Western Canada Wilderness Committee

Hiking in the Cayoosh Mountains

Lost Valley, near Lillooet, is a magical place. Having had the opportunity of visiting the area as a member of one of the July expeditions to the Valley, I had been craving for another chance to visit the area. This past weekend I finally went back to see a different side of these majestic mountains, lakes, and hanging valleys in St’at’imc territory.

We left Vancouver on Friday evening, and planned to make it in as far as we could, camping wherever the night caught up with us. This turned out to be just around a corner on a logging road heading into the Haylmore Valley. It’s a weird experience to sleep on the side of the road where huge trucks could come by at any time (thankfully only one ATV whizzed by at around 2 a.m.!).

After a quick breakfast we drove the rest of the way and started our hike up into the Twin Lakes area, a breathtaking set of alpine lakes leading into the meeting of three valleys: Lost, Haylmore, and Melvin Valleys. This area is truly a hiker’s dream. There are lush meadows full of colorful flowers, mountains sweeping thousands of feet high, and snow-topped peaks in the distance.

On the way to the lakes we passed some berry patches where I had some of the best raspberries I’ve had yet; it was hard to keep walking seeing all those yummy berries calling you to pick them!

After about three hours of solid hiking we reached the first of the Twin Lakes, where we had a relaxing time enjoying the views and cool air gushing from Haylmore creek. Unfortunately, it seemed that only these strong winds were able to keep the swarms of flies away from you. If there was one thing we all could have done away with, it was definitely the swarms of flies of all shapes and sizes.

We then moved on to set up our base camp at the second lake and prepared for the big hike the next day over the pass on the top of the mountain and into Lost Valley. The pass over to Lost Valley is particularly impressive, as you have to drop down over 1,000 feet on a very slippery trail (the so-called Greasy Trail). After completing the hike down you reach the headwaters of Lost Creek, and the valley opens up before you.

After all this hiking in the heat and fighting the flies, we were ready for a swim! Fortunately, there are a few lakes close to the headwaters of the creek, where I almost lost my glasses. In my haste to dive in, I did so with my glasses on, and they were in for a submarine adventure of their own. Had it not been for Geoff’s persistence (Wilderness Committee mapper and research director), I would’ve had to hike out without my glasses; a scary thought in retrospect! It took about 30 minutes of staring at the bottom of the shallow lake for Geoff to find them, and for his girlfriend Beth to finally rescue them.

After heading back into our camp, we had our last dinner by the turquoise-coloured lakes. The next morning we reluctantly packed up and went down to the first lake for a last dive (all glasses stayed outside the lake this time). We then headed down to a camping ground below, where I almost lost my water bottle after slipping on a rock in the creek. Once again, Geoff’s enthusiasm saved the day. I couldn’t believe it when out of the bushes I heard “I see it!”

After this trip I am even more enchanted with the Lost Valley region. Not only does it offer amazing scenery and challenging hikes, but it is also full of history and rich cultural ties to the St’at’imc Nation, which gives the valley a magic and spiritual force that is hard to describe. This is definitely a trip I’ll never forget.

Gil Aguilar, enthusiastic Wilderness Committee volunteer