Hiking Sun God Mountain & Seven O' Clock Mountain near Pemberton
Contents
Sun God & Seven O' Clock Mountain Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 14Km
Elevation Gain: 1,385m
Highest Elevation: 2,421m
Average Gradient: 19.79%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / Very High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 9 – 10 Hours
– Moderate: 8 – 9 Hours
– Fast: 7 – 8 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Summer
4×4 / High Clearance Required? Yes
Scrambling / Exposure: Short section of Class 2 scrambling, no real exposure.
Sun God & Seven O' Clock Mountain Trail
The below coordinates lead to the start of Tenas Creek FSR. You’ll need to drive to the end of Tenas Creek FSR to reach the trialhead.
Trailhead Coordinates: 50°30’51.6″N 122°44’18.0″W
Sun God & Seven O' Clock Mountain Overview
Sun God and Seven O’ Clock Mountains are a duo of peaks located north of Pemberton, accessed via Tenas Creek FSR off of the well groomed Birkenhead Lake FSR. The latter FSR is driveable in any vehicle, but Tenas Creek FSR requires at least an SUV with reasonable clearance to navigate some cross ditches. This FSR is usually overgrown and might leave pinstripes on your vehicle’s paint, but it’s otherwise usually driveable to the very end, where the hike begins.
These peaks are not frequently hiked, with the majority of the hike self navigated through backcountry terrain, with little in the way of trails or markers to follow. Most of the terrain is technically simple, with a variety of boulders, meadows and dirt to gain each summit. The scrambling on the hike is simple and unexposed and at no point should you ever feel particularly uneasy.
While perfectly manageable as a day trip, some people opt to split this hike up over a weekend, camping at the stunning lake conveniently situated between the two peaks.
Timing your trip to Sun God and Seven O’ Clock is a tricky affair due to a number of reasons. Most people want to avoid snow on this hike simply because the main sights are the lakes and the colors of the region. Unfortunately the Pemberton Valley is usually extremely bug infested in early to mid-summer, so much so hiking there is often unbearable until late summer. September is likely the absolute best time to hike these peaks, with mid-late August usually reasonable as well. Early October will also work fine but snow generally returns to these elevations by mid-October, and once it does the season is usually gone again.
As with any hike north of Whistler, grizzly bear encounters are always a possibility and hikers should be prepared for them accordingly. Dogs are allowed on the hike but should be well versed in bouldery terrain as there is a good amount of it to navigate.
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Is Sun God & Seven O' Clock Mountain worthwhile?
Sun God and Seven O’ Clock Mountain offer some stunning views in diverse and unique terrain. The sandy orange hues you’ll get on the hike are quite unique, resembling the kind of terrain you’d see further north in the South Chilcotin’s at times. There are a number of stunning lakes in the region as well, especially the unnamed lake between the peaks, and Cerulean Lake that you’ll see at points throughout the hike as well.
The grunt up to the lake from the FSR is steep, bushy and not particularly pleasant, though fairly short lived. After an hour or so you’ll be out of the pain and the remainder of the day will be a glorious hike through the alpine, with endless vistas for the rest of the day.
How difficult is the hike to Sun God & Seven O' Clock Mountain?
At an almost 20% average gradient this is definitely a steep hike, though a lot of the elevation gain and steep terrain is right off the bat as you work up through the forest to the lake. Once you’re out of the forest the rest of the day is simpler, though there are certainly some steep sections on the approach to both summits. The views are so constant though, you’ll no doubt be stopping frequently to take them in.
Technically the hike is quite straightforward. The initial forest climb can be overgrown, with some deadfall to navigate lower down. As you gain elevation it begins to thin out before you reach a boulder field below the unnamed lake. The climb up to Seven O’ Clock Mountain is mostly just a hike, with one ridge to navigate around that should be simple. Sun God is steeper but mostly just hiking up a boulder field. The final 20m or so to the summit is a simple class 2 scramble with no exposure of note.
Sun God & Seven O' Clock Mountain Route Information
The trailhead for Sun God and Seven O’ Clock Mountain is at the very end of Tenas Creek FSR, itself off of Birkenhead Lake FSR. Tenas Creek FSR has some cross ditches that will stop any low clearance vehicles but should be fine in any SUV with some ground clearance. The FSR is overgrown and you’ll be brushing against bushes for much of it. Keeping an eye on your map, once you’ve reached an elevation of around 1,350m, you’ll want to find somewhere to park on the side of the road, which shouldn’t be hard.
Your first challenge is finding the trailhead for the hike, which should hopefully be indicated with some flagging tape on the side of the FSR. It’s important to find this otherwise you can expect to spend some unpleasant time bushwhacking through some pretty nasty terrain. Once you’ve found the flagged trail do your best to follow it, though at times it can be tricky as it’s so overgrown lower down, with plenty of deadfall to navigate. As you climb higher the trail gets easier to follow as the trees thin out and the amount of deadfall reduces. There is nothing pleasant to say about this section of the hike, consider it the cost of admission to such a beautiful region.
