A few weekends ago I had the opportunity to spend the weekend up in Canada with Josy from A Walk And A Lark and Lisa from West Coast Hiker Girl in Manning Park, BC, east of Vancouver. Lisa is a born and raised Canadian and knows the territory well, so she took over as our guide. After a Friday night at her place just across the border, we were on the road for a two-hour drive towards Manning Park and great time in the outdoors. So, what happens when three hiking bloggers invade Manning Park, BC, for the weekend?
This was my fourth time to Manning Park but first time to visit when the snow was still on the ground. I was looking forward to seeing it from a winter perspective. If you haven’t been to Manning Park before, this is a great time of year to go. It turns out we were there the week after they closed the ski resort, so things were nice and quiet!
DAY 1 AM
Road Trip To Manning Park Provincial Park
Lisa took us east on some back roads that had us driving along the Canadian/American border. Did you know that two roads with a grassy meridian is all that divides us here? Yes, border patrol was present and Lisa says there are cameras galore.
Soon we were on HWY 3 driving through the beautiful Hope Valley with its verdant farm fields butted up against the towering Cascade Mountains. A light dusting of snow from the night before graced the higher peaks. It had a feeling similar to the views along the Columbia Gorge before the devastating fire of 2017 with the angular cliff walls covered with hardy pine trees.
There was a quick bathroom stop at the Hope Slide Memorial, a gaping wound in the mountain side where 46 million cubic tons of rock came down in 1965 killing 4 people. The land is still mostly barren and it was hard not to notice the scars of the dramatic event that dislocated an entire lake, as well.
Our weather for the weekend was forecasted as a mix of rain and snow which started not long after we began our ascent into the mountains. We had originally planned to snow camp but decided that a night in the lodge after day hiking or snowshoeing sounded more reasonable.
Windy Joe Lookout, Manning Park
Arriving in Manning Park around 10:30am, too early for check-in, we decided to start-up the trail to Windy Joe Lookout to start our weekend off. This was my second time to Windy Joe and fourth time on this section of trail as it is where the Pacific Crest Trail enters Manning Park and most northbound PCT hikers end their hikes.
It was interesting to be out on the Pacific Crest Trail during this time of year. With the snow still on the ground and winter desperately holding on as evidenced by the snowflakes drifting down, we left the car and headed out along the Similkameen River which runs parallel to the beginning of the trail.
The trail was hard and compact so we had left our snowshoes in the car but soon put on microspikes for added traction.
At about 1.3 miles we hit the junction for the Frosty Mountain Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail! As you can guess, it’s a bit early for thru hikers…
Here’s Josy taking a picture of me taking a picture of her at a hairpin turn in the trail. You can see the opposing picture and her recount of our hike to Windy Joe on her post here. She also has more of our selfies on her post, so you should definitely check it out.
At 3.3 miles we came to the junction with the Pacific Crest Trail and Frosty Mountain and you can easily tell this is where the trail maintenance stops. I’m sure the park rangers will be back to clear the huge pile of downed trees that fell on the PCT when the snow melts.
Our trail snaked up to the left and there were gentle switchbacks the last 1.5 miles to the lookout and summit. The snow was still several feet deep with only the center of the trail compacted, so there were missteps and postholes on the sides as we made our way up.
Not ours, but you get the idea. Downhill when the snow was softer after the day’s sun was much worse.
The weather could not make its mind most of the day: snow, rain, sun. We had it all.
We reached the summit a little after 1pm and just shy of 5 miles. The clouds were closing in again and the wind picked up as we found shelter inside the lookout with its newly refinished siding.
We spent about an hour enjoying the views, tasty snacks and each other’s company before heading down. Lisa had brought some of her homemade sourdough bread for her and Josy to share along with hard-boiled eggs and tomatoes, while I had my paleo falafel, rosemary cranberry pecans and sweet & salty coconut chips. We sure do know how to eat right in the outdoors!
The surrounding mountains played peek-a-boo while we were at the summit and our views changed depending on which side of the lookout we peered out of. Snow swirled around on one side and blue skies teased us on the other.
We continued to have sun for the rest of our trip down and passed a few other hikers, snowshoers and skier headed up to the lookout.
Lightning Lake, Manning Park Part 1
With the sun still out and no promise of its appearance tomorrow, we drove over to Lightning Lake just down the road to check it out and see if we would have views of Mt. Frosty. We didn’t see Frosty but the lake held potential for our outdoor plans in the morning if the weather was not favorable.
DAY 1 PM
Manning Park Resort
We checked into the Manning Park Resort and relaxed in our spacious suite while noshing on more treats we had brought with us. Treating yourself with girlfriends is a reasonable venture when you split things three ways!
A few more snowflakes drifted down outside our window and we basically killed time with laughter until it was a reasonable hour to go and lounge in the Bear’s Den. I have been talking about getting a new phone and so Josy was showing off the portrait setting of her new Pixel 3 from Google by taking pictures of my guava energy balls I did up with cacao powder because I didn’t have the kale when I went to make them. Kale and cacao are both good for you, right?
Not bad, huh? Yes, I need a new phone but I’m still leaning towards the iPhone X which Lisa has.
Anywho…on to the evening.
