An old friend came to town recently so we decided to get out for a weekend adventure so he could see a little bit of Vancouver Island's backcountry. It was a great excuse to go back to 5040, where I hadn't been since the hut was still under construction! Here's how it went...
Route Outline
| Difficulty |
Moderate. 1.75km to Cobalt Lake, 2.5km to hut, 3.4km to summit. |
|---|---|
| Synopsis |
5040 has become one of the most popular hikes on Vancouver Island due to its easy access. The hike is short and steep but not technical, with easy year-round water at Cobalt Lake. Expect the area to be incredibly busy on weekends, especially during summer. The Alpine Club hut allows for comfortable year-round adventures on the mountain, but this popular hut requires booking ahead to access. |
| Getting There | Travel to Port Alberni. From Port Alberni follow HWY 4 for 50km westbound towards Tofino. Turn left off the highway onto the Marion Creek FSR, and follow it for a further 10km until you arrive at the trailhead. Access may require a high clearance vehicle depending on road and snow conditions; many other vehicles park along the FSR. |
| Facilities |
Campsites at Cobalt Lake and around the ACC Hut have bear caches and outhouses. ACC Hut: This hut has two bookable rooms, which sleep six per room. Plan ahead to book this hut as it books up quickly. Dogs are not permitted in the hut. For more details check the ACC 5040 Hut site. |
| Fees |
Campsites: Free
ACC Hut: $120/room/night (members); $150/room/night (non-members) |
Day 1: September 13
We left Victoria around lunchtime, and with fairly quiet midday roads made it up to the trailhead just before 4PM. As expected for a Friday afternoon, parking areas all the way up to the trailhead had tons of cars. Luckily, our Xterra "Ruby" got us all the way to the trailhead without having to walk up the more washed-out sections of road. After prepping our bags and having a pre-game snack, we headed up the steep path towards the peak.
Despite overcast skies, the ground was dry but a little slippery as we started our way up the hillside. We slowly climbed our way, taking careful steps over the twisting roots that wind across the steep trail. It didn't pose too much trouble to us, but Pluto didn't love picking his way through the rootier sections of trail.
The trail climbs aggressively up the mountain; although it's physically demanding, we managed to stay cool in the damp and cloudy conditions. Frequent breaks to peek at the nearby stream's many waterfalls helped as well! Despite our easy pace, we quickly climbed up into the base of the clouds, and watched as visibility on the trail dropped down significantly. Luckily the trail is very well marked and easy to follow, even higher up when the trail clears the trees for rockier terrain.
We soon reached Cobalt Lake and stopped to fill up our water bag for the evening and next day. My recent experiences on the Sunshine Coast Trail had me very geared to always grab water when it was available, and without any trail info about water sources near the hut we opted to haul plenty of water up. Leaving the lake we saw a number of tents pitched around the lakeside, but we were still hopeful about breaking out of the clouds for some views, so we carried on upwards.
Not enjoying hauling water uphill any more than I had in the previous weeks, I was relieved when the switchbacks ended and the hut peeked into view through the mist. As we reached the hut, we saw that we'd also reached the upper edge of the clouds, and peekaboo views of Triple Peak were starting to show. We found a flat tent spot and set up camp, just in time to be treated to a bright sunset as the sun dropped between cloud layers. We put on water for dinner and grabbed our cameras to take some shots of the sunset hanging low and swollen over the expansive clouds.
We enjoyed our dinner while the sun disappeared and the clouds slowly slid down the mountain, giving us expansive views of the surrounding peaks cutting through the ocean of clouds.
Day 2
We rose early for sunrise, hoping that the clouds would stay low enough to get some views. As we crawled out of the tent we saw that we were under a cloud layer hanging higher on the mountainside above us. Undeterred, we donned warm layers and headlamps to ascend with the (many) other groups heading up the hill to catch the views. We climbed up the short trail to the top and punched above the cloud just as we reached the summit, where a few other folks were standing and watching already. The wind whipped at us and blew cloud after cloud up and over the summit, so views came in and out as we began to see a touch of orange on the horizon.
We watched the sun rise and enjoyed some conversation with other hikers on the summit. There was a pair that had left Horne Lake campsite at 2AM that morning for the hike in, and we also met fellow Van Isle instagrammer Kirsten (@hikingvanisland) at the summit! It was fun to meet someone from the local community of content creators.
We descended back to camp for breakfast, plunging back into the mist. We were happy that we'd brought our raingear because the warming air was causing tons of moisture to condense out of the cloud. We made breakfast while the dog hid under the tent vestibule for a nap, and considered our next moves. The last hours had been beautiful and fun, but heavier rain was forecasted for the next day and the cloud showed no sign of breaking through the day. We opted to finish breakfast and then pack up camp.
As we began our descent a light rain started, and the dampening rock was becoming treacherous. We descended slowly, being careful on roots and rocks. Despite our tenative steps, I had a big fall and slide while guiding the dog past a steeper flat section of rock. Luckily he didn't follow me, so only my pride and a pair of gloves were damaged, and we were able to carry on down the mountain.
We made it back to the car for lunchtime and had a quick bite, which gave us and the dog a minute to dry off before loading into the car.
It was really cool to go back to 5040 and see all the changes that the recent popularity of the area has brought. Aside from the hut itself, bear bins and outhouses are available for all users at both the hut and Cobalt Lake. It's great to see these efforts into reducing impacts of camping on the area, keeping it beautiful for years to come. Additionally, parking areas have been expanded and it is far easier to access the area compared to previous years. The road was in great condition overall; the only stretch that required a higher clearance vehicle was the final climb before the trailhead. Four-wheel drive wasn't required at all on our way up.