Mt Laughington // 2023 Short Stories

Written January 2025

Hiking the funniest summit in the valley with the best laughing partner!

Meet some of the neighbours: Baby Munday, Stewart, The Still, Welch, and Foley Peaks

To finish off the month of June, Jas and I decided to check out a new summit in the Chilliwack River Valley, often overlooked due to it's towering neighbours in the Cheam Range. We'd gotten a bit of a later start than desired, so Laughington was a good option.

Since the FSR was a little too intense for the CRV, we opted to park at the base and walk up the road. Shaded by the alders, we waltzed up the overgrown, narrow road (or as we decided, a lovely, wide trail). As we climbed higher, the trees opened up to reveal Baby Munday shooting into the sky.

Eventually, the FSR transitioned to overgrown single track, leaving us to duck under swooping branches and leap over tripping-hazard tendrils. After about 4 hours, we were standing on the summit, soaking in the panoramic views. Seriously - Laughington is such an underrated gem of the valley! This is easily a repeat-worthy hike for a close-up vista of the entire Cheam Range, as well as the southern panorama featuring Rexford, Slesse, and much more.

Just further along the ridge, with a small saddle between, I noticed a possibly higher summit. Jas was content, but I decided to venture over. The way down turned out to be a tenuous downclimb on a slab, so I was quite concentrated as I smeared my shoe rubber and balanced my way down to the bottom. After a quick jog through a meadow, I was making my way up the other side. Sure enough, there was a cross at the top marked:

H. Laughington, 1925 - 1944

Mt Laughington was renamed after a fallen war hero from Chilliwack who served during World War II. Several other summits in the Chilliwack River Valley were also renamed, including Rexford, MacFarlane, and others during the memorial renaming project. The only source seems to be an old book at the Chilliwack Museum called The Mountain Project by Neil Granger. I haven't seen the book myself yet, but am curious to check it out one day. It's easy to feel distant and removed from war, but these glimpses into the past offer some recognition and appreciation for the brave people who served to protect our beautiful country.

On the way back to Jas, I decided to climb up a steeper but more protected section. Here is where I made likely the most regrettable decision of our relationship...

As I approached the summit where Jas stood, I thought it would be a funny practical joke to start snorting and chuffing like a bear and then come out from behind the tree smiling...

I thought wrong.

Jas naturally assumed that I would come up the same way that I went down, and immediately determined that a bear was approaching. She started running away from my husky-toned mimicking and yelled "Greg, help me!!"

It was at this moment, I knew I messed up.

I sprinted up the hill calling out that it was just me, and found Jas 100m away ready to hurl herself down the slabs if the "bear" got too close. Nocs, jacket, and phone in hand, she had wisely left all the food as a distraction. Utter relief washed over her face when she saw me atop the hill, and she cried out:

That was a bad joke. That's not funny.

I sit in palpable embarrassment as I recount my most blatant blunder in our relationship. What an idiot you were, Greg... I felt awful after seeing how frightened she was, what was I thinking!?! Thankfully, after a long hug, Jas' tears subsided, her racing heart slowed, and her relief poured out into a bout of laughter. All was well in the end, but she made me promise to never leave her alone on a summit to be a bear's snack, and absolutely, under no circumstances was I to scare her like that again. Agreed. Cross my heart and hope to die.

After descending back to the car, we finished off the long summer day with a dip at Alison Pools. Overall, blunders barred, it was a phenomenal day out together and we now can look back and laugh about that stupid bear in the bushes.