We found the first drainage ditch in the logging road on the way up to Mount Apps on a sunny Sunday in February 2015.

The snow was nowhere to be found so we took advantage and hiked up to somewhere that should be covered in the white stuff.

We nearly hit the ceiling of the truck when we hit the first drainage ditch in the logging road. The sun was coming straight in the front window. I couldn’t see much. The drainage ditches are a small ditch followed by a small bump dug in the roads by the logging companies to direct the water out the other side instead of washing away the road. They’re good for preserving the roads. Not so good to hit driving 40.

“Oh, there’s a bump there!”

The logging road winds up the hill until it washes out. We parked and hiked up the road.   

15 minutes later a nice sign told us to go into the bush to get to Mount Apps and Zella Lake. Convenient. That’s where we wanted to go. 

Some nice moss getting a tan. 

Odd dead trees at the end of a clearcut. Didn’t look like they had any burn marks but there was an entire line of them at the edge of a clear cut. Do they die at the edge? 

Views back into the valley. 

Before the summit, a plateau extends south with a small lake on it. Even the plateau offers great views east to the straight and west into the valley. 

This might be my favorite photo of the day with the fog in the valley and the painting-like mountains in the background. I didn’t even notice it until I was noodling around on the computer with the photos and saw the layers of mountains in the background. 

A cairn. We’re on the right track. 

South over the small lake on the plateau pointing south to Mount Joan on the right and Mount Curran on the left. 

Facing east out to the straight over Denman and Hornby. 

Zella Lake. 

Mount Joan again through the trees. 

Comox Glacier and other mountains to the north.  

Back down over Zella Lake. The ridge off to the left in the photo heads over to another route up from Buckley Bay. 

Heading back down into the valley.

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