Testing AllTrails app on the Century Sam Hike

 by Keith and Heather Nicol 

A popular hike in the Comox Valley is the trek into Century Sam Lake and it has much to recommend it.  It is relatively short and offers wildflowers, a very scenic lake and ice caves. What more could you want! The hike is located just behind Comox Lake which means that you need to use a logging road that is only open on weekends so before you head out – check the times for gate closings since you don’t want to get caught behind the locked the gate. We used the AllTrails app (https://www.alltrails.com/) which has directions all loaded into the info about the hike plus important hiking access info which was very handy. So check out this app if you are not familiar with it.  I was joined on this hike by my xc ski buddy Steve who had suggested it and since Sunday August 14 was forecasting overcast conditions and pleasant temperatures we decided to check it out. 

                                      

                                  The ice caves are a real bonus of this hike- a great way to cool down                                 

When we first started to look up some details about the hike it appeared that it really has 2 staging areas – one for regular vehicles and another for real 4 by 4 trucks and high clearance  SUV’s.  The distance between the 2 is about 1.75 km and other info suggested that this would add about 45 minutes each way to the hike so we opted to take old mountain bikes for this leg of the trip. Although we pushed our bikes up some of the steeper uphills on the road – it only took us 10 minutes to fly down this section on our bikes and we passed several groups walking down so it can definitely save you some time. We simply locked the bikes to a tree at the trail head. 

 

                                                          

                                                              Lunch spot over looking colourful Century Sam Lake

We were struck by the large number of vehicles at both trailheads. There must have been between 30-40 cars and trucks parked along the edge of the road so you know you have arrived when you see all the cars at the lower parking lot. (There were another 10-15 vehicles at the upper parking lot!).  Signage is abit of an issue so be sure to take the right hand access road (there are 3 options) from the lower staging area if you decide not to drive to the upper lot. This first section follows a logging road and faces south so it was quite hot since there was little shade. Once you have walked (or biked in our case) 1.75 km you reach the upper lot and actual trail head. 

                                

                                                                    Wildflowers near the ice caves

The Century Sam trail is about 3.5 km one way but don’t let the short distance give you the impression it is an easy hike. The trail gains close to 500 meters of elevation and instead of switchbacks the trail builders have opted to go straight uphill in many cases. There are lots of roots and rocks and even abit of mud in places so watch your footing. I found that a hike pole really helped and be sure to bring plenty of water for the hike if it is hot. Although there were a few bugs enroute we weren’t bothered by them and shorts worked well for us. Also bring real hiking footware- we saw several groups in light runners and even some people in no lace shoes. This is a real hike so bring proper footware that can grip the rock and soil.

                           

                                           The ice caves are a bonus ..a great way to cool down on a hot day

The lower part is shady since it is mostly in the trees or overgrown avalanche paths . Once you break out into the bare rock you are close to the lake where we had lunch. The blue –green water of Century Sam Lake is impressive and there are many great lunch spots overlooking the lake. The ice caves are a must visit and they are another 15 minutes walking past the lake. Another bonus about a mid August hike are the wildflowers that are out. The route down is the same as the trail up but goes by much faster. It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to descend from the ice caves to our bikes. Then it took us just 10 minutes to descend to our car (rather than 45 minutes hiking down) and our total time was about 4.5 hours. From the lower car park it took 40 minutes to drive past the gate Comox Lake so be sure to allow this extra time if you get a late start on the trail. For info about road closures see: https://www.mosaicforests.com/access.  This is a popular hike so don’t be surprised by the number of hikers but it definitely a must do if you like hiking and want to see an emerald green lake and ice caves. See you on the trail. 

 

                                      Steve walking over one of the many logs in the lower section of the trail