|
David Larsen, Warren Fink and I decided to challenge ourselves to the epic Seven Summits Trail near Rossland, BC. This trail is known for its amazing views, challenging terrain and home to the Broken Goat Ultra Race. Here is our adventure played out... Roadtrip to the Kootenays Originally, we tried to do this trip in June, however the weather turned cold/rainy, so I was waiting for a new weather window to take on this ambitious hike. A few days ago, David indicated that he was on holidays and I had just finished my big summer race (Sinister 7), so we jumped at the chance on Wednesday/Thursday. To save money, we used Warren's camper van and set out on Wednesday morning to the Kootenays. I'm fairly familiar with the area and made sure we stopped at the Deadwood Junction bakery in Greenwood, BC. I highly recommend getting the Artsy Tartsy buttertart :)
Exploring Rossland and KC Ridge Trail After loading up on sugar, we had a few hours to kill so we walked around downtown Rossland. Unfortunately, fire smoke from New Port, Washington rolled into town and put us on guard that we may have to deal with smoke for our hike. I was also hoping to do a jog/hike up Red Mountain, however the air quality was so poor that we decided to look for somewhere in the trees. A friend of mine recommended the KC Ridge trail just outside of town.
Columbia River (Trail, BC) After eating and cleaning up, we found a relaxing spot to hang out near the Columbia River. At this point, I was starting to feel a bit nervous about the upcoming hike. My body was feeling a bit fatigued and beat up from previous workouts. A full night's rest was in order..
Thursday Morning - The Journey Begins... After a good night's rest, we loaded up at breakfast and made our way to the trailhead. Because the trail is a point to point course, we were gracious to have Sarah Larsen drop us off. Luckily, the smoke blew away and we had clear skies and warm weather!
About the Seven Summits Trail According to AllTrails.com, the official trail length is 29.1km with 1220m of elevation gain. We decided to alter our a bit so that we could include a summit climb of Old Glory Mountain, and then finish at Red Mountain Resort. This course is very similar to the Broken Goat 25km route, in fact, the flagging for the course was out for us to follow which made things easier for way-finding. The First 10km The first ten kilometers were made of single track switchbacks, which I found to be very runnable. We took turns leading so that no one was getting dropped or stressed. Along the way, we encountered numerous cyclists and hikers. At the round the 10km mark, we got out of the treeline for the first time and were able to see some nice views! The sun was still out, and we got a view of Old Glory Mountain.
Old Glory Mountain (10-15km) We temporarily got off the main trail and headed towards Old Glory Mountain. Before this trip, I didn't know anything about this mountain. It turned out to be the highlight of the trip for me. Old Glory Mountain is the highest peak in the Kootenay mountain range (2,376 meters elevation), and has a cool history to it. In the 1940s, there was a weather station that was manned for several years before it burned down. That weather station had to be manned by several workers year round while dealing with high winds, snow, lightning storms, and grizzly bear encounters! This is long before helicopters, so all materials had to be brought up manually (hiking up), and sometimes horseback.
As we began the big climb, the weather turned cloudy and cool. This is also where fatigue started to set in for all of us, and it was quite the grind up to the top! We climbed high enough that we were able to see the fire from the USA. Despite the tiring climb, it was definitely worth it. With it's rich history and iconic views, I highly recommend you hike up Old Glory if you get the chance. Kilometers 15-29 The ascent and descent of Old Glory beat up my legs pretty good. I was happy to get back on track and head towards Red Mountain Resort. The terrain was varied and we were blessed with an abundance of nice views. I found that the trail was never "easy", there were always rocks and turns to keep your legs on guard. The final 7-8 kilometers were a gentle descent via ski hill runs into Red Mountain Resort. After being out there for close to 5 hours, we were happy to see the van again, and call it a day. The Next Adventure Run Now that I've checked this hike off my list, I'll be looking for the next Pounders Adventure Trail run. Stay tuned for more details!
1 Comment
Tyler
7/22/2025 10:18:00 pm
This looks like a great day! Im curious on your recommendation as a fellow trail runner and sinister 7 runner (successful solo in 2024 and ran legs 4 and 6 this year) on your take on whether a plan of mine is crazy. My intent is to leave my bike at the north trailhead and then park at south trailhead. Plan is to run up the 7 summits trail (which seems similar on paper to leg 6?) to my bike and then bike back down. I'm confident with the distances and with mountain terrain but curious on a)do you think running south to north is a good idea and b)does this look like too long of a day to finish biking in the daylight. I just dont know the technicality of the trail and dont want to find out half way that I overshot. Thanks! Leave a Reply. |
RSS Feed
|
About Us
Established in 1981, the Penticton Pounders Running Club's mandate is to assist and encourage interested members of the community to good health and fitness through running. We host weekly runs, several races (road and trail), as well as a number of social events. |