Vicuna and Guanaco - August 5th 2023

 Coen was in Montreal and Sam and I were headed up to my grandparents cabin in Lac Le Jeune so we decided it was the perfect time to tick off these two peaks. We left a little late at 7:30 and got to the highway exit at 9:00. I had read the logging road wasn't great but it actually was pretty decent compared to stuff in Chilliwack and not steep at all so the first section to the official Alltrails trailhead went very quick. At this point we saw a few cars parked and we knew we could walk but I had read the road was actually pretty decent except for overgrown and we could shave off a few kilometres. We thought about it for a bit and went for it. After ~3km there wasn't too many turnaround spots and the brush was getting increasingly thick so we found a spot turned around and parked. In hindsight it turned out to be a great spot because after that all the turn around spots further down were taken. When we started hiking it was ~9:30.

Sections of the approach road were flooded

We covered the 3km on the logging road to the real trailhead very quickly in just over half an hour. Along the way we saw two trucks parked off the road and figured they must be hikers ahead of us. I knew from speaking to some people on Facebook that there was at least one group. We ascended in to the trees and at first it was a little annoying with a bunch of blow down but it wasn't too long before the trail was better. Overall it wasn't too steep and after another half an hour we stopped and ate some lunch. Soon we were entering the sub alpine and we could see the imposing southeast face of Vicuna in front of us. First we had to navigate some swampy boggy muddy sections and at one point Jebby fell up to his chest in mud but once again it wasn't too long.

Guanaco emerges from the trail

After that section the trail was a bit overgrown and boulders and rocks started to make up the majority of the trail and before we knew it we were at the base of the Vicuna slabs. From here we skirted along the edge of the slab to the east to gain the ridge between Vicuna and Guanaco. At this point we could see two hikers ahead of us who looked to have ascended the slabs. We thought about doing the same but with Jebby it seemd a bit sketchy and so we just followed the trail, similar to the parking in hindsight this turned out to be a great decision because the slabs were indeed sketchy.

Looking up the slabs we skirted at Vicuna

Once we were at the ridge we decided to split up. We knew Jebby wouldn't be able to do the scramble to Vicuna and so someone needed to stay with him. Sam didn't care to bag it since we would be going up Guanaco after and she could rest while I went up so I dropped my pack and went as quick as I could. At the start of the scrambling I came upon the hikers I had seen on the way up and they were roping up. I was a little confused because I had understood this as a scramble route but they said they were just practicing so off I went. I made short work of the scramble and came to the crux where there was a handline. I was planning on not using the handline but when I got there I felt better using it and thought why not and so I did. Other than that it was pretty chill to the top.

Vicuna ridge and scramble route

 

At the summit I came upon a group of 5 who were the group I had spoken to on Facebook the night before and exchanged greetings. They were all members of the SWBC Peakbaggers Facebook group where I post my reports so we ran in the same circles. I didn't linger long and headed down. The way down was easy and as I headed down the roped group was caming up. At this point I recognized one of their members, Raphael, who was also a member of the group and who I had hiked up Nicomen mountain with over a year prior.

Sam on the natural staircase

I made it back to Sam and we headed up Guanaco. Guanaco is an easy hike with not much to note. At the top we ate some food and left quite quickly, at one point on the way down I went off route a bit and had a bit of a annoying time getting back on easy terrain but other than that it went smooth and we were back to the truck by 3:30. Overall it was a good trip, easier scrambling than I expected and I was happy we shaved off time and distance on the drive!

Jebby relaxing in the meadows