mikeL

The boat cost is $50 one way for up to six + gear. You must hike the mile down from the parking lot to the lake where they pick you up. Approximately 40 min. boat trip up to Desolation/Little Beaver area. Much shorter to Big Beaver and maybe cheaper, I don't know. Balance that against the 10-15 miles or more of slog up lake plus extra food. A $$ vs. time thing. I've done the slog east and west side several times each. Next time it's the boat, probably later this month. The drive around to the north end is much longer and boat launch can be a pain if the lake is low. I do know that some people do the portage down to the launch site at the south end.

Cleaning out some boxes in the shop. Here are some photos of Raichle boots that i have for sale. Very sturdy and comfortable boots in great condition. Crampon compatible. Unfortunately they don't fit anymore since I've been mostly wearing sandels and my feet have spread out. :>( Size 10.5 men's. Asking $75 Coleman #502 one burner stove. Bigger than a peak 1. This one we used as a power outage backup and is more suitable to car camping. Works great, in excellent shape $15 Made in taiwan Svea123 knock off In good shape, it works but haven't taken it on a trip $6 cheap Taymor cook kit fits stove above. 2 pots, lid and 2 part wind screen. This is a Sigg Tourist copy and you could interchange the pots with one if need be. $9 Swedish army mess kit made by Svea. The kit itself is kinda heavy but the little Svea brass alcohol burner is a beauty and the kit is worth it for that alone. $15 This is a little brass alcohol burner that is a Trangia knock off. Small and light $6 Svea123 and Optimus 8R are sold. I have a few old packs, if anyone is interested I'll dust them off. One is a Peak 1 plastic frame, no bag. Also an REI child's external frame pack plus a couple of small ext frame packs for child or small adult or for traveling light. May be even more stuff in boxes when I get to it. I also have a large collection of mountaineering, guides, exploration and travel books that I'm thinning out. Too much to list (100's) so let me know what you want, good chance I'll have it. Not giving them away but cheaper than ABE. And a lot of Olympus OM camera gear. Bodies and lenses and assessories. Small and light weight, great for packing. Ask. Post for details on any of the above. Shipping at cost or come pick it up yourself however it is a ways to go. Payment via PayPal, MO, check or cash. One week no questions asked return. (you pay shipping of course) Happy to answer questions. Get it now before it goes on that auction site.

Olympus requires basic glacier travel skills much like the volcanoes. Once up there you have the choice of three summits of nearly equal height. None are really difficult but one is decidedly easier than the others. Unfortunately it isn't the highest by a few feet. Middle Peak?? I'd have to look it up. In any event make sure your self arrest and prussik skills are up for it. You might also consider getting together a couple more people for another rope.

This is a great find! Bill Cox, who made the original Traverse, was my neighbor for many years. I'll forever regret that I never sat down and talked to him in detail about those days. One's priorities do change I guess.

This wasn't always the case and I think this is why older guidebooks list access via the US side. First of all that logging road up Depot Ck from Chilliwack is relatively new. That's why the brush is still so bad on the Canadian side as it's still new growth. Some friends and I know this brush very well, I'll get to that later. Another reason it used to be better from the US side is that there was a fire on Indian Creek in the 70's and the fire trail made for easy access for years but now the old fire is really brushy. A few years ago 2 friends and i attempted the Depot Creek access. Then we could drive to the end of the road. Our mistake was heading straight off the end of the road as I see from the above map. Thanks!! Anyway after a couple of hours of flailing around and only getting maybe an optimistic 1/2 mile we bailed and opted for Hanging Lake instead. We got off the flagged route and ended up bushwhacking straight up the border as we knew we couldn't miss the lake that way. The route it turns out curves around to the north. Guess I better give Depot Creek another try. Did you guys see the water fall?