Hiking Portia Peak in the Coquihalla Region
Contents
Portia Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 18.00Km
Elevation Gain: 1,535m
Highest Elevation: 1,870m
Average Gradient: 17.05%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 9 – 10 Hours
– Moderate: 8 – 9 Hours
– Fast: 7 – 8 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: ~June to November
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Portia Peak Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°35’39.4″N 121°07’24.2″W
Portia Peak Overview
Portia Peak is a lesser known summit in the Coquihalla Pass area that sees very little traffic in any given year, thanks largely to the fact there is no trail and some technical travel to reach the summit. The peak is also lower than the Flatiron, with largely similar views, so the average hiker sees little to no reason to continue on. That said, Portia only tends to garner interest from either committed peakbaggers or those looking for an adventure off the beaten path, away from the crowds.
The hike follows the popular Flatiron trail to a tarn, before self-navigating the remainder of the way to Portia. This involves a mix of simple (and scenic) ridge travel, before a steep drop to a valley below the peak. The summit block is a messy mix of bluffs, bush and granite, with plenty of Class 2 scrambling and route finding along the way.
Due to the very steep drop off the ridge, plus the climb up to the summit, this is more or less a summer only hike once the snow has fully melted. In the midst of winter there would be serious avalanche concern along the route thanks to the steep gradient. If you opted to go in spring you would likely want to bring full winter gear, including crampons and an ice axe.
Camping is possible in the region without a need for reservations, with the Flatiron tarn the obvious choice. There is also a smaller tarn below Portia Peak itself, though you would certainly want a filter for this, especially in late summer. Some parties may combine this with other peaks in the area, namely the Flatiron and Needle.
Dogs are welcome in the area.
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Is Portia Peak worthwhile?
Whether Portia is worthwhile is entirely dependent upon your mindset to hiking. If all you want is a simple and easy hike with great views, the Flatiron or Needle Peak ticks those boxes. Portia will only be appreciated for parties seeking an off-trail adventure to a peak that doesn’t see anywhere near as much interest as the others. There is no reason to go to Portia Peak for the views as they are similar to those on the Flatiron, and a lot more involved to get them.
If you enjoy adventure without the crowds, Portia is actually a great option.
How difficult is the hike to Portia Peak?
The stats for Portia are fairly sizable, however most of the day is actually quite straightforward. The whole hike to the Flatiron tarn follows an obvious and cruisy trail that will go by quickly. From the tarn you need to self-navigate the rest of the way, initially by gaining Two Bears ridge and following it along. This is all simple and very scenic.
The real adventure begins when you need to drop off the ridge to a low point. This is very steep heather, though in dry conditions it should be simple enough. You’ll reach a tarn below Portia where the terrain gets even more technical. The summit block is a jumbled mess of steep granite, bluffs and bush, with consistent Class 2 scrambling the whole way up. Route finding is difficult here, with most parties picking whatever way works best for them on the fly. The exposure should never be too daunting, but you may need to search around for less exposed routes up at times. Often that meant pushing through dense vegetation in my case. Coming back down is not much easier either.
Portia Peak Route Information
The hike to Portia follows the same trail as that of the Flatiron, all the way to the tarn below the Flatiron, which is a popular camping area. I won’t go into great detail as to the Flatiron route, if you want a detailed description check this post.
The route starts off steep right off the bat as you climb away from the highway noise. After a few hundred meters of gain the forest starts to thin out and you’ll begin traveling on the famous granite rock that the Coquihalla is known for. The route remains steep for a couple of kilometers before you reach a lovely granite corridor below Needle and Markhor Peak, with nice views behind of Yak Peak as well.
Shortly ahead you’ll pass by the Needle Peak turnoff marked by a huge cairn, before dropping down and working your way to the Flatiron tarn. If you need any water, fill up here as there likely isn’t anything reliable for the rest of the route. From the tarn you’ll now be off trail for the remainder of the route. The first goal is to attain Two Bears ridge, which involves traversing below the Flatiron towards a weakness in the ridge. This is mostly just a mix of heather and rock, all simple stuff.
Once you gain Two Bears ridge you’ll now simply follow it along. There’s an initial bump that you can bypass by traversing across the western heather slopes, but beyond that you should really just stay high on the ridge the whole time. The views here are very nice, and the travel is seamless. At times you may even find faint trails here and there.
Portia should now be fully visible from the ridge, but you can’t drop down until you get closer to the end of the ridge, so just continue along. All in all you follow the ridge for ~1.5km before you need to drop off. This descent is mostly just very steep heather, though you should manage fine without needing to use hands or anything. If it were damp though, you may benefit from microspikes.
All in all you will descend 200m from the ridge to the low point before the summit block. You’ll reach a small tarn here, which is a good place for a quick break before the climb up the other side. Looking at the “route” you may wonder how you’re going to get up this thing, and while it’s not particularly straightforward, it does go.
Initially you may find a faint trail and even a flag or cairn here and there, but in no time you will more or less be on your own to figure things out. There is no defined route up this summit, most people just figure it out on the fly using a loose GPX to guide them. The whole climb is a mix of granite, heather, bush and bluffs, and don’t be surprised if you have to backtrack or re-route after finding out the way you went ends up at an impassable bluff.
Eventually it does ease off though, and the last 50m or so of gain is more straightforward hiking. All in all the summit block alone likely took me an hour from the tarn, which is a lot considering it’s only around 250m of gain.
The views from the summit are very nice, but they have been nice all day, so it doesn’t have that one “wow” moment. You will mostly just be happy to have got through the messy scramble. Unfortunately, going back down it is not a lot easier, with confusing route finding the theme of the descent as well. Once back at the tarn, the steep grunt back up to Two Bears ridge is a bit of a kick in the teeth, and then there’s one last climb from the Flatiron tarn up to the Needle Peak junction. It’s easy to see how this hike ends up at over 1,500m gain with all the up and down terrain.
When should I hike Portia Peak?
Due to the steep and somewhat technical terrain the majority of ascents for Portia will be in the peak of summer when any snow has fully melted away. You could feasibly go in spring if you prefer steep snow travel, just make sure to bring the necessary gear if you do. Winter is likely out of the question for the majority of parties, unless conditions somehow align perfectly. With that said, July to October is realistically the best time to go.
Top Tip
Bears are surprisingly common in this area, I saw three on the day I went. There are quite a lot of blueberry bushes near the Flatiron tarn and along Two Bears ridge that they seem to linger around.
If you want to camp but stay away from the crowds, there’s likely options along Two Bears ridge for doing so. Just make sure to fill up on water at the Flatiron tarn before heading up there. The sunset/rise here will be lovely, too.
