Vancouver Island, tip-to-tip

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Heading east, we began climbing up Wheaton Ridge, soon reaching the cairned location where the herdpath veered right, heading diagonally down towards the Wheaton Hut. A short fifteen minute walk downhill then brought us to the hut. We briefly went inside to retrieve our camp food (which seemed unmolested by hut critters), then continued on downhill to our campsite at Wheaton Lake.

Wheaton Ridge marker

Nearing Hut

Arriving Wheaton Hut

It was about 6:30pm when we arrived back at camp. Our entire outing to Morrison Spire and back had taken over eight hours - longer than we had expected. Again, we were realizing that travel in this area took a bit more effort and time.

Back to Camp

Back at camp

Another stillwater view

It was another glorious evening at camp - warm, clear and calm. The lake's water was so very still that it made nearly perfect reflections of the nearby landscape. You will find, therefore, that I took quite a few pictures.

The Spire and the Sun

Perfect Reflections

Peaceful Lakeshore

Evening Stillness

Wheaton Lake and Morrison Spire

Morrison by the evening light

After dinner, we once again took time to assess our situation. We had to decide what to do with our next day. Arn's eye, while not perfect, did seem to be improving, so maybe we didn't need to bail early. If we stayed, the most logical objective would have been Mount McBride, since the third option - Marble Peak - would be most efficiently climbed on the last day, as part of our journey back out. However, the unexpectedly long day today, combined with the tediousness of the approach to the McBride-Morrison ridgeline (which we'd need to re-reach if we were going to climb McBride) didn't seem a particularly appealing thing to repeat.

We decided to sleep on it, and decide early the next morning.

Interactive trackmap with photo points - Strathcona Backpack day 2: Morrison Spire - click map to view

Interactive trackmap with photo points - Strathcona Backpack day 2: Morrison Spire - click to view

Marble Meadows Backpack Day 2 - Morrison Spire from Wheaton Lake - Hike Data

Start Time: 10:12a.m.

End Time: 6:30p.m.

Duration: 8h17m

Distance: 10.09 km (6.27 mi)

Average Speed: 1.2 km/hr (0.8 mph)

Start Elevation: 4839ft (1475m) *

Max Elevation: 6034ft (1839m) *

Min Elevation: 4826ft (1471m) *

End Elevation: 4902ft (1494m) *