This group of nondescript peaks in the 9000′ class rises about 6 mi W of Mt Hamill in the Toby-Hamill massif and extends some 6 mi in the direction of Kootenay Lake, from which the Wmost alpine-type peak is 5 mi distant.
The area is bounded on the N by Hamill Creek and on the S by Fry-Carney Creeks, the mountains themselves being much closer to the latter. The peaks are arrayed in 2 wings, the more W around the head of the first major S tributary of Clint Creek, itself a tributary of Hamill Creek, and the E wing around the terminal forks of Clint Creek. There is some permanent snow but no glaciers of any size. Technical difficulties hardly ever exceed the scrambling level. The peaks are named after early settlers in the West Kootenay country.
Access The fire road which extends from Johnson’s Landing up Kootenay Joe Creek affords the most reasonable approach.
History This route was followed by B. Beck and associates in 1965 and 1969. From the height of land at the head of the creek (6700; the road continues down Seven Mile Creek to Carney Creek), the 1969 party crossed Kootenay Joe Ridge to camp 2 mi N at 7200′. The peaks of the W wing were traversed going E to Continuation Col (7500, above the head of terminal forks of Clint Creek) by B. Beck, H. Ector, and C. Wagner. The next day Beck and Wagner ascended several peaks of the E wing. This group has also reached Wells, 1969) from Hamill Creek to the N via ridges above Clint Creek, a much longer approach which is not recommended. The peaks are listed below in order from W to E; FA as described above unless otherwise noted.
Maps: 82K/2 Lardeau
WINTER PEAK 2697m 8850′
2½ mi NE of Kootenay Joe Ridge; E of head of Seven Mile Creek.
FA Jan 1965, B. Beck (alone) via W face.
#1 (Mt Bulmer) 2789m 9150′ ½ mi ENE of Winter Peak.
#2 (Mt Beguin) 2850m 9350′ ½ mi E of #1.
#3 (Mt Bacchus) 2819m 9250′ Twin summit ½ mi NE of #2.
#4 (Mt Clark) 2697m 8850′ ½ mi NNE of #3.
#4b (Mt Wilkinson) 2606m 8550′ ½ mi W of Continuation Col (7500), which separates Wand E wings.
#5 (Mt McLanders) 2758m 9050′ ¾ mi S of#6.
#6 (Mt McLeod) 2880m 9450′ 1 mi E of Continuation Col.
#7 (Mt Abey) 2850m 9350′ ½ mi NE of #6.
#8 (Mt Lake) 2911m 9550′ Apex of E subgroup; ¾ mi E of #7.
#9 (Mt Fitzsimmons) 2880m 9450′ ½ mi N of #8; head of glacier :flowing SE to Bonny Gem Lake.
#10 (Mt Sauczuk) 2819m 9250′ ½ mi E of #9; unclimbed.
#11 (Mt MacNicol) 2789m 9150′ ½ mi N of #10; unclimbed.
#12 (Mt Mason) 2880m 9450′ 1 mi NW of #11; unclimbed. 3 mi to N and NE of#12 are some summits exceeding 9000′.
The best approach appears to be via Crazy Creek, the first major S tributary of Hamill Creek 8 mi beyond Clint Creek.
MT WILLET 2755m 9040′
3½ mi SW of Argenta. A long though locally popular climb from Argenta via a sharp ridge from 8750′ W peak.
TOOTH RIDGE 2286m 7500-7700′
The prominent jagged ridge above Johnson’s Landing, between Mt Willet and Kootenay Joe Ridge.
SCRAMBLES in the SETTLER’S GROUP by Sandra McGuinness
2012.08.25 (3 days) 19 km
Abstract: A hike into the Settlers Group with scrambles of Winter Peak, Mount Bulmer, and Bacchus Ridge.
Difficulty: Off-trail hiking, scrambling to class 2.
Participants: Doug Brown, Sandra McGuinness
Drive: Drive north of Kaslo on Hwy 31 to the small town of Cooper Creek. Turn right (east) onto Argenta Road, Cross the Duncan River on a good bridge, and, on the east side of the Duncan River, turn south. The road is signed for Argenta and Johnsons Landing. Follow this road south for about 10.5 km. Just after the road crosses Bulmer Creek, the signed Salisbury Creek FSR exits to the left (east). Follow Salisbury Creek FSR to the road end, and, about 20 metres from the absolute end of the road, look for Heart Lake Trail heading north through fireweed towards a large tree marked by a hiker sign.
