If you are looking for some late summer flowers along with an amazing view, a hike to McBride Peak is an incredible option.
Vernon Pawloske was one of a group of six members of the Ozalenka Alpine Club that explored some of the alpine’s natural flower gardens on Sunday August 24, and sent us these amazing photos.
To get there, take Highway 16 East of McBride to Mountainview Road. From McBride, turn left, and after about a kilometer, turn right onto Rainbow Road (which turns into Teare Mountain Road, also known as McBride Peak Road). The Halfway Hut recreation site and viewpoint is about five to six kilometers up, which takes about 15 to 20 minutes to drive, depending on conditions. The site and road is maintained by the McBride Community Forest, but it is a steep and rough road, designed for logging. Four-wheel-drive is recommended, and motorhomes and trailers should not attempt the road.
The hut offers a couple picnic tables, fire rings, an outhouse and the historic hut itself, as well as fantastic views of McBride and the surrounding mountains.
From the hut, it’s about another five to six kilometers to a parking area at the end of the road. From there, a short trail leads up to the recently restored forestry lookout tower and McBride Peak. Hikers are encouraged to stay on the trail, and no motorized traffic is allowed in the alpine area, due to the fragile nature of alpine vegetation.
Glen Stanley, president of the Ozalenka Alpine Club, led the trip last weekend, and he says he often offers carpooling from the group’s meeting place at Koeneman Park in his specially outfitted truck.
Stanley says it’s about two kilometers from the hut to the peak, and for something different, he led the group along a goat trail on the ridge, back to the sawtooth, and then went down to a couple of lakes behind the ridge. He says there is no trail there, just the open alpine, and they went over a ridge, through a valley and basin, and eventually came back to the lookout tower and parking lot.
The Ozalenka Alpine Club meets for a hike every Sunday at 8 am at Koeneman Park, unless they get rained out. Al Bernie, another member of the club, says they decide on the last Sunday of the month where the hikes for the next month will be, and they post it locally. Stanley says depending on the hike, they are back home between about 1 and 4 pm.
“A lady from Kamloops came with us, and she was really impressed she managed the hike,” says Stanley. He says folks also are really
impressed with the ride in his truck.
