We arose and quickly had a cold breakfast. There were high clouds in the sky but nothing overtly threatening. We set
off at just after 5am under headlamp light. We were technically 'off-trail' now, but a good use path had formed and
it was relatively easy to follow. We climbed steeply up through small thickets and patches of forest to a wide,
sloping subalpine bench below Castlecrag Mountain. We hiked in the open for a while, following the a path that was
also reasonably cairned.
The hiking was less steep now, taking us around in a curve to Castlecrag's south aspect. I spied a path that went up
and towards Castlecrag's precipitous northern faces, but as we hiked along I noticed that the use path kept low and
traversed around to the south. Perhaps that was a different route I had espied?
High Country to the south
Undulating a little, the path traversed around to the southern side of Castlecrag. There was one fairly large talus
slope crossing, and a few steep uphills on Castlecrag's southern flank. Overall, there's a decent path, orange
flagging, and cairns. Well-marked for an off-trail route!
We could see that this side of Castlecrag's summit was a steep but hikeable slope. And, as we crossed the southern
flank of the peak, we came to a cairned spot where two paths diverged. This was the spot where the side path to the
summit of Castlecrag heads up. The way to Mount Frink lay straight ahead.
Since we were doing a three-summit loop, we hooked our packs on some tree snags and headed up to the summit. It was
only a 10 minute steep hike to the top, where wonderful views down to Moat Lake and over to Mts Frink and Albert Edward
awaited. The northern face of the mountain drops pretty much vertically from the summit, and the various towers and
battlements of the northern aspect loomed up below us.
Moat Lake from Castlecrag
The skies showed signs of clearing, and we hoped that this continued. For now, we had some hints of sunlight here and
there, and dark overcast in others. To the south, we could now see the flat-topped summit of Comox Glacier, along
with it's... well, it's glacier (what a strange name for a mountain - why didn't they just call it Comox Mountain?).
Castlecrag Summit Register
Heading back down to the main path, we retrieved our packs and headed west, bound for Mt Frink. The trail does a
pretty good job of not losing much elevation when as it traverses the Castlecrag-Frink col. Speaking of the col, it
appears as if one could indeed come underneath the north face of Castlecrag and rejoin the route right about here.
Glorious Morning sunshine
The hike up Mount Frink was very scenic. We ascended into the alpine proper, and, as we did so, the clouds broke apart
a bit, and we were treated to all sorts of views with light and dark and sun-rays.
As we neared Frink's summit, the cairns and the route became less well-marked, but the going was easy: just head for
the top and stay on the ridgecrest. Frink has a few false summits, but it's nothing too onerous. As we crested the
main summit ridge, we had fabulous views down to Charity Lake, Mount George V, and over to central Strathcona. A
myriad of wonderful peaks could be seen, including an excellent side-on view of the Golden Hinde, Vancouver Island's
highest.
Dramatic Light on George V
Jenn called her dad (to update him on our progress) from the summit of Frink. We could clearly see our final peak,
Mount Albert Edward, to the north, with the scenic little tarn of Hope Lake nestled below. Our route was clear --
entirely in the alpine zone -- and involved a descent down a medium snow-slope to the Frink-Albert Edward col. From
there, we would ascend a relatively direct route to Albert Edward's summit, intersecting the use path at some point.
Hope Lake and Mt Albert Edward
