Elevation Gain: 368m
Distance: 6.04km
Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
Date: August 12th, 2024
M Gurr Peak is an unofficial name for Peak 1522 or M Gurr Viewpoint. It’s located directly west from the lower and officially name Mount Moore near Bella Coola. This summit is an ultra popular (by Bella Coola standards) summit thanks to the numerous beautiful alpine lakes that dot the mountain. Andrea and I had headed up to Bella Coola after our trip into the Pantheons and we were hoping to find an easy nearby peak to get the lay of the land. Sure enough, this popular lake and view point hike appeared all over our google searches and we were quickly sold.
We took one rest day and then on the following day drove up to the trailhead via the Clayton Falls FSR. The road was in mediocre condition, but very doable in the Tacoma and we made it all the way to the trail head at 1250m. That meant an easy peasy 250-ish meters and 2.5km to reach the summit. A perfect outing for two tired climbers.
The trail was super easy to follow and we soon reached the M Gurr Lake. We hiked past it and up along the ridge continuing on an established trail. To our surprise countless alpine tarns and ponds appeared and the area was turning into one of the highest effort to reward ratio places we’d ever been. Seriously, the views were outstanding.
Not long after we hit the summit and ran into a large guided group from the states. They were on their way down though, so we soon had the whole place to ourselves. The Bentinck Arm, Benson Peak, Howe Peak and many others stole the show. We both vowed to come back for a proper trip in the near future as this place is stunning.
The route back was as easy as one can expect and we concluded an amazing, but short trip without issue. If you are ever in Bella Coola, you absolutely must do this one. If it were located next to Vancouver you would be lining up in the previous day just to get in.