Preamble. 2012 was the year of our endless summer, as, in late August, Doug and I prepared to move from the small mountain town of Nelson which had been our home for the last 10 years to Australia, where summer was soon to settle in. Four days before we had to leave our house, we found we had time for one last mountain trip, and, after the usual studying of maps, we decided to hike into the Settlers Group on the east side of the Purcell Mountains. In March of the same year, we skied up to Kootenay Joe Ridge from Johnsons Landing and looked over at the Settlers Group from the summit of Kootenay Joe Ridge. Draped in a blanket of snow, the mountains and extensive alplands were stunningly beautiful. That was part of the appeal of the Settlers Group, the other, equally important part was ease of access. A good trail leads from a landing in a cutblock at 5,500 feet to the tiny Heart Lake at 7,350 feet. Finally, Salisbury Creek FSR, where the trail starts, was reported to be in good shape, a rarity in 2012 when record monsoon rains washed out dozens of other roads in the Kootenay region.
Hike In, Attempt Mount Willet. The trail, built by enthusiastic locals and not well (if at all) known outside the local area, starts at roads end and is relatively easy to find. Perhaps 20 metres before the absolute road end, look for an ATV track bashed into the cutblock. The trail starts at this ATV track but heads north (climbers left) and is marked by a sketch of a hiker on a large tree at the edge of the cutblock. The trail climbs gently and contours north into the south fork of Bulmer Creek, travels due east, skirting the north end of a boulder field, and eventually climbs steeply to a narrow col northeast of Tooth Ridge.
After about two hours of hiking, we came out at Heart Lake, a pretty little tarn amidst alpine meadows marred only by a scattering of fire pits. We had a break by the lake, then wandered up alp lands to an 8,000-foot ridge line. Looking east, we could see Winter Peak and Mount Bulmer, while the bigger peaks of the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy stretched away beyond Fry Creek to the southeast.
We descended about 200 feet wandering through delightful alpine meadows to a small tarn overlooking Fry Creek Canyon. Campsites were plentiful, but, as you often do when faced with a plethora of choice, it took us a half hour to settle on a tent site. Tent up, afternoon munchies ingested, we headed off to see if Mount Willet could be easily ascended from this direction. We were able to contour across rubble slopes and neve at about 7,800 feet, just under the steep loose cliffs of Beguin W3 (Bivouac nomenclature). After about an hour, we’d got to a spot about 180 feet below a steep headwall on the east side of the standard ascent route (SE ridge). The late hour, combined with the nasty-looking headwall, turned us back and we hiked back to camp arriving in time to witness a glorious sunset.
Mount Beguin, Bacchus Ridge, Winter Peak. The next morning we laid in until the sun hit the tent, and, after some breakfast set off to scramble up whichever peaks of the Settlers Group took our fancy. Truthfully, we found it strange that so many small and incredibly loose bumps along a ridge should earn such lofty titles. In 1969, Curt Wagner, from Minnesota, climbed all these peaks and named them after local settlers. Given current strictures on naming it’s doubtful such things would not happen today.
In any case, a friend of ours, who had scrambled many of these peaks, had told us that the best access to all these peaks was from the south side. The glaciers shown on the map have long since disappeared from the south side, while only remnant steep pocket glaciers remain on the north side.
Pleasant alpine rambling led us around the south shoulder of Winter Peak at about 8,100 feet where a great quantity of rubbly rock greeted us. We decided to head for Mount Beguin, half because it was the highest of the group and half because we could just see an easy ramp through the rubble. Maintaining our elevation as much as we could, we contoured across the meadow, rubble and occasional patches of snow until we encountered a solid white rib of rock running south from Mount Bulmer.
Mount Bulmer itself looked frightfully loose, but an easy ramp of talus and meadow led from the base of Bulmer all the way up to the west ridge of Mount Beguin. This ramp was low angle enough that the loose rock was no problem and, in half an hour, we were hiking along the final loose and somewhat narrow west ridge to the top.
It was still early and Bacchus Ridge, while incredibly loose, also offered easy ridge walking, so we continued northeast, skirting around a rubble tower on the ridge on the south side to the top of Bacchus Ridge where we surprised a large flock of small birds feeding on who knows what hidden among the rubble.
I toyed with continuing on to Mount Clark, but the “peak” is 300 feet lower than Bacchus Ridge and singularly unimpressive. Instead, we hiked back over the top of Beguin and headed west towards Winter Peak and camp. On the way back to camp, I scrambled up Winter Peak via steep grassy slopes on the south side and had a good view of camp from the grey rocky summit. Doug wandered back to camp ahead of me. A moderate south wind had been blowing smoke in all day and by evening views were obscured by forest fire smoke from the USA.
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Tooth Ridge Attempt, GR125530. All good things must end, even a last alpine trip, and the next day we packed up and walked back towards Heart Lake. I wanted to try Tooth Ridge on the way out, Doug, who thought it looked steep, loose, and well – nasty – decided to hike up GR125530 as we passed by instead. At ridge top at GR125535 we parted ways arranging to meet at the col northeast of Tooth Ridge where the trail first climbs out of South Bulmer Creek valley.
Doug had a good goat track along the ridge and a little class 3 quartzite scrambling soon put him on top of GR125530. I had considerably less luck on Tooth Ridge. Initially, a good trail led around the west side of the first crumbling tower. The trail then deteriorated markedly, and, at some point along the ridge disappeared altogether. I managed to claw my way along very steep loose terrain to the top of the final tower before the summit tower, but the increasingly steep, loose exposed terrain caused me to rethink the whole endeavour and I turned back before the final summit. Meeting my demise or breaking both legs on my final trip into the Canadian mountains was not high on my bucket list.
Back at the col, Doug soon appeared somewhat relieved that I had turned back, and we hiked easily down the trail, nibbling on huckleberries and ending our last foray into the Canadian mountains – at least for now.
LAKE BONNEY GEM & MOUNT McLEOD
by Dean Richards
Participants: Dean Richards, K Gibson. Trip date – 2015.08.17 (4 days)
Calculated Length: 37 km
Elevation Gain: 3600m
Abstract: Traverse of Settler Group into the Pioneer Group to Lake Bonny Gem. Attained summits of Mount Beguin, Mount Wilkinson, and Mount McLeod.
Difficulty: class III Several sections of mild exposure and use of handholds.
Access: From Highway 31 in Cooper Creek (north end of Kootenay Lake), turn off the highway following signs for Argenta and Johnsons Landing. Turn right after crossing Duncan River onto Argenta Road. Continue straight through Argenta. Approx 6km south of Argenta, turn left onto Salisbury Creek FSR and drive to the end. High Clearance 4WD
Prologue Many of my trip ideas these days seem to be coming from a combination of flying around Google Earth and looking at the locations of old fly-in hiking camps that the Kootenay Mountaineering Club (KMC) has held over the years and wondering if I could get in on foot. I’d been looking at Lake Bonny Gem (occasionally spelled Bonnie Gem in the past) for a year and wondering how strenuous the approach over the Settler Group would be, and whether ascending to the McLeod-McLanders col was too loose or steep, how much of the glacier at the head of Noel Creek still existed, and what lay under all the white patches on Google Earth (no summer imagery for much of the Settler Group). Some Google searches quickly showed that Lake Bonny Gem was a rarely-visited place (couldn’t find anything online except the KMC camps), so that added fuel to the fire, I started to wonder if a traverse of the Purcells was possible by connecting Lake Bonny Gem to Eagle Nest Lake and then heading out South Toby Creek.
My main goal had always been Lake Bonny Gem, but the Bivouac side of me pushed for a summit, so we were hoping to try one of the routes to Mount Lake at some point.
History of Lake Bonny Gem and the Pioneer Group
-1915: Three timber cruisers working up Carney Creek (the biggest tributary of Fry Creek) scrambled up Mount Lillian and named it, then the next day bushwhacked up to Lake Bonny Gem, and also named it. One of the party continued on to scramble up what I take to be the south ridge of Mount Lake, and summitted it, leaving a cairn.
From a member of the above party: “In the meantime, I looked around for indications of any previous visit of human beings to the spot, and found none; no sign that camp ever had been made there, and I think that no white men ever have spent a night on the shores of Bonny Gem. The lake is known to a few trappers and hunter and probably has been visited by prospectors in their never-ending quest for gold. I am told that Mr. Hale Thompson, now mayor of Chicago, with a companion and guide once visited the lake while on a hunting trip.”
