Semaphore Lakes + Locomotive Mountain, two Saturdays in a row.
Some things are just too good. We went backpacking to this incredible place last weekend, and I loved it so much I went back on my own with the dog a few days ago. Locomotive Mountain is in a beautiful group of mountains off the Hurley FSR north of Pemberton, with the Train glacier in between.
It is camping heaven - perfect tent sites spread over a huge area so you don't feel crowded. There are lots of lakes and tarns of different sizes dotting the landscape, a huge waterfall tumbling off the Train Glacier, and spectacular mountains to scramble. You can drive to the sub alpine, so the fun starts right away from the road.
As you come up over the first ridge from the road, this is what greets you. This is Locomotive Mtn. I scrambled to the peak up the far lookers left. Here's a view from the summit:
Part of the Train Glacier is straight below, and the corner of a green lake. This is looking north towards Gold Bridge + Bralorne. It's a pretty dramatic drop here. Definitely a no fall zone :) I have been up this mountain a few times, and always wanted to go check out the lake so I decided this was the day. You can't see it at all from the ascent or the valley - just the waterfall draining out of it (see above, middle).
I cut a hard left near the bottom of the mountain and scrambled up some crumbly boulders and steep scree, came up over the top of the ridge and saw this..
BAM !!!!!! I figured it would be good, but I didn't realize it would be this amazing. What an incredible feeling to be in this gorgeous place all alone. If you climb Face Mtn, the one next door to Locomotive, you'd have a gret view of this lake as well (my next objective). It pays to go a little out of your way en route to find something incredible.
The entire trip to the summit on Locomotive is aesthetically beautiful. There are killer views straight down the Pemberton Valley to Mt Currie, and Tenquille, Sun God and Goat Peak are right beside you. Here are a few more pics. We are so lucky to have these playgrounds right in our own back yard.
