On a sunny late August day we rode the Sunburst Chair up Tod Mountain to mid-station. We hiked Gil’s Trail all the way to Tod Lake. After a break there, we hiked the Saddleback Trail over to a junction with the Whyte Bowl Trail and down through part of the West Bowl, and back by the Altitude multi-use trail to the chairlift for a route of about 8 km. It was past the main wildflower season, but the area was full of late summer color and the trails were all dry.
Gil’s Trail winds through the forest, gradually climbing in a northerly direction, crossing a number of steep ski runs (inc. Chute, Spillway, and Outer Gils glade skiing runs). It crests a ridge at a junction with trails to Tod Lake, Tod Mountain, and alpine trails in the area.
We turned and did the short hike to Tod Lake, our destination for the day. We had lunch there before started a longer loop route back.
The Saddleback Trail has lingering snow and wet area until mid-summer in most years, but by the end of summer it is a dry route and the quickest route back toward Top-of-the-World.
In a summer of heat and drought the open West Bowl area was already starting to wear its fall colors, but there was lots of fireweed, yarrow, alpine aster, and pearly everlasting still in flower.
We hiked the trails at the end of the chairlift season last year and we hope to return for one more hike on Tod Mountain before the last day on Sept. 27th.