EDIT: I’ve updated the below 1969 trip with info from a 1971 AAJ article -1969: The Settler and Pioneer Groups are named by Wagner, a prolific namer of mountains. His party started from Kootenay Joe Ridge and stayed a night at a small lake south of our 2015 route, then traversed Winter Peak, Mount Bulmer, Mount Beguin, Bacchus Ridge, Mount Clark, Mount Wilkinson, camped at the Wilkinson-McLeod col (“Continuation Col”, he calls it), then ascends Mount McLeod directly, traverses Mount Abey to Mount Lake. His partner tags Mount Fitzsimmons and they both descend Mount Lake’s “southeast face […], just east of the prominent south ridge”. (see my comment in my previous report Mount Lake: Speculations on Five Possible Routes for my interpretation of that descent route). It’s unclear to me whether they were claiming all of these as first ascents. They explicitly claim Winter Peak, but none others. Putnam’s 1977 ‘Climber’s Guide to the Interior Ranges of British Columbia – South” seems to be granting them First Ascents for all of the above except Winter Peak, but we know this can’t be true since Mount Lake’s FA was in 1915. So there seems to be some sort of discrepancy here.
EDIT: (’70s) I spoke to Scott Rowed who made a trip into the area in the 70’s sometime. He, his wife Jan Souza, along with John Carter and a friend, spent 5 days on a trip that started at Glacier Creek. Their route: “South fork of Glacier Creek, over the ridge, then traversed on the south side of Blockhead and Redtop, then the ridge to Earl Grey Pass, up the Toby Glacier, Eagle Nest Lake, over the pass just west of the lake, traversed through the south facing meadows, Bonny Gem Lake, then stayed high over Bacchus Ridge, Winter Peak, then down to Kootenay Lake via the Kootenay Joe Road.” They reported elk in the meadows above Greasy Rocks Creek and pleasant alpine rambling. To their knowledge, this was the first trip linking up the Hamill Group and the Pioneer Group.
1974: The KMC started holding separate hiking and climbing camps and Lake Bony Gem was the location for the first hiking camp. Another camp was held there in 1980 (the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy having been created in the interim), with a satellite camp held at Eagle Nest Lake, reportedly a 10-hour hike away. Everyone flew into both camps, and those that didn’t fly out, exited via a 2 day bushwhack down Carney Creek. A noteworthy event from the camp was that someone found a hatchet near the lake, matching the description of the one left by a member of the 1915 party with a note for the member who continued higher, but a different route was taken back by this member, and the hatchet had just been there waiting for the next visitor. I believe it was after this trip that the KMC applied for a number of names in the area, such as Mammary Peak, Greasy Rocks Creek, Eagle Nest Lake, etc.
-1981: Eagle Nest Lake was the chosen spot for the KMC hiking camp, but at the last minute this was changed to the headwaters of the western fork of Clint Creek, a spot we passed by on the first day of our trip.
Until the creation of the Heart Lake Trail sometime around 2007 (give or take), the main access to Heart Lake and the Settler Group would’ve been a bushwhack up Bulmer Creek or from Kootenay Joe FSR.
The most visitation over the years was likely from locals. I’ve had exchanges with a few people who have been to the Pioneer Group. I’m a little fuzzy on the details, but a similar high route to the one we used has likely been done before by locals, in addition to Wagner’s 1969 trip. As well, someone spoke of bushwhacking up Crazy Creek from Hamill Creek to ‘Crazy Lake’ and then on to Eagle Nest Lake and then back on the Early Grey Trail. So it’s likely that most of the possible routes have been done quietly, and at least one west-east traverse has occurred, though I don’t think via Lake Bonny Gem.
The last visit to Lake Bonny Gem by a KMC member that I was able to track down was back at the 1980 Hiking Camp.
Ed note: I believe that Terry Turner from Riondel, along with his wife Sharon and usually another couple to make a foursome, have helicoptered into Bonny Gem more than once.
Some of the better info I found came from Sandra’s trip report Once More Into The Wild: Scrambles In The Settlers Group to the Settler Group in 2012.
Ed Note: I have heavily edited this report to leave only actual trip details.
