Hiking Dickson Peak near Gold Bridge
Contents
Dickson Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 11.00Km
Elevation Gain: 1,105m
Highest Elevation: 2,814m
Average Gradient: 20.10%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Very High / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 8 – 10 Hours
– Moderate: 7 – 8 Hours
– Fast: 6 – 7 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: ~June to October
4×4 / High Clearance Required? Yes
Scrambling / Exposure: Easy Class 2 – No Exposure
Dickson Peak Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 50°54’49.9″N 122°55’46.1″W
Above coordinates lead to start of Roxey Creek FSR. You’ll need to switch to your trail mapping of choice to navigate up this FSR.
Dickson Peak Overview
Dickson Peak is a prominent summit located on the edge of the Southern Chilcotins, not far from the mining town of Gold Bridge. Thanks to its inclusion in Scrambles in SWBC, this peak draws a fair bit of interest from the peakbagging crowd despite the fact it’s a ~6 hour drive from Vancouver each way. Due to the long drive, most parties will complete this as part of an overnight trip, either summiting Dickson on its own or combining it with some other peaks in the region.
There is an old mining cabin at ~1,700m up Roxey Creek FSR that is still accessible for capable 4×4 vehicles. SUV’s can likely park a bit lower down at ~1,450m where the road is in better condition. Either way, despite the significant elevation of this peak, the stats for this hike are actually fairly reasonable. Despite that, the slow and technical terrain still results in a decently long day out.
The majority of the day will be spent on loose, unstable talus that is not the most pleasant to hike on. You’ll have to take care with most steps to ensure the boulder you’re stepping on isn’t going to move under foot. Thankfully the views are exceptional, so you won’t feel too hard pressed when navigating this tedious terrain.
There is some excellent camping in the upper valley for those wanting to spend a night here, with sandy beaches and meadows lying next to the calm flowing Roxey Creek, all the while surrounded by jagged peaks. Of course, the Southern Chilcotins are prime grizzly bear territory, so the necessary precautions should be taken when camping here (and even for day trips).
In terms of seasonality Dickson Peak is actually a fine hike in the spring, and some parties may even prefer this as snow will cover the ugly talus approach. The only factor to really consider is the road access. Typically you will be able to drive most of the road by the end of May, so if you’re looking to ascend on snow then May/June is your best window. Of course, July – October is peak summer when the hike will be more or less snow free. In the winter this hike will be inaccessible on foot.
Dickson Peak is dog “friendly”, but an endless day of talus hopping probably isn’t ideal for most dogs. Spring would be best to allow for snow coverage if you want to bring a pup.
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Is Dickson Peak worthwhile?
Dickson Peak offers fantastic views from the summit and indeed for much of the hike. If you manage to park at the old cabin it will only take 15 minutes before you reach the alpine valley where the views remain for the rest of the day. The biggest drawback by far is the ugly, loose talus approach to reach the summit. Once you begin climbing out of the valley the rest of the day will be spent hopping along boulders that can shift and sway without warning. Most people will end the day with a scrape or a fall. By the time you end the hike you will be utterly sick of talus. For this reason alone, Dickson Peak is losing a star, despite the 5 star views.
How difficult is the hike to Dickson Peak?
11km and 1,100m gain doesn’t tell a full picture as most of the hike is through technical, slow moving terrain. Dickson Peak isn’t the most physically challenging hike as you won’t really be able to move all that quickly for most of it.
Technically speaking there isn’t much in the way of scrambling on Dickson, and certainly no exposure to any falls. You just have to be able to navigate steep boulder fields, which will certainly require the use of hands for much of it (Class 2). There is some finicky route finding through a creek filled moraine and up a small waterfall, as well as a steep scree climb to gain the SE ridge. For the most part it’s just tedious, slow going travel both up and down.
Dickson Peak Route Information
The trailhead for Dickson Peak is from an old mining cabin at the end of Roxey Creek FSR, which is a spur off of Slim Creek FSR. The latter road is manageable in any vehicle, but Roxey Creek will need some ground clearance as it has several cross ditches throughout. Most SUV’s can likely reach ~1,450m where there is a large turning point that you could park at. Beyond this the road worsens considerably, with lots of steep and rocky terrain that even 4×4’s need to crawl up at times. If you have to park at the lower parking spot, you’ll need to add ~4km and 250m to your day (probably ~1 hour).
