《计划》 Seton Ridge

lulululu

朋友Scott向我推荐过多次，找个时间我们走一次:lol:

.....We did a backpack to Seton Ridge last weekend.  It is one of our favorite trips and we have done it three years in a row.  The last couple of years we have done it as a day-hike, but I wanted to spend a night in the alpine, so I camped out.  It was great.  There is an endless expanse of ridges and snow capped peaks to explore.

I highly recommend Seton Ridge as a hike for you to do.  Because it is a different ecosystem, most years the snow melts out by the beginning of June despite the fact that it is over 7,000 feet above sea level.  Almost nobody knows about the hike so you get a sense of isolation.,,,,,

英子

在哪里？给个坐标。

lulululu

在Duffey lake road附近，我在考虑走loop，和附近的其它路线串起来花个周末走一下

ALEXYIM

See the article by Straight.com Vancouver published in 2004

Outside
Seton Ridge Yields a Canada Day Epiphany
Outside By Jack Christie
Publish Date: June 24, 2004
Seton Lake near Lillooet is one of the prettiest sights in B.C. If you've travelled around the province, you know that's saying something. For starters, although the hues of many mountain lakes change with the seasons, Seton's intense turquoise colouration remains almost constant year-round.

Another reason to single out Seton is that for such a large lake (more than 20 kilometres long), there are only a limited number of vantage points from which to view it. Until BC Rail eliminated passenger service between Vancouver and Prince George, train travellers enjoyed a full-length view of the lake from the narrow strip of land that separates it from Anderson Lake and Seton Creek's outflow west of Lillooet.

The easiest place to view Seton Lake is from the B.C. Hydro recreation area at the chilly lake's east end outside Lillooet, where you'll find a broad stretch of sandy beach and some picnic tables. (B.C. Hydro also maintains the nearby Seton Dam campground.) A leafy row of acacia trees planted in 1942 by Lillooet residents to honour war dead shades the shoreline, a welcome relief in summer. Typically, a strong onshore wind helps moderate the summer heat, which in this region routinely sets national high-temperature readings in July and August. Nearby, the Seton Bluffs dominate the skyline on the shore opposite the beach.

Last Canada Day, I had a chance to view the lake from an entirely fresh perspective: atop Seton Ridge, a wedge of crumbling granite that rises between Duffey Lake Road and Cayoosh Creek to the south, and Seton Lake to the north. So steep is the arid slope there above Cayoosh Creek that until I actually drove the road that leads to the trailhead I wouldn't have though it possible to reach the ridge except on foot or by horseback. (Decades ago, that's exactly how the original trail was cut by a local prospector.)

Thanks to logging on the less steep lake side, a wide and well-maintained gravel road switchbacks six kilometres to the ridge. From there, a single-track trail leads six kilometres farther into the alpine.

Seton Ridge rises gradually westward to the foot of a string of glaciated peaks that top out at 2,880 metres above Downton Creek, one of Cayoosh Creek's major tributaries in the region north of Duffey Lake Provincial Park. (Duffey Lake is Cayoosh's headwaters). On this July morning, the most pleasant discovery about the trail that leads up and along the ridge was the profusion of wildflowers that lined the way. Orange-yellow western trumpet honeysuckle blossoms and bright-orange tiger lilies stood out in sharp contrast to the dark forest floor, the colours augmented by splashes of blue-green as the surface of Seton Lake, with its constant whitecaps, intermittently flashed into sight.

Two hours of steady hiking brought me out of the forest into a clearing from where I could sense that the wide-open alpine wasn't far ahead. A change in the tree composition from mountain hemlocks to subalpine firs confirmed this place as a transition zone. Stubby black cones adorned fir branches. And although the trail proved challenging at times, the fact that it was cut to suit pack horses meant the route was never extreme.

An hour later, lush meadows appeared, speckled with paintbrush in a spectrum of reds and oranges. Blue arctic lupine and creamy-white western anemone grew so thickly that I was hard-pressed to find a rest spot where I wouldn't crush any. With all the blossoms, it was hardly surprising to be dive-bombed by hummingbirds. At the same time, it was so quiet that a passing bumblebee sounded like a B-52. A black-eyed junco appeared and gave me the once-over as if it remembered me.

