Table
Mountain The map at the trailhead and a good trail starts you up Table Mountain but once you leave the trail you're left on your own design. Trails abound but not all may take you where you wish to go and often they begin or end abruptly. To reach the trailhead, drive west on HWY 774 from Pincher Creek to Beaver Mines Campground. We hiked up a good trail in thick aspen. At the first drainage we took a left turn at the first fork which brought us out onto a semi-open plateau. We went straight up but found on the return it would have been easier to head to the left side of the gully where there is a trail. Instead of sporting drab gray rock, the mountains of Castle Crown Wilderness take on rich hues and Table Mountain is no exception. At the base of the mountain, water flowed in the gully, but higher up it disappeared underground allowing us to easily climb up the gully. There were also intermittent trails on either side but the creek bed offered solid footing. Eventually we left the gully and ascended the ridge on the right. Overhead a cliff band filled our view so we headed for it. We continued up until we reached the base of the cliff band. We weren't sure whether to go left or right or straight up a chimney. We hiked up the left side of the cliff base. Near the end of the cliff, we found a breach that we could scramble up onto the west end of the mountain. Later we realized we could have saved time by circumventing the cliffs on the right but by reaching the west end we bypassed some scree and took in some extra scenery. From the west end it was a stroll to the summit except for an unavoidable copse that sheltered a few feet of snow. Fortunately the snow had consolidated and we didn't sink much. From the summit we took in views of Victoria Peak, Mount Gladstone, and the expanse of prairie to the east. Castle North was especially striking, rising straight up like a tower. From the summit we returned to the low point in the middle section of the mountain. We angled down the scree for quite a ways before stumbling on a good trail with pink flagging. (Perhaps this trail is the best way to reach the middle section?) We followed it down until until we emerged on a ridge top where the trail disappeared. From there, we had to traverse rugged slopes to get back to the first drainage. |
Table Mountain
from near the approach. The trail heads right and then up
a gully
between two buttresses. The summit appears tiny on the far left. The lower
west
end is in the foreground. The bit of snow you see near the top of the west
end is
where we scrambled up.
Trailhead sign
The
first drainage: on our ascent, we ended up on the orange scree and
gray rock
on the left. It would have been better to hike up closer to
the gully.
Note the orange
cliff band in the background between the two buttresses
which marks the west
end.
There's plenty of scree as
we ascend. On the return we found a trail closer
to the
gully that ends on the rib to the right of the gully.
Below the cliff band: I
ascended the chimney on the right which wasn't to
Dinah's
liking, so instead we hiked left along the base of the cliff band until
we
came to a
breach we could easily scramble up.
Although I
didn't go all the way up the chimney it appeared to be a shortcut
to
the
top.
On the west end of the mountain looking towards the summit.
A long hike to the summit
with only a stand of trees to break the expanse
of scree.
No summit cairn, just this
survey marker.
Castle
Peak
Instead of returning via
the cliff band, we came down a scree slope east of the cliff band.
360° view from the summit.
From left to right are Prairie Bluff, Victoria Peak, Mount Gladstone
and
Castle Peak.
82 G/8 Beaver Mines
