Mt. Hoffman Hike

Where:

• Mt. Hoffman

 

When:

• November 9, 2024

 

Who:

• Ed, Dave, Kellie, Erin, Oak, Neil, Roger, Rick

 

Trailhead:

• Indian Oils parking lot
• 35 km (30 minutes) west of Turner Valley on Highway 546 on the left (south) side of the road
• at the parking lot, head down the hill away from the Highway, and follow it to the right
• cross the bridge above Tiger Jaw Falls and then turn left (east) onto the Sheep Trail for 2 km, then turn right onto the Mt. Hoffman trail that leads to the summit
• the trail is well marked with signs at all the turns

 

 

Degree of difficulty:

• 500 meters
• 9.3 km round trip
• the trail is wide and flat until you turn onto the Mt. Hoffman section, where it is a steady ascent for 500-600 meters
• when you break out into the meadow, you will see the summit straight ahead
• the hike took us just under 3 hours, with a side diversion to a lookout point near the top

 

 

Interesting notes:

• this was our first time doing this trail
• there is a nice view of Tiger Jaw Falls at the first bridge and the twisted remains of a 100 year old iron bridge
• there are lots of interesting trees at the top of the ascent in the forest
• the 360 views above the treeline are spectacular, although the thick cloud obscured our view on this day
• Mt. Hoffman is a miniature version of all the other mountains in the area

• the area is surrounded by Shunga-la-she, Jagermeister, Gibraltar, Mount Burke, and Bluerock Mountains

• Mt. Hoffman is named for Christian Hoffmann, a chemist, mineralogist and member of the Geological Survey of Canada
• the peak was first ascended and named by Arthur O. Wheeler, who worked with Hoffmann and considered him a friend