THANKSGIVING MOUNTAIN 2365M. 7760′
UNNAMED 2296
These are minor summits/ridges on either side of Grey Creek Pass. Grey Creek Pass is the only mountain pass between the East and West Kootenay and the Trans Canada and Highway #3. It connects the east side of Kootenay Lake and Kimberley.
Thanksgiving Mountain is the mountain on the north side of Grey Creek Pass and the more significant of the two. Named by the locals who like to hike it on the holiday, the summit has a wide panorama of Kootenay Lake and the Purcells. Larches in the fall.
Rating: ♦♦◊◊◊
Location: Between the east shore of Kootenay Lake and Kimberley in the East Kootenay.
Difficulty: A2 easy
Elevation gain: Thanksgiving Mt: +303m / 1083′; Unnamed 2296: +231m / 758′
Key elevations: Gray Creek Pass 2065m (6775′), Thanksgiving Mt 2365m / 7760′; Un 2296 (7330′)
Distance: Each 3.4kms round trip
Time: 2-3 hours
Season: late June to mid-October
Access: Good in summer over Grey Creek FSR. 2WD low clearance. One hour drive from Kootenay Lake Ferry.
Map: 82F/10 Crawford Bay
Drive: From Balfour catch the Kootenay Lake Ferry.
0.0 Start Kootenay Bay when disembarking the ferry on the east shore. Drive Hwy 3A to Crawford Bay then south.
12.3km Pass Gray Creek Store and 150m beyond, turn left (east) onto Oliver Road. Zero odometer.
From Creston (junction of Hwy 3 and 3A) drive north on Hwy 3A – 72kms and just after crossing Gray Creek, turn right (east) onto Oliver Road. Zero odometer.
0.0 Start on Oliver Road known locally as Grey Creek Pass Road.
.3km. Turn right and cross bridge over Grey Creek. Stay on main road up switchbacks.
1.3kms. Bear left on Grey Creek Pass Rd. Sign reads “Marysville 84km; Hwy 95A, Kimberly 88km.
7kms. Go left goes to Sphinx Mountain TH. (right through a winter snow gate on Grey Creek Pass Road. 9.1km Cross a creek. At 17kms, pass the Oliver Lake Rec. Site.
17.5kms. Grey Creek Pass. Park at the one-vehicle turnout just north of the sign Steep Grade.
Routes/Trails:
Thanksgiving Mt (230-928). From the pull-out, head north on a ridge in forest that thins as you ascend into the alpine. Follow orange flagging tape when the trail fades.
1.7kms. Reach the rounded summit in 45 minutes. The road is 282m (925′) below. Sphinx it directly north. South is Oliver Lake and Haystack Mt; west are Kootenay Lake and Kokanee.
Return the same way.
South Summit (227-917). From the pull-out, cross the road, and walk up to a crude A-frame shelter. Head SW into the forest going down and up, pass a few small rock slides and after 15 minutes, ascend the ridge to the first summit 2296m (7330′). Look SW down La France Creek. Continue on the ridge to the third summit.
References:
https://westkootenayhiking.ca/thanksgiving-mountain/
