Hiking Gott and Gotcha Peak near Blowdown Pass
Contents
Gott and Gotcha Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 13.80Km
Elevation Gain: 1,160m
Highest Elevation: 2,511m
Average Gradient: 16.80%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / Very High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 7 – 8 Hours
– Moderate: 6 – 7 Hours
– Fast: 5 – 6 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: ~June to October
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: Minimal – No Exposure
Gott and Gotcha Peak Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 50°22’12.5″N 122°11’45.5″W
Gott and Gotcha Peak Overview
Gott and Gotcha Peak are a duo of commonly combined summits on the fringes of the Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Park, typically accessed from Blowdown Pass, around an hour’s drive from Pemberton. The hike follows a road up to the pass (which can sometimes be driven in capable 4×4’s), before ascending each of the summits on the opposite sides of the lake.
Blowdown Pass is a fairly popular region in the summer months, with Blowdown Lake offering great camping opportunities with quick and easy access from Blowdown FSR. This road is suitable for most SUV’s, but not likely lower clearance vehicles. Gott and Gotcha Peak are easily the two most popular summits to ascend from this area, however Cottonwood Peak is another great option if you’re looking for something less traveled. This region is beautiful, so having an excuse to visit multiple times is always welcome, with plenty of opportunity to explore even more peaks, such as Moomin Peak or Nottgott Peak.
These peaks are both very accessible, with no real scrambling needed to reach either summit (perhaps a very brief/easy spot on Gotcha).
Due to the elevation of the trailhead (1,650m), Gott / Gotcha are only accessible for hiking once the snowline is high enough to reach it. Therefore winter and much of spring is out of the question, with the season generally running from June to October. Snow can often linger at higher elevations though, so if you want a snow free ascent you would probably want to wait until July.
Dogs are allowed in the park, but suggested to be left at home. Grizzlies are quite prevalent in this area so do prepare for any possible encounters.
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Are Gott and Gotcha Peak worthwhile?
Gott and Gotcha Peak offer some of the finest views around for their relative ease of summiting. Thanks to being able to park at 1,650m (or higher), it won’t be long before you start to get very nice views. From Blowdown Pass onwards you will have rewarding views the entire day. The only downside of this region is how far away it is, around 3.5 – 4 hours drive each way from Vancouver. As such, many parties opt to camp at the lake and make a weekend of it.
How difficult is the hike to Gott and Gotcha Peak?
At a smidgen over 1,000m elevation gain this is a fairly moderate outing by summer standards. We were on the summit of Gott Peak in 1.5 hours, and our round trip time was under 6 hours with lengthy breaks at each peak. At no point did this ever feel like anything more than an absolutely glorious stroll through an extremely scenic region.
Technically speaking it’s pretty simple as well. Gott Peak requires no scrambling at all and Gotcha Peak is mostly just a hike up talus with one very brief section of extremely easy scrambling that would barely even be considered Class 2. Of course, there is no exposure here whatsoever either.
All in all this is a type 1 fun kind of day.
Gott and Gotcha Peak Route Information
Parking for Blowdown Pass is at ~1,650m elevation along Blowdown FSR. You’ll probably want to refer to a GPX as you’re driving to know exactly where the trailhead is to ensure you’ve parked in the correct spot. Some capable 4×4’s will be able to drive the spur all the way to Blowdown Pass. The spur is quite rough and overgrown, so expect to get your paint scratched if you do try to drive up the spur. The vast majority do not even bother trying and to be honest it doesn’t save that much effort/time regardless.
Assuming you don’t try and drive up the spur, the hike will instead begin by hiking it. The first 2.5km or so is uneventful, just a mellow gradient on rocky terrain, climbing around 300m in the process. At this point you will reach a junction where the road will curve around to the left (anybody driving will go that way), and a trail continuing ahead to the right. If you are going to the lake you will have to go to the right, but if you are going directly to the pass, either way works. I would suggest taking the road route because I would also strongly suggest taking the shortcut up to Gott Peak via the meadows first.
The meadows ascent is steep, ascending around 400m over a short distance. Still, this won’t feel like a burden as the views are so good you’ll stop frequently to look behind you and take photos. Gaining the ridge will likely take more time than you think as it is quite foreshortened and the ridge seems to keep getting further away the more you climb. Eventually you’ll top out on the ridge, where the views will be absolutely breathtaking. It’s now a short and simple plod along the ridge to the summit.
After spending some time soaking in the scenery, you’ll now descend the standard SE ridge of Gott towards Blowdown Pass. Along the way you will have to climb a small subsummit, but you can also sidehill across its southern slopes. In hindsight it’s probably easier to climb up and down it as the sidehilling ended up being more extensive than first thought. Still, either will work fine.
You’ll pick up a faint trail that descends to the pass, at which point you’ll briefly follow the road before beginning up the talus slopes towards Gotcha Peak. The route passes west of a subsummit that is often also called “Gotcha Peak” on most maps, and historically was incorrectly identified as Gotcha Peak despite being much lower than the actual peak. Many parties climbed this subsummit thinking it was the actual summit. Regardless, ignore this subsummit and continue towards the true Gotcha Peak.
The route is very simple, with multiple cairns indicating the way. You’ll be aiming for a simple scramble section on the northwest ridge of Gotcha. Once there, it’s barely a scramble at all, with just a few hand placements to assist the climb. Once past the scramble the summit is not far away. Gotcha is a very broad summit so you can wander around to soak in the various views. On a clear day you should be able to see Joffre Peak, Mount Matier and a number of other Duffey Lake Road classics out to the west.
Once finished on Gotcha you’ll return to the pass the same way you came, then hike out via the FSR.
When should I hike Gott and Gotcha Peak?
As noted, Gott and Gotcha Peak are only accessible once the snowline has thawed to these higher elevations. Typically this means June to October, but you might be able to visit slightly earlier/later depending on the year. These peaks see less snow due to the warmer and more arid climate, and despite the very high elevation they do tend to melt out earlier than other peaks of similar elevation.
Top Tip
I definitely suggest taking the meadows route either up or down Gott Peak vs. taking the ridge route both ways.
Preferably hike in a group and bring bear spray for this one as grizzlies aren’t uncommon here. If you are bringing a dog, make sure it is under control as you don’t want it running off and bringing a bear back to you.
If you want a bigger day you can add on Cottonwood Peak or Nottgott Peak (scramble). Alternatively you could camp at the lake and hit multiple peaks in one trip, which many people will do due to the long drive.
Mosquitos can be really bad here in the early summer (July). If you want to minimize them, you might want to visit in August / September.