What a place to bring binoculars. I scanned the peaks that rose in a broad swath before me. This view was a mountaineer's dream, testament to why the Cayoosh Range has been a favourite with Vancouver climbers and backcountry skiers for years. An enormous gendarme (a large rock outcropping) thrust up from one scree slope. The snow-draped peaks contrasted vividly with arid Mission Ridge on the north side of the lake. Beyond it in the far distance, a row of peaks marked the South Chilcotin Range.

It hardly mattered that the trail petered out above the tree line. The terrain was so wide open that I no longer needed a path to find my way; I just needed more time than I had left to explore. I stood and wondered why no one else was hiking here, especially on such a fine day. Other than birds, the only sign of life I'd seen was length of wolf scat. Just at that moment, an American mountain biker and his Swedish girlfriend appeared. As with one mind, we toasted the land.


ACCESS: To find the unmarked access road that leads to Seton Ridge, head 71.5 kilometres north on the Duffey Lake Road (Highway 99) from Mount Currie (165 kilometres north of Vancouver on 99). Watch for a yellow bridge that spans Cayoosh Creek, where a sign warns of trucks turning. (If you overshoot this mark, watch for another sign that reads "Lillooet 20" and backtrack to the bridge.) Five switchbacks lead to a flat area on the ridge where the trail begins.

ALEXYIM

I think I got a book about trails around Lillooet.  I've to check it out.

The problem is that Lillooet is too far away from Vancouver.  I believe the driving time is close to or more than 2 hours.

ALEXYIM

找到了. 這本書全關於Lillooet的.  (就是太遠一点,弄個base camp走數條trails就好点), 沒有作者同意,還是把放大的文字和圖刪除好点.

googoo

好在上山的时间只需2小时，开车时间长点也无所谓。

lulululu

from Bivouac:

Seton Ridge Trail(Calculated Length:9 km )

Markings: well beaten horse trail, but no flagging

General Route: Seton Ridge is the treed ridge running east from the Cayoosh Range between Seton Lake and Copper Creek. The Seton Ridge trail starts from the Seton Ridge Road and runs up the ridge between Copper Creek and Seton Lake.

Condition: Well maintained trail, most fall has been cut away. Because it is usually clear of snow by July 1, this area is a good early season objective. There is no water over the entire length of the trail

Destinations: To a compact but beautiful alpine basin at the head of Copper Creek. Open meadows connect to the open ridge east of Spider Creek. Some spectacular views of Seton Lake and Mission Ridge. There is no reasonable NTD access south west to the Downton Creek drainage.

How to Follow: To find the trail go west on the somewhat overgrown road at the pass. After about 100m look closely for an overgrown unmarked trail to your left. The trail heads up the ridge [directly on top of it] for the first 2 km. After reaching the first bump [6100 ft.] it drops about 500ft. to cross a saddle. Watch for an abrupt right turn before the saddle. The trail again joins the ridge until it reaches tree line. From here another 15 mins. of up hill takes you to the top of the second and highest bump at 7000 ft. and a splendid view. However, the horse trail side hills around this high point [watch for it on your left as the trees thin out and the alpine opens up] and joins the ridge again as it drops down. The trail continues on the ridge and again skirts around another bump on the ridge. Finally, as the trail approaches its end it leaves the ridge and angles to the left across a sloping meadow. The trail ends at an outfitters camp [6900ft.] beside a small stream, the first water since crossing Copper Creek on the logging road! From here one can scramble up loose rock to the top of an 8800ft. peak. [50:38.1-122:13.7]

lulululu

CT上最近的游记：
http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=63408

lulululu

可以去看秋色一天也能搞定，e.g. 周五晚上出发，在几个LIL'WAT Recreation Campsites选一个Car camping一晚(Driftwood Bay/Lizzie Bay/Twin One Creek/Strawberry Point/Owl Creek/etc)，第二天一早爬，当天就可以回来 :wink: