In June of '98 a friend and I set out on a 10 day hike through the Stein Valley. Our original plan was to hike to Stein Lake from the Lytton end;  however once we arrived at the trail head we learned that most of the middle valley was closed due to a fire a couple of years ago. Despite the fact that we spoke to the Regional Parks Office twice about the valley, this was never mentioned to us. After a brief discussion we selected an alternate route.

 

Normally we pay little attention to guide books, however the choice that we made was based largely on what we had read. At the beginning of the book the author states that he has NOT hiked some of the routes that he describes in the book, and we found out the hard way that he definitely did not hike the route we chose, but I'll get to that on day 3.

 

Day 1, consisted of only a short hike; our plan was to hike for about an hour or so as it was rather late in the day. The first sight of note is only a few moments down the trail. Here you will find a place where the people who are native to the Valley pay their respects before they enter the valley. You can not miss this sight but from here on in keep your eyes peeled - the entire lower valley is filled with ancient rock paintings and modified trees, some of which are very well hidden and off the beaten path.  A word of advice here (one of many):  if you plan on starting your hike late in the day, you will end up camping next to the very turbulent Stein River; bring ear plugs if you want to get a good night's sleep. The river is so fast that the ground actually shakes and it's way too loud to be soothing!!!

 

Day 2, we set out at about 0730 to try and beat the heat. Devils Staircase is well named.  An exposed boulder field with NO water, it is the first major obstacle you'll encounter. Once over the staircase it was relatively smooth sailing to the cable car. Again there are several points of interest in this area that you have to be observant to see. Once we crossed the Stein River, our progress was slowed for a km or two because of dead falls that had yet to be cleared; the rain that had recently started didn't help much either. By the time that we reached the Ponderosa shelter campsite it was pouring rain so we opted to stay at the shelter rather than the proper camp site. The meatless spaghetti and garlic bread tasted damn good that night. The shelter is right next to the river (a lot quieter here) and is a good place to camp but it lacks the bear bunkers and outhouses of the established sites. The actual camp site is about another 10 minutes down the trail, but it is exposed and lacks good sites to pitch a tent.

 

Day 3, this is when the fun started.  According to the guide book, the Victoria Ridge route round trip was a long day hike. The route gained very substantial altitude in a very short distance, had no trail, was poorly marked and required solid route finding skills, and had no water at all until you reached Meadow Lake on the valley floor (our destination). Wayne and I were both in good shape and experienced route finders, so despite 50 lb packs; we felt we could make the lake in about 10 hours. This decision was wrongfully based on the info from the book!! We left camp at 0800. Following the route itself isn't that hard for the experienced as the ridge narrows and drops off on both sides.  For those who can read terrain this part of the route is obvious. The first part of the route isn't too bad except for the incline.  The views although spotty are wonderful. Once the ridge joins up with the mtn and you enter the forest the real fun begins. Dead falls, hundreds of dead falls, that you have to climb over or under, never around of course, and you know darn well without me even saying it that when you need to go under there isn't enough room to clear your pack so getting caught up is a fact of life. This area of the hike, which had NO safe alternative (that we could find) took a considerable amount of time and cost us a fair amount of skin and blood. The first time you break out into the open, don't make the mistake of getting as excited as we did - the torture isn't over yet.  As soon as you crest the hill you'll hit more of the same. In hindsight, we think there may have been a way around this part though so keep your eyes open. When you finally do reach the open ridge you will clearly see the valley floor with the beautiful Meadow Lake lying at the base of the mountain. This is one of the most rewarding sights you'll ever see. We were still a good distance from the lake that we planned to camp at and due to the heat, we were beat. Thankfully the sun had given way to wind and rain, my 4 liters of water were gone and so was Wayne's. We decided to take a snow filled rock chute down to the valley floor and camp next to the lake's outlet creek. It took us 12 and 1/2 hours to reach this point. Exhausted, we made camp, ate some soup and hit the sack.

