March 23 - Stats: 5.3 km / 398m gain / 482m high / 2.5 hours MT
Well the cat's out of the bag -- or should I say the dragon is. This brand new trail is now officially open. It features a stone garden, streams, granite outcrops, dramatic viewpoints and waterfalls. Kelly Pearce from the Hope Mountain Centre says this project has been going on for several years and is nearing completion. Why do they call it the Dragon's Back? Probably because of the many (some body-hoisting) wooden or rock stairs mixed in with some steep but little downs & ups.
Exit #168 and then right by the kiosk onto Silver-Skagit Rd. for 1.6 km. The gravel road going up 1/2 km is a bit bumpy but there's no chance of scratching your vehicle. I think a 2WD can do it. Lots of parking space.
Apparently the Tarzan swing has been around for a while. Harry pointed at the decrepit rungs on the tree and starting with the lowest, he counted upwards: "1 beer, 2 beer, 3 beer..."
Superb craftsmanship.
Hope Mt (1590m) - Wells Mt (1800m) - Grant Mt. (2100m)
Moss cover branches, moss covered rocks, moss carpeted ground and moss covered bark.
Old growth Cedars.
A high rock wall.
A secret tunnel.
1) Trail building tools lay scattered alongside the trail. 2) There were even stairs drilled into rock that were supported by rebars.
Why waste wood? They used it as a form of art.
Ropes to aid the way. There were two sets in all.
A gully before hiking up onto the ridge & high point.
This white rock stood out in a sea of green.
1) Old growth Hemlock. 2) Amazing how this tree grew bent to find the sun.
We were observing how the trees managed to grow on this embankment, often with roots clinging onto rock like giant hands.
The final destination - a viewpoint of the Fraser River & town of Hope - northeast.
Hope Mt - east.
Skagit River in the valley. To the right: Silver (1830m) & Stoneman Mts. (1560m) -- south.
Heading back down.
A promise of spring! The first Trillium I've seen this year.
Our curiosity got the better of us and we branched off of the main trail to check this older one out. It led to this river where we could see waterfalls higher up. But there was no clear route continuing on to them.
Back at the Tarzan swing we met up with the other group of 8 who'd started half an hour later than us.
Who said swings were only for kids?
The little arm on the bottom left is where we left the main trail to check out the river.
Hope Mt - upper right / Wells Peak - lower right / Stoneman & Silver Mts - lower left.
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