Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, BC: Woodbury to Silver Spray Huts
Link two gorgeous cabins by scrambling through craggy alpine country.
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Mix challenge and luxury just two hours north of the Washington/Idaho state line with a 13-mile, three-day lollipop to a pair of well-appointed huts. You’ll climb in the shadow of fissured Woodbury Glacier, one of two large icefields that punctuate the 79,160-acre park.
Start up often-overgrown trail (bear alert!) 4.9 miles and 3,000 vertical feet from Woodbury Glacier trailhead to isolated Woodbury Cabin (stunning setting, but BYO mousetraps).
You have two choices to get from here to Silver Spray Cabin: The easier way sticks to alpine bowls just southeast of the Sawtooth Range ridgeline, following talus slopes and alpine meadows over several low saddles. The four-mile route requires bushwhacking, boulder-hopping, and orienteering, but maps in both huts show the path.
More fun: Rope up and take the four-mile, class 4 ridgeline from 8,563-foot Moonlight Peak, across the summit of Mt. Kemball, to Evening Star Peak (pack a 20- to 30-meter rope, three cams, three nuts, and some long slings). From the ridge north of Evening Star, descend east following cairns to luxurious Silver Spray Cabin, with its spacious picture windows overlooking creekside meadows and towering cliffs.
To finish, drop down the Silver Spray Trail 3.9 miles to the trailhead. Tips: High-clearance rides only; protect your rig from trailhead porcupines with on-site chicken wire; and on the drive out, soak in nearby Ainsworth Hot Springs off Highway 3A.
Map NTS quad 082F14; $16CAD for waterproof versions; (888) 545-8111; fedmaps.com
Guide Summit Mountain Guides; (250) 354-4884; summitmountainguides.com
Huts $25CAD/person/night; (403) 678-3200; alpineclubofcanada.ca; Both include stove, fuel, and sleeping pads; Woodbury provides cookware.
Contact (604) 660-2421; bcparks.ca
-Mapped by Steve Howe
Trail Facts
- Distance: 20.5
Waypoints
WSS001
Location: 49.806116, -117.041378
Woodbury Creek trailhead
WSS002
Location: 49.805168, -117.050615
Bridge
WSS003
Location: 49.803858, -117.057407
Trail junction
WSS004
Location: 49.8011, -117.126991
Woodbury Cabin
WSS005
Location: 49.806348, -117.133178
Crest a smaller summit on the Moonlight Peak ridgeline; rope-work begins here.
WSS006
Location: 49.807689, -117.133594
Moonlight Peak
WSS007
Location: 49.812366, -117.126109
Mt. Kemball
WSS008
Location: 49.814285, -117.111834
Crest an unnamed peak.
WSS009
Location: 49.813859, -117.103588
Evening Star Peak
WSS010
Location: 49.822722, -117.092848
Silver Spray Hut