Coburg Peak


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What:  1645m.  A nasty bushwhack with an excellent view.

Where:  Coburg Peak is located just off the northern end of the Howe Sound Crest Trail near Porteau Cove, BC.

Difficulty: 5/5  Some bushwhacking and some light scrambling
Runnability: 2/5 Popular lower section of trail offers a good warmup.  Bushwhacking in the alpine
Peak view: 5/5
Unobstructed views of surrounding peaks and valleys
Scenery: 4/5 Old growth, second growth forests.  Creeks. Beautiful alpine lakes. Good views.
Children: 1/5 Not appropriate.
Dogs: 1/5 Not recommended.  Sharp rocks in alpine.  Several very steep sections.

Route overview:  The trail to Coburg Peak can be broken down into 5 sections:  Highway #1 to trailhead, trailhead to Deeks Lake, Deeks Lake to the alpine, a leg to Gotha a leg from Gotha to Coburg.  The first section can be driven with a 4-wheel drive vehicle.  The second section is on the popular Howe Sound Crest Trail (HSCT) and is very well marked.  The final sections are very infrequently traveled and not flagged.

Trip distance:  From the parking lot at Highway #1, roughly 20 km. 

Trip time:  From the parking lot at Highway #1, roughly 5-7 hours.  Subtract 1-2 hours if you drive to the trailhead. This assumes a moderate running pace and some contingency for getting lost.

Safety: 

  • Cellular coverage is poor to non-existent.
  • GPS spotty under tree cover
  • Emergency shelter at Brunswick Lake.
  • Recommend you bring your Baggers Companion. 

Name Origin: Named after the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the former name of the House of Windsor, the current royal house of the commonwealth rhelms. (Queen Elizabeth II's family.)  

Headwaters for:  Some small streams.

Getting there:  Drive to the Porteau Road exit off Highway #1. There is a parking area for users of the Howe Sound Crest Trail.  If your vehicle has 4-wheel drive, you may want to continue approximately 4 kilometers up the dirt road to the trailhead.

Route Details:  The trail to Gotha Peak is relatively well traveled to Deeks Lake.  The remaining section is less traveled and flagged.

Highway to Trailhead (1-2 hours)

  • From the parking lot, go right and uphill on a gravel road past a yellow gate.
  • Follow dirt and gravel road approximately 4 km uphill to a small clearing with a smaller dirt road to the left with HSCT marker.  If you are driving, best to park vehicle here

Trailhead to Deeks Lake (1-2 hours)

  • trail continues on a dirt road for about 1 km, then narrows.  Pass a lookout of the valley on your right
  • well traveled singletrack trail continues steeply uphill with waterfall to the right
  • pause to soak in the view of surrounding peaks at Deeks Lake

Deeks Lake to Alpine (1-2 hours)

  • follow trail along south end of the lake past a few campsites then across a small boulder field to base of a steep climb.  Watch for sign to Windsor Peak.
  • nice singletrack takes you steeply uphill through tall trees with minimal undergrowth. 
  • At Peak 5400 sign, stay right.  You will eventually arrive at an open alpine area in the saddle between Mount Windsor and Gotha Peak

Alpine to Coburg Peak via Gotha (2 - 3 hours)

  • Coburg is approximately in the middle of the peaks along the ridge above Deeks and Brunswick Lakes.  It rises precipitiously from Brunswick Lake. 
  • The route to the peak was not flagged at the time of this writing (fall 2010)
  • bushwhack through open fields of heather to the ridge following the instructions to the farther of the 2 peaks of Gotha.  
  • while Coburg Peak is obvious as the next in line along the ridge, the route is neither clear nor easy.  Follow the west side of the cliffy ridge to the final steep climb.  While neither side is pretty, the west side (above Brunswick Lake) appears to be the path of least resistance up cliffy bits of loose rock and through root balls where at times, your best friend is a blueberry bush.  Pray the roots hold!
  • the peak offers views in 360-degrees
  • return via same route.  Note that it is possible to get down the east side of Coburg, cross the boulder field and pick your way over to Windsor, but it is not pretty

Neighboring peaks:

  • Bagger Challenge peaks Deeks Peak, Mount Windsor and Gotha Peaks are relatively close.  Several other Howe Sound peaks are baggable within same day by a strong runner

Submitted by:  Ean Jackson and David Crerar

More information: 

  • not much out there


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