on a rock and took a tumble down the hill. Rolling off her bike, she (unknowingly) performed what appeared to be an excellent combat roll but still ended up with a sprained ankle. Unable to weight-bear well we were lucky this happened after all the climbing had finished.
With the late afternoon light blanketing the valley, we may have been otherwise forced to reach for the SOS button or perhaps ask for a rescue from Duchess. Having witnessed a helicopter rescue while skiing Dolomite Shoulder, that was a scenario I never want any personal experience with.
After coming around a corner, you'll be greeted by a rock band and a very rocky trail. Make your way to the top of this until you reach another rock band with a small cliff-like feature on the right. To continue, go left and around it to regain the trail.
Luckily Basia was able to still able to stand on her left leg which enabled her to continue on the 10km descent back to the trailhead. As soon as we began weaving through the forest, I could hear "weeeee" echoing behind me amongst other jubilations. Her spirit always makes a full 180 degree turn as soon as we start going down no matter how miserable she is. Remember, no down is free, and we had all paid our tolls that day.
The Mist Creek trail back to the fork was reminiscent of the descent off Jewel Pass but much less steep. Lots of root bashing kept our forearms actively working and the occasional climb presented a small challenge for Basia. At this point, two out of three of us had run out of water. The lack of wind, constant exposure, and indian summer made for a much hotter day than anticipated. In future, a small filter and purifying tablets may be a good idea to add to our kit.
In between the chunder were some longer flat segments and some swamps to dodge. A final steep uphill rut to push up signifies the end of the Mist Creek portion followed by a ripping fast shot back to the trailhead. The picnic area would make for a lovely way to end the day with a cookoff.
This was definitely a memorable (type 2) experience. I think I enjoyed the challenge of the day more than Basia or Hillary, but it was a significant step up for us as a group. I hope this trip report helps other riders. Optimistically, I'll continue scouring for some more mild adventure biking next time so Basia and Hillary are still interested in joining.
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