Melacious Fortune

Melacious Fortune

Summit Toad Mountain

10/04/16

Poorly signed on the drive up, so pay attention to the tree with the signs on the left of the road (7km) and turn right. (Main sign at this turn says SOFT ROAD-unmaintained, along with a small realty sign pointing up the road, and you will continue to see this same realty sign on the way to the Silver King Parking lot). Many hikers overshoot this turn if going by the old directions citing to stay on the "main road" after the Gold Creek FSR turn off. A bit baffling why there would be no Silver King/Toad Mountain signage at the most important intersections but now you know. Turn left at Gold Creek FSR at 1.6ish Kms, continue on Gold Creek road and turn right at 7km where you will see the tree on the left with the SOFT ROAD signage. There can also be some confusion at the parking lot, so continue up the road to the trail head for around 500 metres and you will see an actual, real life Toad Mountain Trail sign. This is an excellent ridge hike considering the proximity to Nelson (You can make it to the trail head parking lot from Nelson city limits in under an hour in an AWD vehicle with decent clearance). There is a cool little alpine lake to check out adjacent to the Toad Mountain trail head, and the views are great at the top of Toad and along the way. Clear cuts and active logging detract from the experience somewhat, but the ridgewalk(s) and view more than make up for it. While steep at the beginning, the trail undulates and is not overly arduous. Just bring food, water, proper clothing and take breaks as needed. I came across seniors (fit) and families with children ranging from teenagers to under 10 on this trail, so it can be done by most people with a moderate level of fitness.

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