Once you’ve climbed to around 1,750m you should break out of the forest and find yourself at the base of a boulder field. Climbing up the boulder field, you’ll now want to decide which peak to bag first as it will determine your route. We did Seven O’ Clock Mountain first, in which case you’ll want to keep left of the boulder field, working your way towards the first bump along Seven O’ Clock’s eastern ridge. You won’t stop by the lake between the peaks at this point, though you could always detour there first if you don’t mind adding a bit of distance.
After gaining this first bump on the ridge the views towards Sun God and the lake below will already be stunning, making for a nice place for a break if you haven’t had one just yet. The route ahead should be pretty obvious, passing over a sandy, windswept col before climbing up a vibrant orange pinnacle. As you climb up, take a look back and you’ll see the unreal colors of Cerulean Lake to the north. The initial ascent is simple yet steep, and soon enough you’ll reach a narrower ridge that you’ll have to navigate. You can either climb up to the top of the ridge and scramble back down the other side, or remain lower on the southern side of the ridge and follow a ledge to the other side. Either route is easy enough, and it’s very brief, so pick whichever you prefer.
You’ll now find yourself on a flat plateau leading to the summit of Seven O’Clock Mountain in the distance. The final climb up is just a brief hike. From the summit you will have some great views of many peaks, namely Sun God Mountain, Mount Ronayne, Birkenhead Peak, Mount Marriott, Overseer Mountain, Mount Barbour, Tenquille Mountain, Mount Sampson, Ipsoot Mountain, Sugarloaf Mountain, Rhododendron Mountain, and much more. There’ll also be plenty of small lakes dotted around.
After a rest at the top you’ll want to head all the way back to the first bump you climbed up from the boulder field. Some parties choose to drop down to the lake between the summits, before climbing up Sun God on the other side, however this involves some elevation loss and regain. The other option, which was taken here, is to remain higher by arcing around the north of the lake by following the ridge between Seven O’ Clock and Sun God. Another benefit of going this route is you get some amazing views of Cerulean Lake down on the other side of the ridge. You will not get these views with a direct path from the unnamed lake between the summits.
Assuming you are following the ridge around, you really just pick your own path, trying to remain as high as possible so as to avoid any unnecessary elevation loss. At times you might need to navigate around/through some bushes, but if you stay high enough most if it should just be hopping along boulders and heather. There will be numerous viewpoints of the stunning Cerulean Lake along this ridge. Continuing on the direction will be obvious, towards the imposing Sun God Mountain.
Shortly you’ll drop off the ridge and find yourself on a combination of heather and boulders on the western flanks of Sun God Mountain. You can really decide whichever way you want to approach Sun God, either by gaining the western ridge through a steep climb up, then following it along, or by traversing across and up the southwest slopes and gaining the ridge at the very end. Either is fine, this GPX takes the latter option.
While a steep climb up, the route is very efficient and you’ll quickly gain elevation. Around 100m below the summit you will finally gain the ridge, and the summit will look dramatic from here. Thankfully it’s much easier than it looks and in fact there is a fairly well worn trail all the way to the summit now. The final 20m or so involves some simple use of hands, with no exposure at any point. The summit itself is a fairly small area, though there should be plenty of room for a party of 5 or so to move around. The views from the summit are of similar peaks as Seven O’ Clock Mountain, though you’ll be almost 100m higher and it’s a more dramatic summit surrounded by jagged ridges.
After finishing up on the summit you head back down the same way you came, only now you’ll continue descending towards the unnamed lake between the peaks. It’s downhill the whole way and travel should be quick. The lake is beautiful and crystal clear, making for a great place to relax and appreciate your accomplishments, and a nice spot to have a bite to eat, perhaps a dip in the water, before descending back down the steep forest to the trailhead.
When should I hike Sun God & Seven O' Clock Mountain?
As noted the timing for Sun God and Seven O’ Clock Mountain is finicky thanks to the horrendous bugs in the early to mid-summer. Don’t underestimate them, they can be so bad you’ll turn around on the forest climb. Ideally you can time this for late summer, but mid-August to the start of October would be ideal. Any later and you might encounter some snow again at these elevations. Some people do go in spring once the road has thawed to the trailhead, which might actually make the climb up through the forest a nicer one, however all the lakes will be frozen and the colorful terrain will be like any other snowy summit. Personally I think these peaks yearn to be hiked without snow covering the stunning region.
Top Tip
Do try and hike both peaks as they both offer unique perspectives in a stunning region. It’s hard to pick one as better than the other, but if I had to it’d be Sun God.
This is grizzly country so bear preparedness is essential. Bug spray is a must, especially if you go in early to mid-summer.
Make sure to find the actual trailhead when you begin hiking, otherwise you’ll end up in heinous, overgrown forest to reach the boulder field below the unnamed lake.
