Lizzie Cabin Weekend Adventure

Participants: Simon Tsianikas, Clara Duwel, Sean Dempsey, Sebastian Purdy, Samantha Cohen, Shu Yu Fan, Shaojie Huang, Julia Jancelewicz, Beth Templeton, Marta Oliver, Joseph Meyer, Rachel Kalkman

This is a report for a backpacking trip to Lizzie Creek Cabin and the surrounding alpine area on September 28th to 30th. Overall it was a sweet trip and the weather was mostly good aside from a bit of snow in the alpine and sub-zero overnight temperatures.

Hiking footage from Simon’s GoPro: https://youtu.be/bEPlyC14OLU?si=ZsFktiekqeGjTt_6

Saturday, September 28th

We left Vancouver early Saturday morning and met up at the Pemberton Mcdonalds to fuel up before driving to the trailhead. The first 12 km of trail followed the gentle uphill grade of an old decommissioned logging road until Lizzie Lake. After reaching Lizzie Lake, the gentle logging road turned to a steep trail as we made the final ascent to the cabin. The trail was in great condition and we could tell from the wood shavings and chopped down alders that some volunteers had been up recently to do this work (thanks so much to them!). It was slow going near the end as we climbed over the boulders through the Gates of Shangri-La but eventually we all made it to the cute and well-maintained Lizzie Creek Cabin. The cabin is situated just below the alpine next to the rushing Lizzie Creek. After settling in, we sat around the fire pit and had a big potluck consisting of crackers, cookies, and a variety of other foods (thanks to everyone who contributed). Shu Yu even cooked up a mushroom (a bolete) she found along the trail, which was a treat. After eating, we retreated to the cabin to play some Codenames, supplied by Simon (where we learnt that chickens are not actually animals).

Lizzie Creek Cabin – Credit: Rachel Kalkman

Potluck at Lizzie Creek cabin – Credit: Julia Jancelewicz

Sunday, September 29th

On Sunday, we hiked up into the alpine with the goal of summiting Table Top Mountain and Anemone Peak. The scenery was beautiful as we passed Arrowhead Lake and Heart Lake before reaching the col between Arrowhead Mountain and Table Top Mountain, which had views of Caltha and Tundra Peaks further along the Stein Valley Traverse.

Looking from Arrowhead Lake towards Anemone Peak (left) and Table Top Mountain (right). Credit: Sean Dempsey

Looking East at surrounding mountains – Credit: Sebastian Purdy

We scrambled up Table Top Mountain from the south side, which was quite easy (very little exposure; class two). When we first summited, the peak was surrounded by dense clouds and a bit of snow. Fortunately, the weather eventually cleared and we had great views of the surrounding mountain ranges. We descended Table Top on the west side towards the col between Table Top and Anemone. This was steeper and more difficult than the way up, but still a very manageable descent. Simon had to go back to retrieve his GoPro which was still watching the rolling clouds on Table Top – whoops.

Looking at Anemone from the top of Table Top – Credit: Julia Jancelewicz

At the bottom of Table Top, we said goodbye to Clara, Shaojie, and Rachel, who hiked all the way back to the car. The rest of us continued with a scramble up Anemone Peak from the col (more difficult and exposed than Table Top but still relatively straightforward; class two). We relaxed and took in the view at the top before following Shu Yu down the other side of the mountain to descend.

Group photo at the top of Anemone Peak – Credit: Sebastian Purdy

Halfway down, we reached a scree slope that was quite loose and unstable. We slowly picked our way down the slope, being careful not to kick too many rocks. It definitely would have been faster to descend the same way we ascended but it was cool to do a loop and explore new areas.

From there we hiked back down to the cabin, although Joe and Sebastian stopped at Heart Lake for a swim (crazy). Julia and Sebastian decided that they still hadn’t had enough hiking, and went to Long Lake to further explore. At the cabin we ate dinner and played more codenames before entering our sleeping bags for an even colder night.

The hike down on Monday was uneventful until we heard a pack of wolves howling in the distance. It was a strange thing to hear, especially during the light of day.