Home»All Photographs»2018 Hikes»Poboktan Mountain 07-29-18

We were now a day ahead of schedule with Replica peak under our belt. The weather continued to co-operate, and day two was time to attempt the savagely huge Poboktan Mountain.
We started by hiking 9 km southeast along the trail, before turning directly to our left and starting the uphill bushwack to the bottom of the open slopes leading up Poboktan Mountain.
We refilled our water reserves here and started the sweaty ascent through tangled shrubs. Soon enough, we were leaving the trees behind, and welcomed the breeze to shoo the bugs away.
Ahead lay the biggest pile of scree I have ever seen. Staying hydrated was a challenge in the heat, and the west-facing slope took no mercy. Again, because of it's location, Poboktan sees very few ascents, with most years having just one party make the summit - we were the first since August of 2017.
The never-ending loose scree taxed my spirit a bit - it was on this section that I wondered why I was here right now doing this. Most mountains have sections of interest that break up the ascent into manageable portions, but not Poboktan. We geared down and kept plodding slowly on.
Eventually, spirits rose as we approached the false (lower) north summit. It was evident that we were going to have success on this huge peak!
The ridgewalk to the true summit was bliss. Here we were, just shy of 11,000 feet, with incredible far-reaching views and the summit within reach.
We took an extended stay at the top, where David shared his water with me (thanks nephew), and we pigged out.
The descent was thoroughly enjoyable down the loose scree (fast), and what we had just done began to sink in. Poboktan Mountain is the most physically challenging peak I have ever done. I did it under perfect conditions and with great company, but I won't be back a second time. After 18 km and 1555 m of elevation gain, we hauled our bodies into our campsite, 12 hours after starting.
The birdbath in the creek a few minutes later was such a good reward, and soothed the bug bites and blisters that sometimes come with a trip like this.
The following morning, we packed up a day early, having summited the two mountains we came to do, and hiked the 8 km back to the trailhead. We called Megan and Ashley, and decided to drive the three hours and camp down at Lussier Hotsprings for a well-deserved soak.