I wanted to run Mount Burke since I saw a picture of an old abandoned fire tower lookout at the summit.
It wasn’t really in the front of my mind but I felt it would be a relatively easy one to do with my broken ankle.
I was pretty groggy when I set off early Sunday morning. The long drive to the Cataract Creek provincial area was a welcome diversion as I had time to properly finish my coffee. I packed for all the conditions in case I faced snow. (Thankfully there was no snow on the trail or the summit.)
The drive through Diamond Valley and along Highwood Pass area was so lovely with the fall colours and the picturesque farmer fields. Lots of deer and cows were on the road so I had to drive carefully.
I parked at a large empty, save for one car, parking lot at the Cataract Creek area, south of Highwood Junction and just off of Highway 940. I jogged down a gated road about half a kilometre to reach the trailhead just before a campground.
It’s a relatively short hike – something like 12 kilometres return with just under 1,000 metres in elevation gain.
A family of five large, black cows greeted me with curious stares before I set off on the trail across a meadow. There wasn’t any markings so I loosely followed the map that I had downloaded the night before.
Almost immediately, I began climbing up through the trees. There was one nice view point before I was engulfed by trees again. It was a little spooky so I amused myself by writing songs about cows in my head. Sections were completely runnable and I tried to run a little but I stopped whenever I came across roots or rocky areas.
I was startled more than once by a family of annoying grouse. They blend into the forest so easily that you are nearly stepping on them before you notice them.
The trail to Mount Burke reminded me of the old Prairie mountain trail – one stretch was a complete grind.
Eventually I popped out of the trees where I could finally see the old Cameron Fire lookout building in the distance. The trail turned to rocky bits before I walked along a cool, narrow ridge to the summit. Before zigzagging to the ridge, I spotted someone trotting down the trail from the summit. We caught up and exchanged greetings about the trail, the wind and the weather.
We were both surprised not to see anyone else on the trail since the reviews suggested it was a busy hike. To be perfectly honest, I was happy not to see anyone. I needed my quiet time.
I grinded out the last kilometre to reach the summit. My new pal was right. The wind was fierce. I was forced put a rock on my poles to keep them from blowing away while I tried to take photos.
The old fire tower has definitely seen better days. Research suggests it was built in the late 1920s then commissioned in the late 1950s. My research turned up different dates for the build and the decommission so I will go with general terms.
The wind was blowing so hard that I felt like the building was going to pick up and be carried off off just like in the Wizard of Oz. I definitely did not want to stay too long inside that old shack. The views did not disappoint but I couldn’t stick around too long because I was so cold.
There’s actually a Mount Burke loop but I chose to do an out-and-back.
I made quick heading down from the summit. The wind took my breath away and I wanted to get down to the trees where I could warm up. I jogged/plogged down to the trees where I made it back to the family of cows in the meadow in no time.
No sign of any other humans until I heard the sound of a chain saw near my parked car. I had just finished pouring coffee into my mug when I noticed something on my windshield.
Imagine my surprise to discover a hand written note on a napkin. The hiker who I chatted with had written: “It was nice to meet you. Wasn’t the view incredible? Hope you have a great rest of your weekend.”
That made my day.