Day 1 – Heart Lake Trail to Beguin Basin
After a car camp at the Heart Lake Trailhead, our goal was the basin south of Mt Beguin, the last possible place for water before getting up high. Follow the Heart Lake Trail for 3.2 km. Heart Lake is nice and in a pretty spot. We continued up the basin, making our way east. Over this ridge, we could see that there weren’t the lakes I’d anticipated from Google Earth, but after dropping down a bit and continuing on, there was a little, not-very-appealing lake near the pass (50.1383,-116.8142), with a fire pit nearby. There were lakes a ways below us draining into Carney Creek. We were worried about water, as it had been a dry year.
We dropped elevation a bit, contoured above the lakes below, making our way to the ridge south of Winter Peak.
 Looking back at the easier ground during the first half of Day 1. |
Again we contoured around and up to the white vein of rock that heads south from Mount Bulmer. At 7.3 km and after 7 hours, at the base of Mount Beguin, we camped at a flat area with a few ponds and little streams. It had been a fair bit of easy travel with the trail and alpine meadows, but also lots of moderate loose rock and side-hilling.
 from Mount Bulmer. |
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Day 2 – Settler Group Traverse
Start up the ‘grassy’ ramp and easily climb Mount Beguin (8.2 km). The summit register had been placed in 2012, with one entry a month after placement, making us the first party in 3 years to sign in. We also had cell service here, which we hadn’t had since driving out of Kaslo.
Beyond the glacier, we stopped for lunch on a vein of sandstone. We could see the rest of our day’s route and decided that camping before the McLeod-McLanders col would make sense, giving us a day to explore the Pioneer Group and Lake Bonny Gem without heavy packs. We could see the lakes below the col but hoped that there would be water a little higher and nearer to us.
Between Mount Beguin and Mount Clark is Bacchus Ridge. 3 bumps along the ridge northeast of Mount Bulmer, before the ridge heads east towards a lower unnamed bump. We skirted to the south of Bacchus Ridge, then skirted north of the unnamed bump by crossing a mostly dry glacier, with some crevasses visible.
After lunch, we descended into the basin southeast of Mount Clark where the glacier had recently retreated on loose, steep bedrock. Skirted to the south of Mount Clark and climbed Mount Wilkinson (11.2 km). Continue down the southeast ridge of Mount Wilkinson to where the ridge splits, one ridge northeast to the Wilkinson-McLeod Col (12.2 km) to the east and another ridge to the south. The travel between Wilkinson and this point was the most exposed of the day, which was minor exposure for about 15 minutes off and on.
 is on the skyline right. At the bottom of the rockfall from the col are the lakes we camped at the second night. |
Descend the ridge to the Wilkinson-McLeod col, contour around towards our lakes, a combination of tarns and ponds and camped in between the two larger ones. 13.4kms and 8.5hrs
Day 3 – Lake Bonny Gem and Mount McLeod
McLeod-McLanders Col to access Bonny Gem uses a steep grassy ramp slightly further north, a more direct line from the Wilkinson-McLeod Col to near the summit of Mount McLeod. It is also a direct route from the Settler Group that loses the least elevation (water?). At the col, we found heli-skiing flags. We couldn’t see Lake Bonny Gem yet, but could see the ridge walk leading to Mount Lake from the west, and it looked quite airy.
Follow a loose rock ramp leading down into the Noel Creek headwaters where the glacier had melted back. This appeared to be well used by goats.
 Looking ahead across the Noel headwaters basin where the glacier had receded. Fairly easy travel. Mount Lake summit visible. |
We bee-lined across the bedrock and detritus left by the glacier, stopping at one point at a nice little oasis that had a stream and lots of flowers. Climb up to the ridge west of Bonny Gem without trouble.
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For the first look at Lake Bonny Gem (18.5 km), descend to the lake for lunch and a swim – beautiful, deep, and warmer than usual due to the heatwave.
 to the right. Mount Hamill skyline. |
From the lake, we could see the glacier that drains into the lake, but it looked to have retreated a long way, as the map shows it going right down to the lakeshore. No sign of human use whatsoever. This led me to think that we really might’ve been the first group to get into the Pioneer Group via a Settler Group traverse. Mount Pambrun felt close and we were a ways up Carney Creek.
