We have been to Murtle Lake a few times and we have paddled the whole lake and have done some hikes from the lakeshore.    Between the North Arm and the West Arm is Central Mountain.   Steep slopes rise above both arms, but the top has open, rolling meadows and fine views.   From Leo Island I kayaked to the trailhead, just a sign on a rocky shoreline.    I did a rock-shelf landing and pulled the boat up the slope, then started hiking up the trail.

This is a very remote area and the upper areas are sometimes visited by caribou and grizzly bears, so I was cautious, especially because it was a solo hike.    The trail was quite grown-over and not well-marked, but I made my way up to the meadows in about 3.5  kms of steep climbing (1100m elevation gain).

I then traversed the open slopes to viewpoints of both arms, but also the surrounding mountain ranges:

• north end of Murtle Lake
• Wells Gray peaks, looking north
• Wavy Range
• the West Arm
• the southeastern end of the lake (lagoon and launch area)

I returned back on the same trail (a 10.5 km hike), then paddled back to the marine campsite.    This was a hike to do only once and can only be recommended by dedicated hikers of remote backcountry remotes.

Some of the photos are embedded here as a Google Photos slideshow.    Click any image to go the album and click any image for more information: