Hiking Mount Crickmer in the Fraser Valley
Contents
Mount Crickmer Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 21.1Km
Elevation Gain: 1,347m
Highest Elevation: 1,359m
Average Gradient: 12.77%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 8 – 10 Hours
– Moderate: 7 – 8 Hours
– Fast: 6 – 7 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Mount Crickmer Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°16’56.6″N 122°21’42.2″W
Disclaimer: Winter hiking (snowshoeing) involves significantly more risk than summer hiking. Hikers should be prepared with appropriate education, training and equipment for all possibilities, including but not limited to avalanches. A mistake such as going off trail, getting lost or injured can be far more dangerous in winter than summer. You are responsible for your own safety, and while I am happy to give my opinion on this website as to the avalanche risk of a specific hike, do not take this as fact and please do your own research. Everybody has different risk tolerances and mine might be different to yours.
Mount Crickmer Overview
Mount Crickmer is one of the southernmost summits in the Coast Mountains near Mission, slightly east of Golden Ears Provincial Park and west of Stave Lake.
Despite its relatively close proximity to Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, as well as its straightforward access from Florence Lake Road (potholed, but 2WD friendly), Mount Crickmer mainly seems to be on the radars of more adventurous hikers, and is infrequently tackled in the more casual hiking community. Some people might prefer this, but if you’re the kind of hiker who wants a well traveled trail, you might want to give this one a miss or at the very least find a group to go with.
Mount Crickmer is a year-round objective, though it tends to see a lot more traffic in the summer than the winter, likely because of its challenging stats. No matter the time of year, expect a long and fairly tiring day. Thankfully the rewards on Mount Crickmer are excellent, with amazing views from the summit. The entire Golden Ears range lies to the west, Mount Robie Reid and Judge Howay dominate the northern skyline, east is Stave Lake and endless mountains and south is the Fraser Valley.
A large amount of the hike is following an old logging road, making for simple and fast travel. The hike concludes with a steep forest grind up to a plateau, and finally a mellow stroll to the summit.
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Is Mount Crickmer worthwhile?
Mount Crickmer is a bit of an unappreciated hike that goes unnoticed for the majority of hikers. Perhaps people are put off by the significant elevation gain, enough so to mean Crickmer only attracts enthusiastic adventurers up for the challenge.
The views from the summit are fantastic and arguably better than many of the nearby summits in Golden Ears which are always well traveled. This hike is similar in distance and elevation gain to Alouette Mountain, yet probably sees just a fraction of the amount of people that go there.
How difficult is the hike to Mount Crickmer?
With over 1,300m elevation gain and 21km distance Mount Crickmer is a fairly challenging hike physically speaking. That being said, a large portion of the hike, over half, is a plod along a forest service road on a stable gradient. The remainder of the hike is on a relatively easy to follow trail before reaching the final ascent where you essentially decide your own route up, either way it is very steep, making the end of this hike difficult for sure.
Technically speaking Mount Crickmer is a fairly straightforward hike with most of the trail following an old logging road that is easy enough to navigate. The latter half of the hike crosses multiple creeks that usually won’t be an issue, but might prove challenging in winter if snow banks have formed. The steep climb up through the forest to the summit should be straightforward in summer but could prove tricky in winter depending on snow conditions.
Mount Crickmer Route Information
After parking at the trailhead (see coordinates for exact location) you’ll walk through a yellow gate. This gate is owned by First Nations and is typically locked, which is unfortunate as a high clearance vehicle could easily drive half of this hike if it were open.
You’ll find yourself on a loose rock forest service road and it will stay this way for around 5.5km. The gradient throughout is typical FSR, moderate yet consistently steep. Personally I don’t mind it as it’s easy elevation gain, but it’s not exactly interesting. After around 1km you’ll get some nice views of Stave Lake and Fraser Valley, which for me meant an unreal sunrise and a nice respite.
Continuing forward there will be nothing to see and no decisions until around 3.5km. Here the trail forks and you’ll want to keep left on the first fork and then right on the next, a few hundred meters later. It’ll be easier to download an offline map and look at it at every junction so you don’t take a wrong turn.
At around 4.5km the trail forks once again and this time you’ll keep right. The wide FSR will now narrow into a smaller, less traveled road. At around 5.5km you finally reach the end of the road, which was marked by a real estate sign pointing down a narrow path to mark the route to Mount Crickmer. While the trail narrows and becomes far more rugged now, it’s still easy to navigate and obvious where to go. You’ll soon reach a part of the trail that crosses a massive landslide that took out the trail back in the day, with a new trail now going directly through it.
Carrying along you’ll soon reach a worn out bridge over Kearsley Creek, offering a nice little view of a waterfall at the same time, and your first glimpses of the Mount Crickmer approach.
Between kilometers 6 and 7 or so will just be a pleasant walk on moderately steep terrain but soon you’ll reach your first creek crossing. At around the 7.5km mark you’ll begin traversing along a ridgeline with a steep bank overhead to your right and to your left will be beautiful views of an unnamed peak blocking Alouette Lake. Running down this steep bank are several streams, creating multiple creeks across the trail you’re on.
For the next kilometer or so you will be crossing around 5 more creeks, which won’t be an issue in summer but might prove tricky in the winter if snow banks have formed on either side.
Eventually you’ll cross the final creek crossing and soon enough ascend to the right where the trail cuts back on itself. Shortly after cutting back you’ll begin your steep ascent through the forest towards the summit. In the winter there was no trail to follow but in the summer there very well might be a faint one. Either way, revert to your map to ensure you’re following the general direction and grind it out.
After around 200 vertical meters of climbing over just 500m distance, the climb begins to ease off and you’ll soon break out of the treeline onto a broad plateau below the summit. The remaining 600m or so to the summit is a beautiful stroll along a ridgeline overlooking Stave Lake.
Soon enough you’ll reach the summit and the views will now open up in all directions. The summit is a large area and you’ll have to walk around a little to get a nice photo in each direction. From the summit you can see Alouette Mountain, Evans Peak, Blanshard Peak, Golden Ears, Mount Nutt, Mount Robie Reid, Mount Judge Howay, Alouette Lake, Stave Lake, Mount Baker, Mount Saint Benedict, the Fraser Valley and endless mountain ranges.
After resting up at the top the descent is simply retracing your steps back the way you came.
When should I hike Mount Crickmer?
Mount Crickmer is a year-round objective, but most people tend to hike this in the summer without snow on the ground. If that’s what you prefer you’ll likely want to aim for mid June to early November. If you don’t mind snow then anytime of year works.
Top Tip
If you have a mountain bike I’d strongly suggest bringing it to ride up the first half of the hike. This will make the descent a lot faster and a lot more fun. It’s a real shame about the gate as you very well could drive half of this hike if it wasn’t there.
