Mt Hall
Park: , Duncan
6 km one way.
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Approximate Elevations (in meters) |
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| Start | End | Minimum | Maximum | Gain |
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| 480 | 775 | 480 | 775 | 295 |
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Part way up Mt Brenton Logging Road (branch 1) Trailhead: Access to this trailhead is only available on weekends, even then this area is subject to active logging! The phone ((250) 246-9808) and toilets are only available at the gate.
This trailhead is accessed from the Copper Canyon logging road. Drive north from Victoria on the Trans-Canada highway. Turn left at the Doman's Lumber yard on MacMillian Blodel Haul Road, the second left turn beyond the light for the road leading east (right) to Chemanius. This turn is at a light itself. Proceed .7km to the gate (hours 8am-6pm) where you must stop, register and pay the access fee ($2/vehicle in February 2001). Proceed through the gate and continue down the Copper Canyon mainline until you cross the bridge over Humbird Creek (12.2km). Take the Mt Brenton Branch 1 road that is about 100m beyond the bridge. This road climbs gradually for 5.1km to a fairly sharp right hand turn. Straight ahead from this point is your trail. There is parking available at this point for two or three vehicles. Make sure you pull fully clear of the road up to the summit.
(See also directions to "Mt Brenton Logging Road (Branch 1).
Facilities available at the trailhead include:
Uses
| Backcountry skiing | Easy to moderate. | | |
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Description
The suitability of this route depends on the snow level. If the snow is on the ground when you pass through the clearing about 2km before the trailhead then the route is likely skiable although if the cover is light you may have to walk a ways to get sufficent depth for skiing.
This is a very well graded route and when we skied it, just after Christmast 2001, no one had been on the trail. The return journey is delightful, a long, easy downhill stretch all the way, with little effort you can get a moderate speed once the trails have been skier trackset.
The trail climbs with a few turns but is never terribly steep. It T's into another road (4km, go left). This road melts out fairly early and there are several very small streams you have to cross. None of these streams is a problem but you should note their location to avoid them on your return journey. We never made it to either Silver Lake (elev 880m) or Mt Hall. In fact, from the maps we have, the road does not go to the summit (which is 1308m). From the map there is the possibility of accessing the Mt Brenton trails from this route but that would be a very long day. Returning via the main Mt Brenton road would be an option but there are serveral big, steep hills and you would have to be on the lookout for snowmobiles.
The apparent side road just before the first major corner does not go anywhere, neither does the apparent alternate route across the creek at the first corner (stay on the main road).
Features
This trail features forests.
Hazards
Hazards on this trail include there are several minor creek/gully crossings that you have to be aware of on the return route.These do not occur until after the T crossing.
Comments
The distance quoted is an estimate based on the time it took to ascend once we had trackset the trail. This is not the distance to Silver Lake nor the Mt Hall summit but rather to the first viewpoint we found (on the T road).