The seeker of solitude will not mind the stiff climb to a beautiful cabin set amid spectacular mountain scenery. Other attractions include a well-preserved mining area of historic interest and shallow, sometimes inviting warm glacial tarns.
Originally built in the 1920s to service the mines above, think of the early miners and the loads they packed up this mountain as you grind your way up the steep slopes.
The present lovely cabin was built in 1994.
In a disastrous avalanche on January 2, 1998, a group of 6 back-country skiers from Nelson were killed. Read “In the Path of an Avalanche” by Vivien Bowers, a riveting account of the affair. Since the Silver Spray Cabin has been closed in the winter.
A 2003 forest fire burned through the valley.
This is my favourite place in the West Kootenay.
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
Difficulty: C1 strenuous
Elevation gain: 995m (3265′)
Key elevations: TH 1341m (4400′); Silver Spray cabin 2337m (7665′); Woodbury cabin 2070m (6790′)
Distance: 6.45 km one-way
Time: 7-8 hours round trip
Season: mid-July to mid-October
Access: Moderate on Woodbury Creek FSR
Map: 82F/14 Slocan
Drive: Woodbury Creek FSR (high clearance, 4WD)
From Balfour (ferry): Drive 23.5 km (14.6 miles) north on Hwy 31 and turn left. Zero odometer.
From Kaslo (Esso station): Drive 10.2 km (6.3 miles) south on Hwy 31 and turn right. Zero odometer.
0.0 Start on the Fletcher Creek FSR, signed “Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park”. The old south road access is very rough.
1.1km Go left for Woodbury. (right ascends the unmaintained Fletcher Lake Trail (not recommended due to high concentration of grizzly bears.
2.4 km The old road comes in from the south. Go right, then bear left. 7.4km, cross a bridge.
11.8km Just after crossing a stream, at the height of the road, a branch goes up and left to Sunset Lake and Pontiac Peak 1296m (4250′). This is the trailhead as this road was washed out in 1998 and can’t be driven. Descend steeply on the narrow, overgrown and eroded road. Takes 20 minutes to walk so can park here.
13.4km Park 1341m (4400′). The last two km require four-wheel drive.
Trail: Hikers heading to Silver Spray Cabin or Woodbury Cabin start on the same trail. It leads west from the BC Parks kiosk, is level and usually rather wet and thick with annual growth, especially in the early morning. Soon cross a bridge to the north side of Woodbury Creek.
1.6km Turn right NW to Silver Spray cabin. Left goes to Woodbury cabin.
The rapidly ascending trail passes an old cabin and just beyond, a crossing of Silver Spray Creek. Soon the trail breaks out of the thick woods into an open flower-covered subalpine forest and continues steadily up, past the remains of another old cabin, into Clover Basin. Crossing open meadows, small brooks and rock outcroppings, the trail continues up the ridge before topping the rise and terminating at the cabin. The historic cabin (picture inside the present cabin) was replaced in 1994.
6.4km Silver Spray Cabin is administered by the Alpine Club of Canada – 403-678- 3200 for reservations. Propane cooking, lighting and heating with propane supplied. Cookware or dishware is provided. Bring only your sleeping bags, warm clothes and food. Sleeping is in the loft area on foam pads.
What to do?
1. Climb the nearby mountains: Sunrise Mt, Mt McQuarrie or Evening Star, all easy. A superb trail leads from the cabin to the Violet Mine, on the shoulder of Mt McQuarrie. Cabin Peak is on the west side of the basin. Kyawats Mt is a long day hike from the cabin.
2. Silver Spray to Woodbury Traverse. Look at the post.
3. Several rarely done traverses are possible. a. Caribou Pass. Climb Caribou Ridge, Satisfaction Peak, Mt Chipman or Trafalgar Peak. Descend via Nelles Creek to the Woodbury Trailhead or out the Klamala Creek trail to traverse the NE corner of the park.
