June 13th, 2020
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
On Saturday, June 13, 2020, six adults and my two kids summited Green Mountain. If you’re familiar with the hike to Green Mountain, we used the older -less frequently used- Sno Bird Trail. It’s much different.
Sometime during the winter, the rains caused a deluge of water that washed out the industrial road, about five kilometres from the more common trailhead. The road’s damage makes it suitable only for rugged 4×4 (with high clearance and lockers) to make it past. For our group, we parked at the washout and hiked a kilometre to the Sno Bird trailhead for our trip.
Just a week earlier, I took my kids on a short recce hike to explore the Sno Bird Trail. I learned about this route about four years ago, and I’d always wondered about it. The recce hike was a great success. We –incorrectly– made it through the dense bush but found the right way through on our way back to the vehicle.
On June 13 club trip, the eight of us had a beautiful day hiking through extensive alpine meadows and the final remainders of snow. We took our time, I carried Octavia on my shoulders for most of the trip, so I was grateful for the pace. The steep meadows were delightful. My thanks to Dean for leading the group up the hill, through the alpine old-growth and onto the summit.
We had a short lunch on the summit, where we enjoyed the views of rain falling in the valleys just beyond us. After lunch, we descended at a quicker pace. Midway down the grassy hill, the rain caught us, but we were already in high spirits from such a great day.
Thanks to everyone that came along and made this a day for my kids to remember.
