Aberdeen Columns Hike

Where:

• Aberdeen Columns

 

When:

• June 27, 2021

 

Who:

• Ed, Zac, Laura, Erin

 

Trailhead:

• the trailhead is a bit tricky to find, so it’s best to have it locked into GPS as you lose cell service in most parts of the logging road (we got lost and were headed towards Aberdeen Lake before we backtracked to the right road)
• head east from Vernon to Lavington and turn right onto School Road, then left onto Reid Road
• continue on Read Road until it turns right and becomes Whitevale Road, which quickly becomes Bluenose Road
• continue on the dirt road (Bluenose Road), which turns into Aberdeen Lake Road
• turn left onto Buck Lake Road for 4 km and take the left fork for another 3 km
• the parking lot is not marked but is on the left-hand side
• cross back over the road, and there is a handwritten Aberdeen Columns white sign that is the entry to the trail
• it’s about 45 minutes from Vernon

 

 

Degree of difficulty:

• it is not really a hike but rather a viewing spectacle
• five minutes into the trail the Aberdeen Columns come into view on your right-hand side
• there is about a five minute climb up a tricky rock and root section to get to the base of the columns
• you can hike along a trail at the base of the columns but watch your footing as it is tricky in spots
• you can hike around the right-hand side of the column wall to get on top of the columns
• the hike only takes roughly a half-hour, with most of this time spent viewing the wall

 

 

Interesting notes:

• I had never heard of this amazing geological structure until a week earlier, and nobody seems to know about it

• it ranks as one of the most unique rock features I’ve ever seen
• there are 130 lichen covered polygonal basalt rock columns were created by volcanic activity
• they measure in height from 12-22 meters
• the rock is solid and hence provides solid climbing conditions with over 150 different routes

• I was in awe that this hidden gem existed so close to an area that I’ve spent nearly 40 years in