Roadtrip to Valhalla
- Greg Luesink
- Jul 5
- 8 min read
Updated: Aug 18
Jas and I had a nice 10-day stretch of time off around Canada Day, and had grandiose intentions of romping around the province: hiking, climbing, and visiting friends. Unfortunately, we were burdened with a bout of sickness, which forced us to stay home and rest for a few days when we had planned to set off. Once the coughing and congestion subsided, we left on a week-long road-trip from Chilliwack to Valhalla, intent on some side-quests along the way, including a visit to our friends Nich and Sophie in Castlegar.
Needle Peak
First on the agenda was a quick hike up Needle Peak as we drove through the Coquihalla. We had a nice relaxing morning while we finished packing, and started hiking around noon from the trailhead. Jas had never been up Needle before, so it was a grand time scrambling around on granite, and stuffing snow into our hats to cool off in the mid-day heat. We took something around 4 or 5 hours round trip, and enjoyed a refreshing bath in the stream by the highway before driving to Skaha.
Skaha Bluffs
After meandering around Penticton searching for a subtle parking spot to sleep in our car until morning, we finally settled in after 10 pm for the hottest sleep ever. Awake by 5 am, we drove off to climb at Skaha Bluffs, only to discover the gate was closed until 7 am. Thus, we ran some errands in town before returning to beat the heat with what time remained.
We returned to a familiar cliff to climb a few routes, and managed to climb a handful of fun 5.10s before the sun became unbearable and the rock seared our finger tips. One stand-out moment was while I hand my left hand in a pocket, I felt some moisture and reached for a better hold, only to notice a frog lunge out in an effort to bite me(?) and protect its cavernous respite from the heat.
We drove off to Castlegar, and Jas took the wheel while I slept a bit. Nich and Sophie welcomed us to their new place and toured us around the garden. A bonus for the timing of this trip was that we would be able to help them build a Bunkie on their property, as Nich had just finished the foundation and the materials lay waiting. But first, Jas and I had planned an overnight excursion up to Gwillim Lakes in Valhalla Provincial Park. After a much better sleep in a real bed, we set off for a casual start.
A Night in Valhalla - Gwillim Lakes
We arrived at the trailhead just before 2 pm, which lay 2.5 hours from Castlegar, including a 40km stretch of FSR. After surveying ahead, we decided it wasn't worth driving up the rough remaining 3km of gravel to the upper lot, so we munched some lunch and parked near a few other low-clearance cars. Toting our yellow packs, we started up the road. I'd convinced Jas that we should try going as light as possible, and therefore use smaller bags to carry our overnight gear.
Jas carried the 28L Firecrest with her bivy, sleeping bag, air mat, clothes, and snacks, while I carried my matching 38L from Blue Ice with my sleeping bag, foam mat, stove, dinner food, breakfast, clothes, and snacks. We were moving quite speedily thanks to our lightweight bags, and cruised up to find the upper lot, passing several groups on their way down. One car driving down said:
Smart move parking low, the porcupines got us!
We were quite confused, but quickly understood their statement when we reached the upper lot to find all the vehicles wrapped with chicken wire. I'd heard about this necessity in the Bugaboos, a popular neighbouring climbing destination, as pesky porcupines have a nasty tendency of chewing the undercarriage of vehicles. That explained the 3km long oil leak that we walked past... One very shiny Tacoma had at least a double layer of wire to keep the pests at bay. I would too! We were a little concerned for our unprotected CRV, but also hopeful that the porcupines wouldn't venture far down the road and away from the forest.
The sky was billowing with clouds and the sun intermittently kissed our skin as we strolled up the well-maintained trail higher and higher. Eventually, we reached Drinnon Lakes, which boasted some great views of the surrounding terrain.
It was around this time that the sky began to darken slightly, and we noticed the clouds flying overhead more rapidly. Droplets of rain triggered some very reasonable PTSD from our Overnight in a Lightning Storm on Alpaca Peak in August of 2024. We were less than 2 hours from the car, but still a ways from Gwillim Lakes, and had plenty of daylight left. Thanks to my "ultralight" intentions for this trip, we'd left rain gear behind, so we hoped and prayed that the weather would be whisked away!
We caught up to another couple also headed to Gwillim Lakes, but they had come prepared for rain and donned their Gore-Tex. As we trudged on, losing some vert down to a glade, thunder resounded in the sky.
Should we just cut our losses and turn back?
With lots of time left to get back to the car before dark, we decided it was at least worth a trip out to see Gwillim Lakes, even if it meant hiking back to the car that evening. With that, the rain began the pitter patter as we climbed the last bit of trail to the lake, passing a majestic waterfall along the way. We were rewarded with some moody views of Gregorio Peak and Lucifer Peak jutting out above us and the lake.
As we scouted for a potential camp spot, we kept our eyes and ears trained on the sky for any signs of the storm worsening. Much to our relief, the clouds began to shift, and sun and blue sky appeared on the horizon.
We figured that we were in the clear, and did a little happy dance!