Day 4, This would prove to be the easiest day of the trip. It was only partly cloudy, and due to the altitude it was a comfortable temperature. It took us less than an hour to get up to the lake and find a camp site. We were shocked to see that the freshest signs of humans were at least 2 or 3 years old. Camp was set up immediately, leaving the rest of the day to explore our surroundings. Don't miss out on the opportunity to explore this area.  It is some of the most spectacular terrain I have ever seen. You could easily spend days exploring the surrounding ridges and neighboring valleys.

Day 5, The climb up from the lake to the ridge is quite steep and once on the ridge it is rather narrow in some spots and not a good place for people with a fear of heights to be. The view from the top of the mountain is the best of the trip, and was well worth the effort to get there (I say this now 4 months afterwards).  Descending down the other side of the mountain is also steep and requires slow going but the ridge walk that follows is great. The ridge that we had to connect to, to get to the Cottonwood camp site ran in a south-westerly direction, we met it where 3 ridges join together. Before dropping down into the trees, we rested up a bit, took a land mark and compass reading and then started out. It would be the last time we were able to stop for over 3 hours.  NOTE: this route also requires solid route finding skills.  Another word of advice: Carry netted head gear!!   The forest was thick, not just with trees but also with mosquitoes.  We literally had to keep moving to keep them at bay.  As soon as we slowed they were all over us. We finally came to an open face that had a good breeze going and it was also raining lightly which kept the skitters from having our "certified sane" certificates taken away!! The rest stop was much needed as the descent is quite steep. As soon as we stopped we noticed that our land mark was farther to the west than it should have been.  We changed course to correct this and set out after a sock change and snack break. Before long we connected to the trail that leads to the Cottonwood camp. The sun had come out and it was now scorching hot. There is a small hill called "Unnecessary Knob".  It's almost vertical in both directions; the trees offer no refuge from the sun; there is no water and whatever you have will be rather warm in no time.  If your day ends here rather than starts you'll surely be hallucinating before too long. As we reached the Cottonwood camp the first thing we did was drop our packs and soak in the very refreshing river. For the first time since we had started, we met people. They turned out to be nice and offered us their left over hamburger stew. MMMMMMMM - meat!!! After a few hours of exploring the area it was time for bed.

Day 6, Our plan for this day was to make it back to the Ponderosa camp. The trail was relatively flat and well shaded in most places.   We made good time and got to the Ponderosa shelter early.   After we set up camp we had plenty of time for exploring. I headed back to where we started our Victoria Ridge leg and explored the base of the mountain looking for caves or ancient paintings at the base of the cliffs but failed to find any. It was still a fun way to kill the rest of the day though.

Day 7, For today we planed on making it to the Devils Staircase camp site, with a side trip to the pictograph wall. On the west side of the staircase you need to head down towards the river along a trail that heads down stream, it's easy to miss if your not watching for it and believe me you do NOT want to miss out on this amazing place. The wall that the paintings are on is huge, and some of them are so high up you'll wonder how the artist got up to them.   What really got my mind into a tail spin were the two paintings that resemble a stegosaurus and a Pterodactyl.  I mean these things really make you wonder just how old the paintings really are and how long had  people lived in this valley.   All the paintings are still very clear and quite well done considering how they were made. I can't wait for my daughter to be old enough to appreciate these works of art so I can take her and my wife to see them.   I only hope that the buffoons who were responsible for all the broken beer bottles at the trail head never find this place!!!  Crossing the "staircase" in the heat of the late afternoon is not fun.  It’s very hot and the air is dry.  A swim in the river at the end of the day is almost a necessity.

Day 8, Our last day on the trail. Due to the route change we ended up coming out 2 days early.  We started for the trail head very early in the morning; even still, it was over 30 degrees by 9am. After a short hike to the trail head we still had to hike to the local farm house that we had made arrangements to park our vehicles at.   According to the local police the trail head is relatively safe to park at and the Lytton and Mt. Currie Indian bands patrol the lots.  I just happen to be really paranoid, however when we go back I am considering parking at the trail head.