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A steep start leads to moderate hiking through old growth, rising gently to a fork in the trail. The Upper Bluffs trail continues upwards past many waterfalls to a series of viewpoints overlooking Hagensborg and the surrounding mountains. The Lower Bluffs trail leads to the base of the climbing walls.
Trail is cut and well flagged; the Upper Bluffs trail gets more traffic, is quite tracked in and easy to follow. Water sources are plentiful for much of the year, yet tend to dry out in high summer.
This trail leads to the site of an old forest fire lookout so you can bet the view is panoramic. The trail starts along the main logging road for about 300 m then veers left onto a branch road. Follow this for another 300m to the top of the hill and across the flats. Then follow ribbons to the right as a smaller road eventually turns into a trail near a small creek. The trail climbs steadily from here through second growth forest, some of which has been juvenile spaced. Eventually the trail enters an old growth forest with some large Douglas-fir. The trail veers left and then switches back and forth up to a cliff, along its base and then out on to the old forest fire lookout site. Only the cement footings remain as the building burnt down many years ago. Evidence of the telephone line can still be seen along the trail though. There is much to see from this spot named after a local painter, Carl Medby, who painted from here in the 30’s. There are excellent views of the lower Bella Coola valley looking west towards Hagensborg and Bella Coola\, north into the Saloompt River valley and south into the Nusatsum River valley.
This route offers spectacular alpine views as it winds between meadows, ponds, talus boulder slopes and snow avalanche brush tracts and is an ideal mountain bike excursion. Originally part of a road that connected all the way to South Bentinck Arm, it can still be driven in a 4X4 to the lookout, depending on the level of debris from the previous winter’s snow avalanches and roadside brush encroachment. The lookout is spectacular with a fabulous view of the Noeick River valley, Styx Mountain and Purgatory Glacier directly across the valley. It is possible to continue walking the old forest service road downhill for more views; however, the road is brushing in quickly. If you do make it downhill to the river, just remember it’s a long way back up to the vehicle. The Noeick River valley was washed out a few times by a jokulhlaup (a glacial phenomenon where the rising waters of Ape Lake broke through the receding Fyles Glacier ice dam, dumping a wall of water down the Noeick River valley and wiping forests and roads all the way to South Bentinck Arm).
The Odegaard Falls area in the Nusatsum valley is a must see attraction as it is in the heart of the Coast Mountain wilderness with its spectacular peaks and glaciers. The falls are very impressive, especially in early summer when it swells with snow melt. The trail to the falls passes through an old mossy forest of western hemlock, Sitka spruce and amabilis fir. You get the first view of the falls from the foot bridge crossing the Nusatsum River. There is a great viewpoint at the base of the falls that have a vertical drop of ~175m.
Should re-route trail to stay on west side of creek, enhance trail to top meadow.
