Engine Hill BW in Summer

I took the EH BW last winter to cut over from the Rocky Branch trail to the Isolation trail. Is there a problem doing it in summer, such as wet or bushy? Would it save time as a summer shortcut or maybe just break even?

JoeCedar said:

I took the EH BW last winter to cut over from the Rocky Branch trail to the Isolation trail. Is there a problem doing it in summer, such as wet or bushy? Would it save time as a summer shortcut or maybe just break even?

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It's a pleasure any time of year - its the only way to go. The 3200' contour is dry and open. There is a wet spot, but it's much lower in elevation.

As the summer goes by the grass tends to grow high. It's no problem when dry but with rain or early morning dew you can get really wet.

Years ago in the pre GPS low cost era 1999, I did Isolation in the winter. The hike in was completely socked in and the ice storm/lack of blazing made following the trail not very easy. When we did the Engine hill bushwhack we somehow got on a low track and then corrected ourselves. When coming back we decided not to follow the broken out trail and went high ending up a few hundred feet above the Engine hill col. That route put us in some nice open terrain, somewhat rocky but with even better views than the traditional bushwhack. One these days I need to go check it out again as it may be nice place to be in the summer.

On that same trip we "nailed" the lesser used bushwhack route that leaves directly at the end of the engine hill bushwhack to the col just north of the summit, lots of nice open slopes and occasional ledges and mature woods for most of the trip. If it wasnt for the last 1/8 of a mile up to the col (whihc is dense spruce/fir), it would be a good summer route. The next time I did the route I went too high and got caught in far nastier stuff.

Engine Hill Bushwack

Last July I did the Engine Hill Wack with Old Man. Ed had the Winter Route saved on his gps. I'm guessing we were around 3K. It was very pretty going thru the glades, but the ferns were chest high. It made for slow going. Foot placement was a bit of a problem as you couldn't see the blowdowns. We both agreed to take the traditional route on our return. Perhaps another couple hundred feet in elevation would have put us above the ferns.

Between ferns and hobblebush, some bushwhacks are best left for winter.

Unless you also want N Iso, the best summer route may be to follow the trail all the way to the shelter then bushwhack to the col S of Iso