Gimli Ridge / Mulvey Basin

Sunday Aug 8 it was just Mark and I heading up to Gimli ridge, this is hike #16 in the book "Where Locals Hike in the West Kootenay". The road was good going up to the trailhead and obviously 4WD is not needed by the appearance of a Volkwagen golf at the parking lot.

Again we have another iffy weather day, as we start up the cloud ceiling is low, it takes us about 45min hiking through the forest before we break out into the alpine, with clouds still in, we continue up with the weather breaking every so often to tease us with a few seconds of mountain views. As we approach the saddle there are many marmots and pika running around,

other hikers have told us about a couple of Mountain Goats further ahead, we did not see them. As we reach the saddle, Gimli Peak is covered in a blanket of cloud and every so often we get a glimpse of this stunning peak, I am absolutely amazed by this rock spire. After lunch at the saddle we continue on to the ridge with the weather starting to break up, we now have views of Gimli peak


and other surronding ones, what a magnificent area, every direction you look are stunning vistas. From the saddle to the ridge the trail narrows and skirts around the base of Gimli, once we reach the ridge we are rewarded with spectacular views of the Mulvey Creek Basin, for those of you afraid of heights stay back, the edge is straight down many 100's of feet.

But what a spot, we dont want to leave. We continue along the ridge to try and get down into the basin but at the end is a steep drop where you would need the proper rope and equipment to get down. As we start back many of the peaks are now basking in a brief period of sunshine but don't be fooled, 30 minutes later the sky darkens and we are drenched in a downpour of hail followed by rain which lasts until about 10 minutes from the parking lot. Eventhough we are soggy our spirits are high, another great trip, definitely one to re-do on a sunny day.