This hike had place in September 2012.
The plan of this hike was epic: hike via Brandywine meadows to Brandywine mountain, from there by ridge go to Mt Fee, climb Mt Fee, follow the ridge future to Mt Brew, spend night in the hut near the Mt Brew, and finally go down to the road. The positive moment of the sleeping in the hut is decreasing the weight of backpack (no tent needed); the negative, and very important moment, is dividing the route onto the two very unequal parts. Route entrance and exit are very far from each other, that requires two cars. Even more, two four-wheel cars required. We decided left one car near the exit from Brew and start from Brandywine. In he middle of the night of the start day I realized that for the first day we planned all ascent and practically all mileage, living for the second day only relatively short descent. So I persuaded my buddies to switch entrance and exit, so the ascent and main mileage would be separated. They were hot happy, but agreed.
In the morning we spend a lot of time looking for back-road to Brandywine trailhead. We found some place pretty far and pretty higher, left car and driver to Brew trailhead. Later on we had found that we left first car at the trailhead to Metal Dome, pretty far from the point of our planned exit.
We found the trail-head to Brew surprisingly easy. it is not very popular trail, but still maintained. Hike to the lakes took about 3 hours.
Trail starts in the forest, follows on screes, and finally comes to alpine meadows.
Swamps in the forest:
Cotton-grass:
Lakes:
Hut is not far from the lakes, we had plenty of times, so we spent some time on the lakes with tea and rest.
Hike on the ridge to the hut:
The view from the ridge is beautiful.
Mt Garibaldi:
Here is our rout for tomorrow with Fee in the middle:
Fee close up. Actually the Fee is the wall of very old volcano.
The hill on the left is Mt Brew.
There are Fee and Brew together:
Colors is autumn already.
On the top of the Mt Brew.
View on the Black Tusk:
The hut:
We spent evening on the lake near the hut:
Early morning we started forward to the Mt Fee. There is to trail there, just screes, bushed and snow fields.
Very quickly we found that we underestimated this rout. First at all, we didn’t take crampons and ice-axes. For some strange reason we didn’t believe in snow on our way. But the altitude of the ridge is 2000 meters (that is high that glacier level in this region). Even more, there is huge glacier behind the Fee on all maps. And of course, the snow did present, and it was very hard and slippy, how snow should be in the fall. Because of absence of crampons we tried to avoid snowfields that took additional time.
But still continue to climb.
Finally came to ridge with Mt Fee.
Here is she:
View from the other side of ridge:
At this point we realized the we cannon do this until the night (and climb all this rocks in the night is deadly) and we don’t have the tent to spend the night. More, there is the glacier in front of us, we cannot avoid it, and we don’t have crampons to do it. So the only decision – go back and try to come to trail-head until the dark.
Started to go back.
Near the lake fell for the rest and supper, because 10 house of hiking only on yesterday supper doesn’t help for good feeling.
In the forest the darkness catches us. And we loose the trail. Is was not the drama, but it took at least half of hour to find it back. And finally, later night we were in the car on our drive back home.
And Mt Fee is now another mountain in my list of debts.
