Elevation Gain: 278m
Distance: 3.7km
Total Time: 1 hour 7 minutes
Date: October 9th, 2023
Andrea and I had spent a fun weekend out in Skaha bluffs with a few friends and were now preparing to head back to Vancouver. We’d be bringing some extra passengers with us on the way back as a nice pair of climbers had connected with Andrea to car pool home. I was keen to break up the drive with a short hike somewhere along the way and the new passengers were thankfully indifferent. I spotted a reasonable little summit called Giants Head in Summerland. It’s small compared to the Okanagan Highlands all around it, but is also rather isolated with just over 300m of prominence. There’s a network of well maintained trails too the top and it’s a short ~3.5km trip so why not.
We piled into the car in Penticton and then made the short drive over to Summerland where we found our way up the first well maintained looking trail. To keep things expeditious we merged onto “The Grind” which offered the straightest shot to the top. The route was overall not very steep though and we quickly found ourselves near the summit.
The upper sections had a few confusing cross paths due to people not staying on trail, but you can see the entire ridgeline as you hike so it made no difference. After a short jaunt we were finally on top. The views south towards Penticton were surprisingly nice. There’s a large cliff on the south side making for unobstructed views. We lingered for awhile and then returned down The Grind, keeping company with our carpooling friends. In total it took us just over an hour to get to the top and back.
Now satisfied with a bit of exercise we drove in a straight shot all the way back home. We cruised through the Fraser Valley unimpeded by traffic, an unusual return journey.