Just in case the storm wasn't past us, we scouted different spots where we could get shelter. As I mentioned earlier, Jas had a waterproof bivy sack, while I had neglected to bring one, wanting to test out my sleep system devoid of shelter. Silly mistake. We considered the option of the seeking refuge in the outhouse if things got super wet.
While I was snooping around, I discovered 3 sheets of metal roofing and several 2x6 beams. I decided to craft a lean-to shelter at our campsite, utilizing a boulder, some twine, and the aforementioned supplies.
After the weather seemed to retreat and our under-prepared sleeping situation was (partially) rectified, we decided to cook up some dinner. At the designated cook-spot, we boiled some water and waited for our freeze-dried meals to re-hydrate.
In the meantime, the sky began to spittle rain. We huddle under the emergency blanket, questioning our decision to stay the night.
We still had daylight left, and could easily pack up and return to the car. Would we be disappointed if we didn't stick this one out? Would we regret not having an awesome story to tell? Ultimately, there was no significant threat to our survival, as we had options to stay warm and dry under the lean-to, or even in the outhouse if things got desperate. However, the tension finally broke when the clouds cleared, with sun and sky beaming down on us. Oh, did I mention that the bugs were bad? Among the forgotten (neglected) items from our packs were bug nets. Thankfully Nich lent us one, but that obviously I was required by chivalry to let me wife wear. We ate our supper, and tried to decide what to do with our evening. It was too cold now to swim, and we didn't have a cozy tent to escape from the bugs.
As the sun landed on Lucifer Peak, we decided to go for a sunset stroll. If not to the summit, at least to the shoulder of the ridge for a good view. With that, we packed a summit-bag and made our way across the mouth of the stream, which led to the eventual waterfall. Looking back on Gregorio Peak (which I had hoped would be an easy secondary peak... but alas looked difficult) we were once again treated to some spectacular lighting on the surrounding scenery.
We walked up a faint trail, intermingled with snow, to the shoulder of Lucifer. From here, we received a thorough blasting from the wind, although we could hardly complain as it was the reason the storm had passed.
In the back of my mind, I wanted to summit Lucifer Peak, but didn't want to pressure Jas. I suggested that we just take a peak at what was around the corner.
One thing led to the next, and before we knew it, the summit was quite near! We decided to press on and see if we could get to the top just before sunset. The scrambling was pretty straightforward and minimally exposed, except for a chockstone guarding the summit, perched above two gullies. This proved to be a minor hiccup in our ascent, and we carefully clambered over the boulder before the final push.
The summit provided one of, if not the most, spectacular viewpoints we have ever experienced. The entirety of Valhalla lay before us, set on fire by the setting sun.
We made our way down, arriving at camp barely having to use our headlamps. A quick brush of the teeth and a squat on the can prepared us for a cozy, dry bivy. A whisping wind kept the mosquitos at bay for most of the night, and the skies were clear for a full star-show.
After a pretty average mountain sleep (read: fairly poor sleep), I got up at dawn, grabbed our food supplies out of the bear-cache, and woke up Jas so we could catch sunrise. We moved ourselves to a good viewpoint and watched as the golden rays crawled down the surrounding peaks. The bugs were pretty awful, so Jas snuggled up in her cocoon with her periscope. We ate some chia with dried berries and trailmix, snapping photos as the sun crawled down the slopes.
We didn't stay for much longer, only to return the 2x6s and sheet metal to the outhouse, opting to avoid hiking down in the mid-day heat. This was an excellent choice, and we arrived at the car less than 20 hours after we left! Thankfully Franklin the CRV was unharmed by the porcupines and we were back in Castlegar by noon.
As a quick note - this obviously could have ended much differently. If the storm stuck around, I might've camped in the outhouse. Without a tent, we were certainly at the mercy of the weather, but, this is one of the pros of fast & light - that we could scoot back to the car if necessary in a mere 2 hours. I guess all that to say - be confident in your setup, skills, and fitness when backpacking! And even then, sometimes its nice to have a bit of divine intervention.
Bunkie Build
Back in Castlegar, we jumped straight into helping build the "Bunkie." We finished putting the plywood on the foundation, and then turned our attention to sorting the wood into piles for inventory. For those that don't know, a Bunkie comes in a package and can be assembled like Lincoln Logs. The next morning, we drilled, hammered, and hoisted beams until the sun was setting (okay, well just about, and besides lunch of course). We weren't sure how far we'd get, but certainly were pleased with the progress!
We had a great Shabbat meal and Bible Study at Nich and Sophie's with their Castlegar community, and made some new friends. Saturday morning, Jas and I loaded up the ol' CRV and drove off towards Chilliwack, very filled up from a very fulfilling vacation, even though we had to adjust some of our expectations from the start.
Epilogue - Bonus Hike up Elk with Taya and Isaiah
Jas' bridesmaid Taya and her boyfriend Isaiah were visiting from the flatlands of 'toba, so we made sure to get out on a hike to stretch the legs once we got back. Sunset from Elk never disappoints!
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