The Bear’s Den Lounge, Manning Park Resort
The lounge was cozy and dark with quite a few tables taken up despite the ski resort having closed the week before. We took over some comfy chairs by the fire-place with the intent of playing cards but just ended up chatting over drinks and nachos. That is to say, Lisa and Josy partook of a half order of the colorful appetizer and promised me they weren’t any good as they quickly disappeared.
We toasted our fun outdoor adventure with gin concoction called the Orange Chair and cider. The cider is from a local orchard and although a little sweet, the apple flavor was refreshing.
DAY 2 AM
Lightning Lake, Manning Park Part 2
The next morning we awoke to a small flurry despite blue skies and the grounds were covered with light snow from overnight. A bit sore from the previous day’s hike, we opted for less incline today with a walk around Lightning Lake and a small jaunt up to a viewpoint on the intersecting Frosty Mountain Trail. The trail goes up and over Frosty from here and back down where we were on the Pacific Crest Trail yesterday.
Lightning Lake has a large day use area and car camping further up the road. Parking at the large lot, we headed towards a wide path that circumnavigates the lake and turned north. The new snow dusting meant traction and we didn’t need to don our microspikes. Not yet, anyway.
The junction for the Frosty Mountain Trail is about a third of a mile around the fresh water lake after crossing a wide bridge over the northern outlet and dam. Lightning Lake is unique in that it drains in both directions: north into Similkameen River and south into Flash Lake.
The views south down the lake were just the beginning of our memorable day.
Frosty Mountain Trail, Manning Park
Lisa headed up the Frosty Mountain Trail ahead of us but quickly turned around to say that microspikes were needed. She was right, the trail was narrow and had an exaggerated outslope from the melting and refreezing of the snow so the extra grip was mandatory. Under the cover of the forest, the trail was pure ice.
The trail had three long switchbacks to a viewpoint 1.1 miles up and we could see out across the two valleys of the Nepopekum and Lightning Creeks divided by the ridge that bears the Skyline 1 Trail.
We could see down along the chain of lakes in the valley. Lightning and Flash were evident but the others, Strike and Thunder, were hidden in the dense forest along with Hozomeen obscured in the clouds. I’m sure the running theme of these lake names is not a coincidence.
We paused long enough for a quick snack and then were heading back down the trail to continue our loop around the lake. Lisa assured us that the lake was solid so we began our stroll out on the lake.
Lightning Lake, Manning Park Part 3
It took us about an hour to walk around to the end of Lightning Lake. We are able to stay on the ice for most of the time except for where the lake pinches in the middle and shallow water meant the ice was too thin to bear weight. Here we walked up on the trail until it was safe to drop down to the lake again. We stayed relatively close to shore but far out enough to be on solid ice. I have to admit I am a bit chicken walking on frozen lakes.
A small bridge spans over Lightning Creek on the back side of the lake, about 2.5 miles from the parking lot. We enjoyed the sun and views up the lake while robber jays (Whiskey Jacks, Gray Jays) kept guard in the branches nearby. How fitting since they are now the official Canadian bird! You can see Josy’s pictures our feathered friends here.
Sitting there with Lisa and Josy in such a beautiful place, laughing and sharing stories, was the icing on the cake for the weekend. How lucky am I to have such positive, outdoor-loving friends who like to do what I do?
As we made our way back around Lightning Lake on the other side of the loop, there were glimpses of Frosty Mountain to be had through the clouds! Perseverance pays off…
At Rainbow Bridge which connects the two sides of the lake at the bottleneck, we stopped to admire the views once more.
Lisa and Josy were keen to cut across on the lake soon after which would have saved us some time hiking back but the warm sun later in the day had me too nervous. They joined me walking the trail the rest of the way back to the parking lot which turned out to be longer than one would guess because of a lagoon at Lone Duck Campground. They later said it was a good idea because of some soft spots they observed in the lake but they may have just been trying to be nice.
We walked past picnic tables thawing out…
…and navigated a very icy trail that left a few bruises on my bum because I was too stubborn to put my spikes back on after taking them off during a bare part of the trail.
The parking lot had a few more cars when we arrived back just shy of 2 o’clock and 8 miles for our hike. Not a bad way to end our time in Manning Park!
Manning Country Store, Manning Park Resort
There was one last run into the Manning Country Store inside the resort for a drink for the road and we were on our way back to the Vancouver area. The store carries your basic camping and outdoor recreation supplies along with tourist knickknacks.
It was nice to see kombucha which I don’t remember from last year and a few other things that someone drinking alternatively might enjoy like almond milk.
Now you know what happens when three hiking bloggers invade Manning Park, BC, for the weekend! From here it was back on our way over the mountains and into the Vancouver area. We all vowed we would love to come back for another adventure to Manning Park together in the future, maybe for a summer jaunt to higher elevations. I still plan to return to hike further on the Paintbrush and Heather Trails to the Three Brothers that I sampled last summer and I imagine it won’t take much to convince Lisa and Josy to join me!
I shared the link to Josy’s blog post on Windy Joe Lookout above and will link any follow-up stories here that they may share. You can find my other hikes to Manning Park on this page. If you would like to see the hike to Windy Joe in the summer, you can find it here.
What kind of fun things so you like to do with your outdoorsy girlfriends? Share in the comments below!
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