Evening Hike to Paul Ridge - Sunday Feb 9, 2025
Glen writes:
Five hardy hikers left the overcast skies of Vancouver behind and headed up to Garibaldi in the afternoon. The road into the Elfin Hut trailhead was in very good shape but we followed instructions and dutifully chained up at the signs. The snow was dry and the trail was packed, so we left the snowshoes in the car and spiked our way up to Red Heather hut. We lit a fire so it would be warm for our return. It wasn’t as cold out as we expected and the views of the sunset were amazing as we climbed up to Paul Ridge. The nearly full moon was up and we continued along the ridge, marvelling at the moonlit mountains as the sky darkened.
We turned back a km or so shy of Elfin Hut, not wanting to lose and regain so much elevation. Back at Red Heather hut at 7:30 pm, we received a text from a friend letting us know that the Sea to Sky highway had been closed since mid afternoon. Google Maps was routing us through Lillooet and Hope to get home! We got busy chopping wood and we stoked the fire and spent a pleasant couple of hours or so sharing stories and chocolate until we heard that the road was open again.
The hike down to the car passed quickly in the moonlight, with limited use of headlamps. The drive home was fine and we all got home at the sort of reasonable hour of 1:00 am.Thanks to everyone for making this a wonderful evening.
Route to Paul Ridge
Elevation traversed
An exquisite sunset on route!
A glorious winter wonderland!
Back at the hot warming up again…
