Today we decided to get out and hike to the Spirit Caves, located up a rather steep trail above Yale, BC. We were fortunate to run into a fellow named Don Walmsley, former principal at Boston Bar school, the night before at the Old Towne Inn that explained to us they are not really "caves" in the true sense of the form. They are actually piles of giant rocks that fell on top of each other, but have fallen in such a manner as to make a number of caves that you can go into. If we did not get this info prior to departure we may have ended up looking for the wrong thing when we got there!
The trail head is fairly easy to find as it is signposted. We came to the conclusion that the locals may be trying to deter people from attempting the climb because the trail is badly overgrown from the trailhead for about the first 500m. However, if you persevere and get across the fourth little bridge the trail soon opens up as you get into the forest. From here it is basically a continuous ascent through the forest on a well defined trail. You spend most of the time traversing up the mountain on a series of switchbacks.
As you ascend you are constantly reminded of the close proximity of the highway and railway tracks below. Breaks in the trees offer a number of views of the Fraser River and Yale. Close to the top there is a roped off area that offers the best view of the valley below.
Shortly after the viewpoint, you turn away from the highway deeper into the forest and drop into a little depression. Suddenly the highway sounds vanish and you are surrounded in silence. The forest is dark and shaded and incredibly green. The rocks of the spirit caves loom ahead of you. They are not obvious at first and we actually followed the trail further on than we needed to because we were not 100% sure that we were there yet. Once we reached the summit of the mountain and determined the small holes we saw in the rocks behind us were what we were looking for we headed back to explore further. Climbing up on to the rocks we were soon greeted with a number of different caves that we could actually get inside and look around. Some lead deeper into the mountain and others to chambers that allowed you to exit at different points. There was one that was so deep and so cold that the air turned to mist as it came into contact with the warm daytime air.
The atmosphere of the place was a little creepy, peering into these dark caves as your eyes adjusted from the bright sunlight. We had taken a flashlight with us as well but it was not totally necessary! I was, as usual, a little concerned about bears and such. The caves look like they would be ideal homes for wildlife and a pile of feathers under a tree suggested something had been snacking up there. I would maybe recommend taking some rope to explore the deeper caves.
Apparently native Americans used these caves and no doubt where they got their name, however I was a little disappointed that there was no obvious hieroglyphs painted on the walls, except by some teenagers of a more modern age I would assume.
The trip back to the trailhead follows the same route as you come in on. Travel time up was about 2.5 leisurely hours, but I think we were only about an hour or so getting down to the car. Allow at least an hour at the caves to explore. It is a good workout for the intermediate hiker but no technical skills required. The trail is fairly rough so I would recommend a good pair of hiking boots and a walking stick. Previous hikers had the courtesy to leave their makeshift sticks at the sign on the trailhead, so feel free to grab one of them. Just remember to leave it there when you get back!
Pick up the "Trails of Hope" brochure at the Hope, BC visitor centre for more hiking ideas in this area.
*Note: This post is a document on my journey on this trail and should not be used as a guide. Before hiking this trail make sure you are well equipped and informed!
finished it at a roadside diner in the Fraser Canyon at an Elvis festival. Two celebrations of popular culture about as different as can be!