From the old mining cabin there should be a faint trail leading behind it adjacent to Roxey Creek. Follow this for a few hundred meters of easy travel before you exit the treeline into the lower valley. The views will immediately be very nice.
From this point on you shouldn’t rely on any navigational aids like cairns or markers (you may see some around, but not enough to navigate), instead keep an eye on your GPX. You’ll now cross a marshy area before reaching the first boulder field of the day. You’ll ascend a couple of boulder fields now, with bands of dense vegetation that you have to push through.
At around 1,850m you’ll reach the upper valley situated beneath Dickson Peak to the north, Mount Penrose to the south and a large glaciated ridge to the west (that feeds into Roxey Creek). This valley is one of the highlights of the day, offering a stunning scene that would be a perfect base camp. You’ll now wander along the shores of the currently mellow Roxey Creek, ultimately heading towards a moraine at the base of a series of waterfalls flowing from the basin above.
Once you reach the moraine you’ll have a couple of route options, with one obviously preferred:
- Climbers right of the moraine – Not a great choice as you end up scrambling directly below the waterfalls coming down from the upper basin.
- Through the middle of the moraine – Looks appealing at first and it’s the way we went on the ascent, but ultimately results in some tricky creek crossings towards the end to exit it.
- Climbers left of the moraine – Slightly longer route but avoids most of the creek crossings – definitely the preferred option. We took this on the descent.
Assuming you take option 3 you’ll now begin the tedious talus approach, which will continue for the rest of the route. Keeping high on the moraine crest you’ll gradually work your way around towards a small waterfall flowing down the cliffs leading to the upper basin. You’ll need to cross this outflow once, before climbing up the small gulley that the waterfall is flowing down. You should easily be able to avoid the water, however all of the rocks here are incredibly loose due to the silty terrain they sit atop, so take care.
Once at the top of the waterfall you’ll be at the basin where the main Roxey Creek flows before splitting into the multiple waterfalls leading down into the valley. You’ll have to (easily) cross these creeks, and now you’ll have a clear sightline to Dickson Peak in the distance. Your route will be directly ahead, ascending steep talus slopes to gain the SE ridge. From afar it looks a little daunting, but once you get up close it’s not as steep as it looks.
To gain the ridge you’ll have to ascend a mixture of very loose scree/sand and talus. On the ascent it’s probably easier to stick to the talus, but the scree makes for an easy descent on the way back. After some very steep climbing you’ll gain the SE ridge. The views will really open up here, with the nearby glacier that feeds into Roxey Creek on full display, and Mount Penrose gradually coming into view to the south as you gain more elevation.
The remainder of the route is now a no-brainer, you just follow the talus slopes to the summit. There shouldn’t be any real scrambling along the way, but it is steep and many of the boulders are very loose, even some of the large ones. It’ll mostly just be a case of picking your preferred route through this sapping terrain.
Eventually you’ll reach the top where the views obviously become panoramic. Carpenter Lake will now be visible to the east, Mount Penrose will dominate the southern skyline, the South Chilcotins lie to the north and the glaciated ridge will be most prominent to the west. The summit is quite spacious, and when we went the register was still going strong, with a handwritten note from 1949! Amazing that it had survived for not far off 80 years in these conditions.
Once finished you descend back the way you came, which is still a fairly slow process unfortunately. You’ll be quite pleased to be off the talus once you manage to make it back down to the valley.
When should I hike Dickson Peak?
Most people will hike this during the summer, so July to October or so. If you want to try and avoid the talus, you might want to go in May or June, but do check to make sure the road is free of snow if you try to do this.
Top Tip
There are generally two driving routes to the Gold Bridge, either Hurley or via the Highway to Lilloet. I’d definitely suggest the Lilloet route at least one way, it’s very scenic and the drive (while a little longer) is more pleasant. If you are looking for somewhere to car camp near the trailhead, the Gun Creek Rec Site is highly recommended!
The South Chilcotins are about as grizzly as it gets in SWBC, so make sure to prepare for possible bear encounters. Ideally this isn’t a peak you want to do solo.
