Crest Mountain, was a tough grind with a heavy pack on your back! Even without a heavy pack, it's still a hefty climb.
It's only 5.3 km to the lake on the plateau but it's a relentless climb every step of the way. 1.5km in and you've already gone 239m in elevation but there is a nice cold creek to rest at. Refill your water here, it's pretty much the last chance until the plateau.
From the creek you cross a bridge and the climb continues through countless switchbacks up the hill. Every kilometer you're gaining 215+ meters or around 700 feet of elevation. At 1000m to 1250m the underbrush thickens and so do the bugs.
Finally, you are rewarded your first real view of Kings Peak and Mount Colonel Foster after gaining 923m of elevation! But you aren't there yet. 200 meters to go.
Eventually, at an elevation of 1440m you reach the lake. Head up the hill to the right and find a good spot to set up on the South end of the plateau. It took me 3 hours, 15 minutes to get to the plateau.
Unlike the Elk River Trail, you do not need to pay for a back country pass. The trail is easy to follow and is vigorous hike but it is not a climb. There is also no bear cache or facilities. It's not easy to shit in the woods when there's only 2 inches of dirt on the rocks in most places. It might be a good idea to find a place before it becomes a problem! Unfortunately, some people decided not to find a suitable place. The group that came behind me had a pair of dogs who quickly ate some of it before their owners could stop them!
After setting up camp and eating a late lunch I packed a smaller daypack and made my way Northwest to the summit. It's only another 100m of elevation gain to the summit. It was a nice walk whichever way you wanted through snow or over rocks.
At the summit, you could carry on further into the backcountry. Part of the reason I'm here is to scout a future multi day trip. If you continue past the summit and down into the valley you can camp there instead. Day two, make your way to Idsardi Mountain. Day 3, summit Big Den Mountain and make your way back to it's trailhead, walking along the road to the vehicle. It's pretty intimidating standing there and seeing the two peaks and the distance between everything.
After blasting some tunes at the cairn I made my way back to camp. It's about 3km each way but there was no rush to be anywhere. I enjoyed a nice meander around the plateau for three or four hours.
Back at camp, there was a day hiker who was just leaving so I took the opportunity for a quick dip. There is a shelf on the North side of the lake where the water is 10-15 feet deep or so right from shore. A quick dip after a hard day was so refreshing. The water was the perfect temperature.
Around dinner the bugs were getting bad. I had to keep moving while eating to avoid getting eaten alive. The wind picked up enough eventually that they weren't so bad, but the bugs were pretty bad and I have mosquito bites all over me now.
The sunset was nice and I was hoping to see a good sunrise but not only did I drain my battery trying to do some more time lapse photography, I accidently turned off my alarm in the morning. It was windy and even though earplugs helped, I didn't sleep that well. Next time I guess!
After waking up and eating breakfast while wandering around the plateau to avoid the bugs I packed up and started my way down. 1100m of knee jarring trail down the mountain side.
This was definitely a tough one but so worth it. I spent the night alone on the plateau with a view and no one to bother me. Driving out of the area, I passed the Elk River Trail. There must have been 40-50 cars parked on the street plus a full parking lot. Suckers! Glad I got that one out of my system before it got busy.
Total Distance: 18.2km Total Elevation Gain: 1337m (4386 feet!)
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