Frosty Mountain Solo & Night Shots, Manning Park

A few weeks ago, I went on a solo hike up the east summit of Frosty Mountain in Manning Park. This was my first hike within the park; the views were well worth the drive and I’ll definitely be back.

I parked at the Lightning Lakes day lot and I was on the trail a little before 10:00am. I hiked ~23km and gained ~1250m over 7 hours and 20 mins, including short breaks on the way up and an hour long break at the top.

I didn’t see too many people by the lake and I ran into a pair of hikers close to the Frosty Creek Camp. I ran into several groups of people on their way down as I reached the start of the talus slope on my way up to the summit. 2 hikers in particular were concerned I was on my own and I couldn’t figure out why; I saw no signs of danger throughout the entire trip, the trail was easy enough to follow and given the traffic, I’m sure animals were long gone. In any case, this kept me on my toes for the duration of the hike.

I carried 4L of water and drank 1L during the drive up. For whatever reason, most likely dehydration, my blood sugars were not cooperating and I wasn’t the slightest bit motivated to reach the summit; the views are what kept me going.

First peek-a-boo view:

Views along the trail:

Frosty Creek Camp:

Larch Meadows:

As I reached the top of the talus slope, I was feeling worse in terms of fatigue and dehydration – not quite bad enough to turn back, but I was getting there. I checked my blood sugars and read 16.4mmol. Normally, I would correct this with 2 units of insulin (half of my normal dose because I’m hiking), but given the minimal elevation gain left and the dehydration I was feeling, I corrected with 6 units of insulin, ate 2 pieces of shotbloks for energy, and drank half a litre of water.

More views:

As the views got better, I was steadily feeling worse; my blood sugar level was still rising and water wasn’t helping much. I reached the bump before the summit and decided this will be my turn around point. This is the first hike I wont summit due to difficulty managing blood sugars. I’ve had a great run in terms of reaching the top on all of my hikes to date, so I shouldn’t feel too bad. There’s always another day!

Views from my turn around point:

Gorgeous, right? Wait until you see the next view. After taking a few pics, I looked at Frosty and realized the trail to the summit looked doable. I wont summit, but maybe I’ll go just a little further:

Before I knew it, I was on the summit!

Summit Selfie:

Summit panos:

As I walked around the summit, clicking away with my camera, I had a jaw-dropping moment. I looked over and noticed a trail etched into a ridge, connecting to what looked like a higher point. I realized I was only on the east summit.

View of the west summit:

I thought about continuing on. I had more than enough time but my blood sugars were still unstable. I spent a minute weighing out the pros and cons and decided I would come back when I’m feeling 100%; the east summit was good enough for today.

The descent:

Back down to Lightning Lake:

Aside from a bit of trouble managing my blood sugars, I had a great day. It’s always fun to explore new areas and I’m glad I didn’t have any serious issues.

Ryan was going to meet me after work for a car-camp and some night photography.

He came bearing gifts! Popcorn, soup, and s’mores for a surprisingly chilly night :), though we didn’t end up making the s’mores; it’s just not the same without a camp fire:

We were hoping to catch some early meteor showers, but the moon was way too bright. If you check out Ryan’s link at the end of this page, it looks like he caught a few.

Night shots:

What a beautiful (and cold) night! And an equally beautiful morning:

The next morning, we poked around a short trail near the parking lot. Start of the trail to the Brothers:

What a great intro to Manning Park! This is such a beautiful area, I’ll definitely come back. Prospect hikes include and are not limited to: the Heather trail to the 3 Brothers, the Cascades, Windy Joe, Outram, the real Frosty Mountain, and a Lightning Lakes snowshoe.

Ryan’s pics: http://realaworld.zenfolio.com/p792378440

Hope you’re enjoying the Summer!

 

– Ash 🙂