What got me into backcountry? This trip right here - Gwillim Lakes in Valhalla Provincial Park

Celebrating my birthday has always given me a little anxiety. Anyone else? So starting about 8 years ago, I began taking myself on little adventures. On my 35th birthday, I found my happy place and fell hard for backcountry camping.

Here we go!

What started it all - spending my 35th birthday at Gwillim Lakes.

Elevation: 2148m

Located within the traditional territory of the Sinixt, Ktunaxa, and Syilx First Nations, this range of the Selkirk Mountains in southeastern BC will take your breath away. For me, it has it all – beautiful alpine meadows and breathtaking lakes, blanketed by an endless range of incredible mountain peaks, and the occasional rock slide to navigate across to spice things up.

Gear wish list:

- My hiking poles

- A larger water source

- Merino base layers (the days were incredibly hot but the September nights were incredibly cold. Also experienced a lot of strong winds during this trip).

- More compact and lightweight gear

My personal lessons:

- Packed way too much

- Just say no to the Costco-size packs of pepperoni sticks :) I thought this would make a great break-time trail snack - makes sense, right? Salt?... Protein? Heck no! Pepperoni sticks are not for me in the sweaty summer heat and sun-exposed trails!

Respect the park:

- Follow Leave No Trace principles

- This is a sensitive alpine ecosystem. There are spikes, markers, and flag tape at the campground to guide where you can and cannot walk through or camp to protect the plant species in the area. Please respect these markers. Disturbing these off-limit areas will irreparably damage the meadows.

Getting to the trailhead

Packs packed and Metallica downloaded – we call this our cougar music inspired by the woman who scared off a cougar while hiking in Duncan, BC by playing Don’t Tread on Me! Hey, if it worked for this hiker, no harm in keeping this as a backup plan :)

The first challenge of this hike is getting to the trailhead, especially the last 2 kms.

Directions: Our approach was from Highway 6 to Upper Passmore Road, then Little Slocan FSR. Keep right on Little Slocan N Road, then a sharp left when you hit the intersection to Hoder Creek Road. This is when the road starts to get much narrower and bumpier, but just keep going until you get to the trailhead. From Slocan city to the trailhead is 45 km.

Parking: There are 2 parking areas. The first parking area is about 2.4 kms from the trailhead, and then another at the trailhead for Gwillim Lakes.

If you decide to park at the trailhead, a high ground clearance 4x4 vehicle is highly recommended to get through that last 2 km. This is the roughest section of the drive. Decide what you want to do before attempting to drive the last 2 km because it would be nearly impossible to turn around unless you reverse all the way out (which I would find even more stressful). There are quite a few large rocks, dips, and washed-out patches to maneuver around. If you are driving a wider vehicle, I would say expect your vehicle to get a few love marks on the sides!

Day 1 - The hike to Gwillim Lakes

This is, by far, the most wildly beautiful and picturesque hike I’ve ever set foot on. The alpine meadows, the vegetation, the views, the eye-catching lakes along the way, and the vastness of the surrounding mountain peaks – it was all incredible.

Our journey through photos:

The first boulder field. You should be able to spot the cairns that mark the trail across. Take a moment to look out at the views as you cross!

Drinnon Lake. The first lake along the trail, 2 km from the trailhead - a good spot to take a break and to fill up water. Also the first campground on the trail. I saw 3 tent pads and 1 pit toilet a bit further up tucked away in the trees. It’s a green plastic... I'll call it a "forest throne" lol, with an attached toilet seat and open views of the forest. FYI - This is not the type of pit toilet you may be used to seeing with walls and a closed door 😊.

After Drinnon Lake, you will pass a few other lakes where you can fill up on water. You will also pass a second campground at Drinnon Pass/Wicca Lake (not pictured here), 1.5 km from Drinnon Lake and which has 6 tent pads. Wicca Lake would be another beautiful area to set up camp, and probably less crowded than Gwillim Lakes.

Just a photo of me being exhausted, carrying a heavier-than-it-needed-to-be backpack! Despite the blistering ankles and screaming leg muscles, I'm still loving life and the amazing views!

Wait until you reach this beauty of a spot! I can stare out at this all day, the view is just so unreal.

As you make your way to Gwillim Lakes from here, you'll finally start to enjoy a mix of uphill and downhill terrain. This is the final stretch of the hike - woooo!!

Ok, one more stretch. At the end of the trail, there is one last push up a pretty steep switchback that will bring you up to Gwillim Lakes. With the weight of your pack looking up, you kind of just want to say "no, thank you!" But trust me, it's so worth that final effort. I want to thank all the passerbyers that cheered me on 😊. I hope this blog finds you one day - you know who you are!

Gwillim Lakes. And we made it! Honestly, I almost cried. Maybe, it was the adrenaline and exhaustion talking. Maybe, it was the sweet relief of finally being able to take my backpack off and not put it back on for at least 2 days. But as soon as I stepped my last step of that switchback, I was gobsmacked by the landscape that opened up in front of me. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. Just. Stunning.

We arrived later than planned, so we didn't get a chance to explore much before it got dark (close to 6 pm). As for camp spots, there are 12 tent pads and a designated overflow camp area. There are spikes, markers, and flag tape to guide where you can and cannot walk through, or camp, to protect the plant species in the area. Please respect these markers. Disturbing these off-limit areas will irreparably damage the meadows.

Day 2 - 6:30 am rise and shine, and Lucifer Peak

Our 6:30 am rise to this! I keep finding myself daydreaming about this place nearly every day. I am obsessed.

Our attempt up Lucifer Peak

When doing research on other trails from Gwillim Lakes, we came across Lucifer Peak but couldn't find a whole lot of information on the trail to get up there.

However, we met a couple at the cooking area who pointed us in the right direction. You'll see a small trail to the left of the outhouse furthest from the cooking area.

Luficer Peak - elevation: 2,226m

The first scramble up. There are cairns that were helpful in guiding us up.

This will bring you up to Upper Gwillim Lakes. Another stunning viewpoint and area to take in.

Well... we didn't quite reach the summit of Lucifer Peak. We weren't even close. But hey, check out this gorgeous view of Gwillim Lakes again! There was another scramble after Upper Gwillim Lakes that felt too daunting without our hiking poles. It just kept getting steeper and steeper and more narrow. The heat was quite intense that day as well, and matched with an all sun-exposed trail, we called it a day! Instead, we kicked back, played, ate, and explored the Upper Gwillim Lakes area. We will catch you next time Luficer Peak!

Reminder - do not feed the bears.

Day 3 - Heading back down to the trailhead

Patches of smoke started to creep in by the end of day 2 from a distant wildfire, so we decided to hike out a day early. On day 3, smoke started to blanket the area😢

I love this photo! But it went from this...☀️

...to this in a matter of minutes!

This photo doesn't quite do justice to how striking this section of the trail was. The smoke definitely gave the lakes an eerie quality, especially with no one else in sight. Still such a beauty though!

Back to that first rock slide.

And we're back at the trailhead! First backcountry trip as a couple, and many more to explore! See you again soon Gwillim Lakes!

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