Photos: Hiking to Mount McGuire pays off with Cascade Range views

A week ago, I participated in a hike and scramble up Mount McGuire, southeast of Chilliwack. On a hot, sunny day, we drove to the top of a 4x4 logging road to start the hike.

Our trip involved ascending a rockslide to the northeast ridge, following a path along the ridge, and wading down through steep wildflower meadows to the east side of McGuire. After traversing over rocky ground to the southeast ridge, we met the formerly standard trail to McGuire.

Then it was up to the summit ridge, with the crux being a brief exposed traverse to the right side of the crest. The rewards: views of Mount Baker and the Cascade Range, the Cheam Range (as well as Elk Mountain and Mount Thurston) across the Chilliwack Valley, and the Fraser Valley.

It took 4.5 hours up to the summit. The round trip was nine hours.

McGuire's northeast ridge route is a challenging, mostly off-trail trip (for experienced hikers). For more info about the route, see ClubTread and LiveTrails.