2022 Thanksgiving Trek: Our First Island Qualifier

Over the thanksgiving weekend my partner (Grant), a friend and I summited Warden Peak before indulging in a big family meal (so much food!). It was a beautiful day, the best kind of weather especially for so late in the season: Clear, bluebird skies and stable conditions. With every few steps of the hike my mind kept busy thinking of all of the things I am thankful for in my life. I was thankful for every step that I was taking, for my wonderful partner that I wouldn’t be there without, for the mountain, for the land, for the conditions, for my family and friends, and for so much more.

About Warden Peak: Our First Island Qualifier!
Warden Peak is located in the Northern half of Vancouver Island (31km North of Gold River) and is a remnant of an ancient volcano. It is 1969 meters in elevation and has a variety of routes to the summit. Our path was from a logging road from the south and rounded around Victoria Peak to the West. Warden is a part of a group of 9 mountains on the Island called Island Qualifiers. The Island Qualifiers are select mountains with “alpine-characters” that have been chosen as it takes a variety of technical ability to summit them. The challenge, to complete all 9 of them. If you want more information or a list of the 9 Island Qualifiers, check out the Alpine Club of Canada: Vancouver Island Section.
There’s a lot to say about this trip so this post is a bit longer than I’d like but might be some useful information in here for those who want to go for this Peak.

Our Trek Begins

We had an early-ish start to summit day, getting up at 6:30AM and packing out just after 8AM. We encountered all different kinds of terrain: clear-cut sections of forest, bushwhacking, old growth forest, sub-alpine, scree, a glacier and finally the hard basalt walls of Warden Peak. The bushwhacking was interesting to say the least. We took our time scrambling up slopes, using young trees and hanging onto blueberry bushes so we didn’t fall: and of course nibbling on the way – Delicious! Luckily for the guys, the bushes were mostly at their chest height, and I’m not small but even at 5’9 I was at the perfect height to get whipped in the face constantly by the tops of the blueberry bushes. But no matter! Grant was navigating in the front and found the trail once we emerged. When we came out of the bushes we hiked through a beautiful old growth forest before coming into the subalpine. In the subalpine there was a stunning lake from glacial run-off with an elk across from us. It was so magical! I took it as a good omen for our trip and after some photos we headed East towards Victoria Peak for more bushwhacking. This bushwhacking was at a greater slope and was much more dewy and slippery. I was very thankful for the blueberry bushes at that point for being sweet and saving-me. 
We came out of the bushes to find a talus field (large area of loose rock) and beautiful waterfalls coming from the glacier of the adjacent peak (Victoria Peak). We followed the waterfalls up and between the two peaks. Once past the waterfalls there were patches of hard basalt with a variety of rock types spread around after being dislodged from the peaks. To say the least, we’re all nerds for some cool rocks, so this section took longer than it should have since we were stopping and examining so frequently.

Then we get to the scree. This is my least favourite kind of terrain because it is just so hard to walk on and it typically aggravates a previous injury in my knee. This section not only had this terrain but at quite a slope with a lot of exposure. I felt anxiety bubbling and as much as I tried to settle it, it would bubble up if we had to stop for some reason. Needless to say, I had a moment and scrambled ferociously to get away from that point. It was over soon enough and when we turned back we could see the glacier that was nestled under Victoria Peak. It was stunning as it glistened in the sun. As we continued along the PG route (from the Island Alpine Select Guidebook), we had some great conversations about what it would have been like centuries ago.

Finally one of my favourite parts! We were on Warden’s stable, basalt rock. With a long way down and lots of exposure we took our time scrambling up its walls. Grant has a wealth of technical mountaineering and climbing knowledge. So he shared some techniques as we roped up to climb the North side of Warden. We learned how to tie a middle person into a rope using a butterfly knot. Once we were off the rope we scrambled the rest of the way to the summit. We made it! First Island Qualifier! There was a gorgeous view of Victoria Peak at the top, so naturally we planned for it to be a future trip. 

The Journey Down

After some time on the summit we found some solid anchors and began repelling down. I LOVE repelling. It feels a bit backwards but I feel strong and confident when repelling even though anything could happen. When repelling, you’re essentially lowering yourself down a rope with a couple pieces of equipment. It’s good to not get too complacent and keep an eye out for things that can either harm or help if you fall.

We made our way back down Warden, over the scree and past the waterfalls, taking a slightly modified route since the melt-off had made the water level rise. Instead of bushwhacking under Victoria Peak this time, we followed the streams to the lake and found a much easier elk trail to follow. RECOMMENDATION #1: When you get to the lake, go West to get around to the North side on your way up to Warden, it is so much easier and a lot safer.
As we descended the sun set behind the mountains in the distance. By the time we left the lake to hike out of the subalpine it was dark. We used our headlamps and previously recorded GPS tracks to navigate through the forest. We saw a lot of elk and bear droppings. I was in the back and made sure to be loud by singing a variety of T-swift songs all the way down. “Trouble” had to be one of my favs to belt out as we navigated through the dark. Once we made it back to the first bit of bushwhacking, Grant noticed it was a lot thinner to our left. He found a second trail that was through more old growth! RECOMMENDATION #2: When beginning the ascent from the logging road, keep right of the bush-line and go into the old growth forest. There is a steep trail that parallels the “bushwhacking route” and the ground is loose but it is a lot better than being slapped in the face by bushes and trees. This trail also wasn’t listed on any blogs, trail apps, websites, etc. We made it through and back to the truck. With a quick change and a bit of refuelling we were off, down the logging roads, into the darkness of the night. Settling in for the 5-6hr drive home under an almost full moon.

Takeaways

• Get more fit! I am not where I want to be… so change it!
• Do more research. I shouldn’t be relying on Grant to know everything and do all the research when it comes to a trip. I want to be learning and researching these things too so I know where we’re going. It’s not fair to have him, as a partner, to always take the lead. Although I read a bit, I realized when I got there that I needed so much more, so very thankful.
• Gain more knowledge. I am fortunate to have a partner as knowledgeable and experienced as Grant. Someone who had the technical ability to keep things safe and did extensive research about the route we were taking. 
• Be flexible. On the way back we were flexible with our route and it worked in our favour. You may find a better way, but use some navigation because being too flexible might lead you astray.
• Exposure is a fickle thing. While on the solid rock with a steep drop that’s 100’s of feet, I feel comfortable, well at least not uneasy. It’s invigorating but also peaceful. A kind of meditation. Knowing that if I fall, that will probably be it but being at peace with that because I trust my own skill. I’m not afraid there. However, I am very uneasy on slopes of scree. Where if I fell I would probably stop before getting severely injured but none-the-less feel intense anxiety.

 “I like to think that today is the best day of my life and tomorrow will be the next best day of my life. And if you think that way, you’re living for the beauty of today.”

Conrad Anker