Mount Kidd Lookout II and Packenham Junior II

Mountain height:         2128 m
Elevation gain:            600 m
Ascent time:                2:35
Descent time:              1:00

Since my list of “Peaks to do again with better weather” seems to be getting disproportionally large, I decided to take a small bite out of it by returning to the former site of the Mount Kidd Lookout. Mark and I had enjoyed an easy trek up to the lookout in April of 2007, but in rather gloomy weather conditions. We did the ascent on foot, but I took snowshoes for this excursion, thinking I would stroll to top in no time. That turned out to be a delusion of significant proportions!

Upon leaving the official snowshoe trail I stumbled onto a fairly recent set of snowshoe tracks heading in the right direction. Instead of breaking new trail all the way up,

I decided to follow them. At first this was easy, but higher up the tracks went quite far over to the northeast side of the peak, home to thick stands of alders and other bushwhacking obstacles. Hats off to the individual who broke the trail because even following it was very strenuous at times.

A solid two hours of grueling travel up the treed slopes followed, before the terrain finally started to open up. To my surprise the tracks abruptly ended, just before reaching the ridge, indicating the individual had turned around. Thankfully, breaking new trail to the summit from that point was short-lived and also incredibly scenic. Snow-covered trees and vegetation and a perfectly clear sky were cause for many photos.

As impressive is that scenery appeared, it was no match for the summit view. The distinctive forms of Bogart, Ribbon, Sparrowhawk, and Wind were fantastic and the north ridge of Mount Kidd awe-inspiring. After an extended summit stay to admire the wonderful views I took a more direct route back, down the east side of the mountain – an almost effortless and mercifully easy descent.

Though the ascent left much to be desired, the summit views more than made up for the drudgery of getting there. An excellent trip!

The first view you see, upon reaching the ridge; L to R: Sparrohawk, Wind, Allan, and Collembola

Mountain height:         2295 m
Elevation gain:            630 m
Ascent time:                2:10
Descent time:              0:50

After completing the Mount Kidd Lookout ascent, I had about 4 hours of daylight in which to try something else. “Packenham Junior”, as named by Calvin Damen, was the first peak that came to mind. Though the weather for my ascent in December of 2007 was fairly decent, there was room for improvement and I suspected that the view of Mount Packenham would be very good with the Sun sinking in the west.

Only my dwindling energy level made this ascent difficult. Again, there was a good trail to follow most of the way up. Even the lower portion of the mountain sported amazing views of snowy Mount Hood. The sky was as blue as I had ever seen it, and almost mesmerizing to look at.

Upon clearing tree-line, I traded my snowshoes for crampons and an ice axe and finished the ascent up steeper slopes. Like the Mount Kidd Lookout ascent, earlier in the day, I would have to wait until I reached the summit to fully experience the summit view. That wait was worth it in more ways than I can say. The views towards Grizzly Peak, Evan-Thomas, Packenham, Hood, Brock, and Blane were absolutely STUNNING!!! It’s always amazing to see how a good layer of snow gives mountains a far more dramatic look.

Were it not a brisk and bone-chilling wind, I would have stayed at the top to watch the Sun set.

An absolutely fantastic day of incredible scenery in perfect weather conditions. Also, another reminder that even many of the “puny” mountains and outliers in the Rockies have amazing views.