We retraced our steps back across the basin where the glacier had retreated and up to the col and the south ridge to Mount Lake – low Class 3, with some possible sections of Class 4. Likely the easiest route is to head up the glacier above Lake Bonny Gem.
After a break at the col, we had time to scramble up Mount McLeod. It took no more than 30 minutes. There was a cairn but no register.
Views to Hall Peak (the familiar Leaning Towers shape of that area was not at all recognizable from our vantage), Nowitka Mountain, Mount Findlay, Lees and Clutterbuck, Jumbo, Delphine, the Truce Group, and even bits of the Bugaboos. To the west, we could see everything from the Valhallas. Still a decent-sized glacier south of McLeod and Abey, though it was probably a quarter the size that the maps suggested.
We eyed up the route over Mount Abey to Mount Lake and it looked like third-class or 4th-class terrain from our vantage, with a possible crux just below the top of Mount Lake, where there were a few steep pitches.
 Jumbo further on the right. |
We headed back to the col and then down the vegetated ramp – loose, a bit slow and annoying, but it got us down safely. 11 hours with light packs from our basecamp, including the 1.5hr roundtrip and summit time for Mount McLeod (21.3kms). This was the first day where my flu recovery hadn’t slowed us down.
Day 4 – All the Way Back
We’d been dreading the return, as it meant gaining a lot of elevation and starting with having to lose a little first. We dropped down through some huckleberries and started heading up into the Wilkinson/Clark basin, having skirted the south spur ridge of Wilkinson entirely. We had lunch back at the same spot as our lunch from Day 2 on the ‘sandstone’ ledge just east of the glacier we’d crossed that day.
Depending on the glacier ice may have to walk along its edge to the south, drop down a little to get past it and back up onto the ridge. Bringing crampons would’ve also allowed us the option of trying to ascend the glacier above Bonny Gem to try for Mount Lake.
We cruised along the Settler Group back to Mount Beguin, declining to ascend the last 10m for the high point of Bacchus Ridge. We kept a higher line contouring around the Beguin/Bulmer basin than we had on the way in, and then again kept a higher line down to the pass above the West Clint Creek headwaters.
Back at Heart Lake, we had a quick, pleasant dip and had enough time to head all the way out and enjoy a soak in Ainsworth Hot Springs, Our day was a little over 10hrs in total in contrast with the 15.5hrs over two days that it took us going in.
Settler Group Traverse. We were happy with the route over the Settler Group. Mount Beguin is the only necessary summit, and you remain high for a while after that heading east – a relatively high traverse that isn’t overly difficult and seems to be the best way into the Pioneer Group.
Settler Group campsites. Heart Lake is great, but takes less than 3hrs to get to.
The unappealing lake 1.5 hours from Heart Lake with the firepit is adequate. Nice views, just not a lake to swim in.
The spot we camped at our first night is one I could recommend, with constant water.
Clark/Wilkinson Basin – not much water nor campsites but allows for a fairly balanced two days to get to Bonny Gem. Overall though, we were pretty satisfied with our second camp too.
Noel Creek headwaters where the glacier had retreated.
Lake Bonny Gem is the best campsite of them all. Trees and shelter from wind.
Pioneer Group
For Mount Lake, see Mount Lake: Speculations on Five Possible Routes.
Mount Rasmussen – Class 3 ascent?
Mount McLanders looked like some loose rock, but no worse than low Class 3
Mount McLeod is a good height with a great vantage and I’d recommend it.
Mount Abey. Wagner talks of 3rd and 4th class climbing, with a crux for Mount Abey of having to traverse the south face of a “huge gendarme”.
Mount Sauczuk Probably Class 3.
A Purcell Traverse. Heart Lake Trail-Settler Group-Lake Bonny Gem-Greasy Rocks Creek-Eagle Nest Lake-South Toby Creek is the route I would take. All of the sections of this route have been done on foot over the years by various people.
I would estimate that without side-trips or rest days, this traverse would take 6-8 days, with the logical side-trip days being to base camp at Lake Bonny Gem and Eagle Nest Lake and explore those basins or go for some summits.
Conclusion. Lake Bonny Gem is a special place. Getting deep into the Purcell Wilderness is no easy feat. My regrets were not being able to spend more time around Bonny Gem, hiking up Mammary Peak for the view, and trying a route up Mount Lake.