The Lady’s Slipper Trail is one of four of the Creston Valley’s most popular mountain trails and trail systems. The Rim Trail leads along the crest of the Thompson range, from the top end of the Mount Thompson Forest Service Road (FSR) and the north peak to its end at the south peak. A spot near the end of the trail provides a small-window view of Bonnie Lake cradled in the arms of the mountain.
Also on Mount Thompson, but on the bottom portion, is the historic Pack Trail, which joins the FSR just below kilometre 2 with the kilometre 5.5 part of the road. It also links up with the Rotary Connector Trail that crosses over to the FSR. Then on Creston Mountain there is the Balancing Rock Trail System, which includes the Fern Forest and Creston Mountain trails that connect at the swamp boardwalk.
The Lady’s Slipper Trail has kind of unique weather and exposure as it is exposed to inclement weather from more directions than are the other trails I mentioned. Arrow Mountain, shown on the maps but locally known as Goat Mountain, almost totally stands alone in the valley. It gets winds coming down the Goat River drainage, from the Kootenay River valley to the north-northwest and also from the southwest. The Pack Trail is sheltered by a rich forest and by the mountain, while the Balancing Rock Trail system is protected by the mountain on the west and by a beautiful mixed forest of birch, cherry and conifers. A group who hiked the Lady’s Slipper Trail in March said they went through “four seasons’ travel” with warm and cold, sun, wind, rain and snow. It is quite possible to experience that on any mountain especially in exposed areas but until now I had never seen the significance of Arrow Mountain’s position in this Kootenay River valley.
On the way up the trail there are several exposed overlooks on the west side (left) of the trail that might be windy but are great spots to view the valley and the winding of the Kootenay River against the background of the Selkirk Mountain range. The fore mountains, starting in Canada, in the south are Rykerts, Dodge, Creston Mountain ( directly west) and Mount Midgely on the north side of Summit Creek. Farther north on a clear day one can see the peaks of Hulme and Steeple and the fore mountains, along Kootenay Lake, Kootenay Peak and Mount McGregor just north of Cultus Creek at Tye. On the south side of the U.S.-Canada boundary are the sharp peaks of Fisher and Parker peaks. Now let’s take a closer look.
The Lady’s Slipper Trail is accessed by the Goat Mountain Forest Service Road that takes off, to the south, from the end of Foster Road in Lakeview. At the six-kilometre marker is a crescent pullout on the right. On the left is the trailhead and sign. In late spring, summer and early fall, the road is easily maneuvered with a high-clearance vehicle. However, skilled drivers have gone up with cars.
To reach the trailhead, usually, one can just stay on the main drag; however, rain can obliterate vehicle tracks. One could also say, at major intersections stay right. At the first intersection, keep right. The other turns back to the left. At the second, keep right. At this division there is a post bearing an arrow and “Lady’s Slipper Trail”. At the third intersection, there is a board sign with engraved letters indicating the route to the right. It may take 30 minutes to reach the trailhead.
In the East Shore and Creston areas, there has been an increased number of incidents where hikers’ vehicles have been broken into. It is best not to leave valuables in the car. If necessary, put them in the trunk or take them with you. Just a reminder.
On the last day of April when five of us took to the Lady’s Slipper Trail, one couldn’t have wished for much better weather, not too hot and not too cold. It wasn’t long before we started shedding jackets but when we got to the mountaintop and sat down to eat our lunch we found it cool enough to put our jackets back on. The elevation gain from approximately 1,234 to 4,934 feet (376 to 1,504 metres) and the breezier conditions made it feel much cooler.
The flower roll call was much the same as other years at this time. Calypso orchids (a.k.a. fairy slippers) were the most striking with their slipper-shaped pink flowers. Another was the creamy white twin-flower honeysuckle (Not to be mistaken with twinflower, which is also in the honeysuckle family with leaves, flowers and fruit in pairs). Counting the yellow round-leaved violet, just about every color was found along the trail. Purple flowers of ballhead waterleaf added a different color to the trail. When we got near the top we were in the spring season for the second time around! Yellow glacier lilies, white and pink spring beauties and an occasional mountain bluebell (Mertensia) displayed a splash of brilliant blue amongst the fresh green foliage.
It is nice to get out on the trails in the spring season. Not just the Lady’s Slipper Trail but every trail in these Kootenay mountains, in its own right, is beautiful and something to appreciate in spring, in summer and in autumn. The Lady’s Slipper Trail has its own special show of summer flowers, also.
While hiking along the Lady’s Slipper Trail I couldn’t help but think of Ralph Moore and all the energy and time he put into helping to establish many of our local trails. These have done much to create awareness of and appreciation for our unique Kootenay mountains. At several points along the trails, I saw evidence of his presence there in old chainsaw cuts to clear the trail. At a specific spot I remembered how he would excitedly tell people about the rare, uniquely colored pinesap plant one might find along this trail. How does one remember Ralph? How does one best remember him? Perhaps it is by picking up the “torch”, in whatever way there is an opportunity, to foster awareness appreciation and action along our trails and for the endless creation in our Kootenay Mountains.
Ed McMackin is a biologist by profession but a naturalist and hiker by nature. He can be reached at 250-866-5747.