Headed for the Mountains
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Posts: 303
Ford Mountain 08/11/18
Having missed the last weekend with great weather due to lack of sleep, I was eager to hit the mountains again. Earlier in the year I've had to postpone numerous outdoor excursions due to poor weather and injury, now that the great weather has returned and I'm in relatively decent health I plan on exploring the trails every opportunity I get.
Ford Mountain proved to be a great choice. This was my first time back in the Chilliwack area for this year, one of my favourite hiking destinations. I've completed many hikes in this area. Mount Cheam, Mount Slesse, Flora Lake and a few more. It felt great to back in nature.
I picked up two friends in West Vancouver and took the drive back to Coquitlam and then towards Chilliwack. The drive itself was nothing special, and this time I made sure to fill up on petrol before reaching the Chilliwack Lake Road turn off. I remember running on vapours coming back from Flora Lake and barely making it to the closest petrol station last year. The drive up the Ford Mountain Forest Service Road required a highly capable, high clearance 4x4 vehicle with an experienced driver. Right off the highway I switched to 4HI, and made it up to the first fork in the road. I read my GPS incorrectly as I was thinking that this was the trailhead. We continued to walk up the gradual logging road, with the views opening up in certain areas providing a slight glimpse of the scenery that we meet at the top. When I look back at it now, it is highly possible to drive right up to the true trailhead. Again, further up the logging road the conditions become worse. My vehicle has tackled many brutal trails and would have been capable of reaching the top, should I have paid more attention to my GPS. No matter, it only took us half an hour from the first fork to the "false" trailhead. According to my GPS, the "false" trailhead is where the trail starts, yet it still a branch off the forest service road and is completely driveable right up to the true trailhead. Perhaps the map on my GPS is dated. Upon reaching the true trailhead, I reset my GPS tracker as I did not want to record incomplete information. From where we parked, it likely added around 90 minutes overall. The "false" trailhead sign looks like someone set it on fire some time ago, while the true trailhead sign is in good condition.
Hiking with my two friends was great, both of them are younger than I am and in far better condition than I am. I was generally at the back of the group, and their fast pace motivated me to move faster. While I had a considerably heavier pack with emergency equipment, tools and such I was still able to keep up to them which was quite a feat. Walking up the logging road in the open area wasn't difficult, but it was a sweatathon. If there was one thing that I forgot to bring on this trip was a hat! The sweat mixing in with sunscreen and then dripping into my eyes made me stop to wipe my face numerous times. It was 26 degees Celsius when we started the hike, and I was happy when we finally reached the true trailhead and entered the forest to feel the shade.
The trail itself wasn't busy at all, we came across two friends who were heading up to Ford Mountain as we were, we passed them on the way up however we never saw them again the entire day. We basically had the mountain all to ourselves as no one else was in sight. The trail itself was easy to find up to around the last 1km. The shaded areas in the forest still had snow which meant some route finding was required. There are very few markers on this trail, and it does not look like it has been maintained in some time. I had to refer to my GPS a number of times as we searched for the trail, however we never ended up competely lost. The terrain requires moderate technical experience as you are moving through roots, rocks and climbing over logs in some areas. It's nothing as technically difficult as some of the other trails in the area but this particular trail would not be for a beginner. There are a few branches off the main trail that lead to lookout points or camping areas. The top opens up to see the numerous mountains in the distance and there is evidence of a structure that sat at the top some time ago. The temperature dropped slightly when we reached the top of Ford Mountain, likely due to the wind blowing across the snow. I welcomed the drop in temperature, although my two companions did not. There is a trail leading to Williams Ridge, however I do recommend the actual Williams Ridge trail as I would imagine it being far more exciting than simply ridge walking a forested area. This hike was relatively quick, mainly due to the physical capabilities of my two companions.
One negative drawback about the Chilliwack area is the fly tipping on these beautiful trails. We came across so much rubbish, ranging from empty beverage containers to spent firearms casings. Not only on the logging road, but even on the trail itself. Such a shame to ruin nature.
Chris S.
Organizer
The Outdoor AND Culture Club Meetup
Last edited by Chris S.; 05-13-2018 at 03:00 PM.