Pincher Ridge exploration
Part II
Click HERE to see Part I of the day.
...A little
disappointed about pulling the plug relatively early in the day, I decided to
bike back to the trailhead and perhaps run up Cinch Hill. That was until a band
of red argillite near a magnificent route up Bridle Peak I has completed at the
end of 2025 caught my attention, about a kilometre from the trailhead. Game on
for this new route...
Crossing
Drywood Creek without getting my feet wet provided a bit of a challenge, but it
was smooth sailing after that. 
The Sun took an unfortuitous break behind building
clouds as soon as I reached the red rock. Unfortunately, things were to stay
that way for the remainder of the trip. Nevertheless, the slope was teeming with fantastic
rock and I couldn’t help myself.
Much later than
sooner I arrived at a highpoint where the summit of Bridle Peak was visible in
the distance. Had the perfect weather of morning prevailed I would have
completed the ascent. However, it didn’t and therefore I didn’t. I started descending
what I thought was a new route down but quickly intercepted some familiar
looking rock. I was in fact descending the same route as December 31. Of course,
I then felt the compulsion to see all the amazing rock and scenery of that route
again, even in less than perfect weather. Once below the spectacle, a super
easy descent followed and then an even easier bike ride to end the day.
Overall, a trip
of hits and misses. A couple of hits in the form of lots of terrific rock
scenery and some cool route-finding; the misses: failure to fully explore the
area I intended to and the breakdown of the weather later in the day. I’d say a
return trip is somewhat likely to occur, heavy on the “somewhat”.
Looking up the new route. The band of red argillite is near the left.
Looking for a place to cross the creek
Pincher Ridge and a section of the ridge I was on about an hour earlier at the left
Some cool rock and lichen on the lower slopes
Close-up of the ridge I was on and its cornice
The red argillite band is apparently being guarded
The guardians
Slacking off his guard duties to gorge on grass
Continuing up to the base
Back to keeping an eye on the intruder
Crocus
Aiming for the far left side of the argillite band
Under the band
Easy path to get above the band, but I decided to traverse below it first
Black water streaks on the rock
This would be have been much better with the Sun shining on it
Tree time
Back to rock time
Near the end of the band
Heading up and to the left
Now heading directly up
A green distraction
A different view of Pincher's intricate east ridge
Green lichen time
All the main summits of Drywood Mountain
A brief patch of clear sky over Pincher Ridge
Messed up dead tree (but in a good way)
That ridge again where I stood earlier
Approaching the highpoint I reached
Drywood's southwest summit still looks good even with the clouds behind it
View to the east from the highpoint
There's the summit of Bridle Peak, but my motivation to get there, under the cloudy skies, is non-existent
Last look at Pincher Ridge
Looking down what appears to be a boring descent route, but is in fact very enjoyable and scenic
Descending
Lots of random descent photos to follow
This looks familiar - and that's because I tried to ascend the rock at the left on the last day of 2025
This was one of my favourite spots of the earlier trip
Another spot of Castle magic
This rock was especially captivating on the December trip
Again, the rock here was incredible when clear skies prevailed
Now back at the red argillite band that was the primary attraction of the ascent
The northeast end of Drywood - another rewarding shoulder season or winter objective
The Twig in the centre
A beaver pond below. The damn the inhabitanats built is incredible and only a few metres away from the gas road.
Back down near the creek
Parting look at the route. A repeat ascent on a perfect shoulder season/winter day may happen someday.
The End
LOG
