Hiking in the Monashees
At Sol Mountain Lodge
by Diane Whiteley
Summer Camp 2024 in the West Kootenays was greatly affected by the wild fires that broke out near New Denver just a few days before the start of camp. We chose not to cancel the camp. Rather, we let the 17 hikers, who signed up for it, decide for themselves whether they would come. As it turned out, three of us convened at Kokanee Creek Campground and did the hikes planned for that area.
The last two days of summer camp were supposed to be in the Monashees at Sol Mountain Lodge, where 8 of us had booked 2 nights. Our time there got cancelled due to a fire on the forest service road leading to the lodge. The owners of the lodge, Sabine and Aaron, gave us the option to book later in 2024 or in summer 2025. Don and I booked for September 20th and 21st 2024, which turned out to be the last two nights the lodge was open for hiking this year.
The drive in on forest service roads took just under 2.5 hours. The roads were in good shape, and the drive provided spectacular views of Upper Arrow Lake and the alpine areas on the approach to the lodge. On the last part of the drive, I looked up to see a large propane truck about a kilometer ahead of us, negotiating the steep incline to the lodge. Wow, I thought, way up here delivering propane! Then we caught up to the truck. Wow, I thought. Kind of stinky! It wasn’t a propane truck. It was a septic system clean-out truck!
On arrival at the lodge, we were greeted by Aaron and Sabine. The lodge was lovely, spacious and cozy at the same time – a bit stinky as the truck proceeded with its task, but that was short-lived.
After a nice hot cup of tea and short introduction to the trails by Sabine, we headed out on the 3.5 km (one way) hike to Sol Lake. It was the perfect introductory hike, a moderate grade with views in all directions in the open alpine valley. It was a cold, brisk day and the higher mountains were dusted with snow that fell the night before. Perfect weather for photography. The lake was lovely, but we opted out of the recommended swim. I would have had to take my toque off!
No swim, but a hot shower back at the lodge was most appreciated. We were hungry, but dinner at the lodge didn't start until 7:30. Luckily there were plenty of appetizers to keep us going. And, dinner was worth waiting for - roasted squash, gnocchi and spiced meatballs with a sprinkling of arugula on top and a yummy tart with fresh raspberries and syrup for dessert. (I am a vegetarian so the meat options were always replaced with tasty vegetarian fare.)
It was a good group of 12 - some of them friends of the family, some helpers for the end-of-season work party and some guests, who were mountain bikers. We were the only hikers. Indeed, we had the hiking trails entirely to ourselves!
The next morning dawned sunny but the ground was hard and the alpine meadows were covered with frost. After a hearty breakfast, we discussed the options and decided on a challenging hike to Mt. Fosthall, which had snow near the summit. We hoped it was only a dusting. I had my Yak Tracks in my pack, but Don didn’t have his.
Mt. Fosthall, our objective
It was a stunning hike on a perfect, sunny day. The frost quickly disappeared and we were stripping off layers after the first hill. The first part of the trail is moderate uphill as it wends it way towards South Cariboo Pass. Then it heads downhill before getting to the steep climb to the summit (2697 m) over rocks, small boulders and scree. The summit is an 1177 m climb from the trailhead at the lodge. The last section was steep and slippery. I stopped to put on my Yak Tracks and was glad I had them.
The effort of the climb was well worth it, though. The views of the surrounding Monashees are indescribably beautiful. There are vistas of lakes and mountains in every direction! It was not windy. When we returned to the lodge, the first question everyone asked was whether it was windy. Mt. Fosthall is known for the roaring winds at the summit. We were extremely lucky!
The 20 km round trip took us about 6 hours. We thought we were slow but learned that was a good time, given the route-finding and slippery slopes.
We were encouraged to check out the sauna to soothe any stiff muscles we might have. We considered it only briefly. The part where you go outside and get hosed down with cold water didn’t sound soothing. We decided to stay by the warm wood stove in the lodge.
On our last day, the weather forecast was iffy. Rain was predicted to start around lunchtime. We opted for the short hike, 1.5 km one way, to Bill Fraser Lake. There we found the lodge canoe. We hopped in and canoed around the small lake. Aaron told us it was the “Canadian” experience to canoe as well as hike in the area. We returned to the lodge and headed out from a fabulous weekend at a very special place. ♦
