This once-popular short hike from the Slocan Chief Cabin provides a good view of the park core and an interesting look at an old high-elevation mine site.
John Carter, a Kokanee Glacier park ranger and the writer of the original hiking guidebooks to the West Kootenay, died in an avalanche in 1996 on Smuggler Ridge. Mt John Carter, above Lemon Pass, is named for him.
If you’re staying in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, Smuggler’s Ridge is a short day hike above the glacier. These directions are from the Slocan Chier Cabin.
Rating: ♦♦♦♦◊
Difficulty: B2 moderate
Elevation gain: +601 m to the top of the pyramid
Key elevations:
Distance: 3.23 km one way
Time: 1 hour one way
Season: mid- July to early October
Access: Difficult
Map: 82F/14 Slocan
Trail. Follow the 1.2 km trail to Slocan Chief Cabin and then right .4 km steady climb to the edge of Smuggler’s Ridge. Left goes to the Battleship and right up Smuggler’s Ridge on a trail. Mt. Kitchener is far right, the smaller Pyramid in the middle, and the Battleship left.
There is a collapsed stable at the end of the trail. These tailings and wood remains were once the Smuggler Mine, which was worked sporadically between 1903 and 1928 for lead and silver. Horses rested in the stable after packing heavy loads up the trail. Think what it would have been like to work this high-elevation mine in inclement weather.
The Pyramid is the high point below Mt. Kitchener. There are many routes. Ascend the ridge to the top of the Pyramid.
Return by traversing Smuggler’s Ridge down to the campground and avoiding Slocan Chief Cabin.
