Lightning Ridge

It's kind of crazy to do lightning ridge as a day hike. It's definitely possible, but if it's storming up there, you don't have time to wait it out. Better to pack up your gear, and stay in the trees near a meadow. Then you've got lots of time, and it is really beautiful up by the ridge. I'm not sure if it was a freak incident, but I went up on an overcast day that looked pretty harmless, and there was a crazy lightning and hail storm when I was getting close to the top.

From the start of the trail, it climbs right away, first through poplar forest, then mixed, and then spruce. The spruce slowly get smaller until you start to see meadows. The first real meadow is the valley between Mt. Stearn and Lightning Ridge. The trail forks at the far end of this valley. Go left to get up Mt. Stearn, or turn right to go much further, and much higher, up to Lightning Ridge. After traversing a treed slope, you emerge onto a saddle beside the ridge. From here you go north-west along the slopes of lightning ridge all the way to the far end. You get to a little lake, and then you start climbing the scree.

Be very careful about bad weather up here. You're completely exposed, and it's a long way back.

Access

The trailhead is on the road to the Sulfur Gate (or Hell's Gate as it used to be known). This gravel road is west of Grande Cache, just after you cross the Smoky River. Turn south. About half way down the road (3km or so) there are gravel pits on the east side of the row. Just after them, the trail is starts on the west side of the road, with a pull off for your vehicle on the east side.