Metal Dome, August 31st 2024
Looking towards Brandywine by Iain
Iain writes:-
Definite four wheel drive and a higher clearance needed to get to the start. We saw one car off the FSR on the way up there, not to mention a Winnebago off the road in Porteau Cove, parked at a vertical 45degree angle! That was on the way home though.
The idea of this day out was to plan for a possible future loop to Metal Dome, then Brandywine and back through the Meadows. The drive up on the FSR was slow but we made it. Start of the hike is a short slog up a single switchback forest road before heading up through the forest to the start of the open air portion after an hour of walking. The forest access was difficult to see on the way up, so we missed it, instead walking up a muddy, steep approach.
The terrain was a mix of heathery scrub, gravel/scree and rocks. Careful route finding minimized exposure and we all got to the top. The reward was magnificent scenery and, looking north, pretty much a haze free view. It looks as though a loop is possible, we need though to have another exploratory trip along the edge of the Brandywine Glacier to be sure. That’ll be for next year.
This was a great day out and the seven of us had a blast. Three hour return trip from Trailhead to WestEnd and that was after an 0545 start. We have been consistently fortunate with our trips to the Brandywine area - it’s worth the long FSR drive. We were alone on the mountain for 90% of the day, only meeting two upbound campers (plus dog) at the end of the day. Brandywine was much busier judging by the number of vehicles we saw as we packed up.
Only down side was that there was no opera singer available, we’ll be raising this with Vancouver Opera as a liitle opera at the peak is a wonderful thing.
Here is the route from Iain’s Garmin GPSMAP67i
There are a lot more photos here from Tamsin including a photo of the initial uphill splurge, which is what happens when the navigator misses the trail through the trees.
