A year after hiking Guanaco Peak in the Coquihalla, we returned to do it again.   This time we chose to mountain bike the 5.5 km on the overgrown backroad to the trailhead (and back).   The bike ride was okay even though it was grown over in a few spots.    If we combine the bike ride and the hike out and back, it is a long day in the backcountry.

Last year’s article has detailed directions on the route – Guanaco Peak (link).

Log:

• The road into the Zum Recreation Site is a bit narrow and a bit rough, but is suitable for most vehicles.   There is not much parking there, but we were able to pull over to the wide shoulder.
• The Upper Coldwater Road past the Rec site is rough and grown over with alder.   It is not suitable for any vehicle.   We rode our mountain bikes, but we had to duck our heads down to the handlebars frequently.   It is about 5.5km each way.
• We parked our bikes at the river crossing and hiked from there, about 700 metres from the trailhead.
• The trail is consistently steep, but is still in fairly good shape.   Near the bottom, a few new trees have fallen, but we could go over or under these.   A wet section requires some slow going.   Two of us lost our shoes to the mud.
• The trail goes straight to the face of Vicuna.   Some route finding may be required near the top, but hikers could pick any route in the sub-alpine if necessary.   The trail then traverses under the face and angles upward to the lowest point on the ridge between Vicuna and Guanco.
• Once on the ridge between the peaks, aim up the ridge north, using granite ramps on the lower section.   To avoid cliffs, continue to contour around the back (west) side of the ridge, watching for cairns and short sections of trail.   At several points, the trail will disappear, but this usually just means you need to zigzag up the ledges.   Stay away from the south side of Guanaco which is mostly cliffs.
• The views from the top are marvelous.   We like to have lunch on top of Guanaco, then hike back down.   The route down is steep so caution is needed.   The total hike is about 9km.
• A few images are shared here.    Click an image for a lightbox view.

This is one of our favorite hikes and we will return (I wonder if we could do a circumnavigation of Vicuna?).