Galwey North
 reconnaissance

Although this day was forecast to be cloud-free, it certainly was not going to be smoke-free. Given that I only had a few hours to spare and the hazy skies, I chose a reconnaissance trip on Galwey North. The goal of the trip was to see if a route west of Coppermine Creek up to the start of the south ridge of Galwey North was a good one. I had completed the incredibly scenic route a few years earlier and though pessimistic the new route would be equally scenic, there was only one way to find out.

Once I reached a significant and familiar highpoint on the Galwey North Ridge, the exploration portion of the trip had run its course. Lacking the time and motivation (because of the smoky skies) to continue to the summit of Galwey North, I turned around, with the intention of retracing my steps back down the ridge.
 
As luck would have it, upon returning to the southwestern-most highpoint of the ridge, an opportunity to try an alternate route down the west ridge presented itself. This route turned out to be delightful, with impressive rock scenery, interesting fissure-like terrain, and terrific views. Eventually the ridge would end up at Lost Horse Creek, but once the rock scenery gave way to less impressive terrain, I turned south and made my way more directly down to the Red Rock Canyon Road. A 3 km road walk back to the start ended an excellent half day of exploration.  
 

Mount Galwey. The normal route starts up the ridge in front. 



Mount Blakiston gets the first rays of Sunlight.



And also gets blocked by trees



The route ahead - easy but relatively dull travel



Blakiston is clearly going to be garner lots of photo attention



Here Comes The Sun - in tribute to recently departed David Crosby (report completed in February, 2023)



Not as hazy as I thought it would be but there is definitely smoke in the air



But views are excellent right off the bat



First red argillite encounter of the day



A winning combo: Galwey and Galwey North at the right, red argillite at the left. 



Closer look at Galwey and Galwey North. The colour of the Sun and the clear delineation of its rays indicate forest-fire smoke.



The ridge ahead looks inviting



Second encounter



Totally random burnt log



The view now includes Anderson Peak at the right



But Blakiston and red argillite still reign supreme!




Buchanan Northeast is left of the bump in the foreground and Ruby Ridge to the right



Lots of interesting blocks of rock on the ridge



Continuing along the ridge to the highpoint of the trip



More cool rock



One of the more interesting spots along the ridge



Of course the casualties of the Kenow fire are on display everywhere you go











Cool rock close-up



Pretty decent view for a smoky day. You can see the line of smoke running across the photo.



The fantastic south ridge of Mount Dungarvan (right) and the not-as-fantastic, but still totally awesome south ridge of Dundy Peak (left)



Hazy view of the ridge ahead, Galwey North, and Rogan Peak at the left



Close-up of Piinaquiium / Ahkoinimahstakoo (Mount Blakiston). It's highly unlikely that the northeast ridge (right to left) goes as a scramble but I'd like to find out firsthand someday.



Back near the first highpoint of the ridge, looking down the alternate descent ridge



Colourful and interesting rock right away




Looking back at some of the fissure-like terrain











Lots to explore and lots of great rock. Dundy at the right and Dundy Junior further left. 



Close-up of the great rock



Continuing along the varied ridge



A few detours over to the right side yielded some impressive rock scenery







Back on the ridge



That's a different coloured rock!



The ridge continues for quite awhile before dropping down towards Lost Horse Creek


Great view to the northeast and some more uniquely coloured rock - probably because it contains iron and has been oxidized



Same as above



One more time!



This angle gives a very aesthetic view of Blakiston



Back to ogling at the rock on the ridge



Yikes!



Creepy, dead tree and Blakiston



Approaching the end of the fun stuff



Heading directly down to the road



Almost back to the road, looking up what I just came down



I love the panels Parks Canada has constructed - informative and educational



Pulling over on the drive home to check out some of the route. I went from left to right, stopped at the small summit in the middle, went back to the next summit to the left and down the ridge on the other side. 

The End

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