Escaping The Nutshell


Home     Archive     Tags     About        RSS
Mt Epworth (11,843 ft) from Hessie Trailhead

We parked near the junction of Hessie and 4th of July Road at about 7:30. In about a mile, we reached the junction of the King Lake and Devils Thumb Bypass Trail at 8:01. Taking the King Lake Trail, it was 5 miles to the lake. Continuing past the lake on the King Lake Trail, we reached the Continental Divide at 10:04.

From the Divide, we made nearly a beeline to Mt Epworth which could be seen to the southwest. Reaching the north shore of Pumphouse Lake, we crossed over its outlet and climbed the steep alpine rocky meadow to the Epworth summit, reaching it at 10:53. It was about 1.5 miles from King Lake to the Epworth summit.

2012-08-26 Mt Epworth from Rollins Pass Road

2012-08-26 Mt Epworth from Rollins Pass Road

The summit of Mt Epworth has fantastic views including Winter Park and the Fraser Valley, Corona Lake, and Rollins Pass Road. We met a couple on the summit who had made the short hike from their car on the nearest point to Rollins Pass Road to the summit. They said it took them 1 hour to drive up the rough Rollins Pass Road to where they parked.

On the return, we headed down to the south side of Pumphouse Lake, then up the steep slope to Rollins Pass Road, and finally headed north on the road to Rollins Pass. In descending from the Epworth summit, one must be careful not do descend toward Deadman Lake because there are cliffs above it, which suggests how the lake got its name. From Rollins Pass, we took the Divide Trail to its intersection with the King Lake Trail, then returned the way we came. It was about 1.9 miles from the Epworth summit to King Lake.

The total round trip distance of this hike was about 15.4 miles, with an elevation gain of about 3,500 feet.

Approximate elevations
Place Name Elev [ft]
Parking at Hessie 9000
Rollins Pass 11671
Pumphouse Lake 11334
Mt Epworth 11843

Total elevation gain = (+ (- 11671 9000) (- 11843 11334) (- 11671 11334)) = 3,517 ft


© 2012 Stefan Hollos and Richard Hollos

blog comments powered by Disqus