Little Lougheed

Dist: 5.2km    Elev: 780m    Summit: 8146'    Time: 3h    Difficulty: 3/5

Presented with a free Saturday afternoon and a nearly-perfect weather forecast, I decided the conditions were ideal for a short solo summit. Little Lougheed, a small outlier of the much larger Mount Lougheed, has been on my radar for a while and proved to be a very rewarding half-day trip.

The trail began on the east side of the Smith Dorrien Highway, winding through forest along the north side of Stewart Creek. After about 20 minutes it led to a sizable boulder field requiring careful navigation in the snowy conditions. Finally, around an hour into the trip, the trees thinned and views opened up significantly to the west. From here, ascending one final stretch of steep rocky scree was required to reach the summit. The airy and spacious summit ridge offered spectacular panoramas of Spray Lakes to the west and three impressive peaks (Lougheed, Wind, Sparrowhawk) to the east. I spent about a half hour on the summit, taking pictures and enjoying the calm breeze and warm sunshine in complete solitude. Only on my descent, returning the way I came, did I run into about a dozen other hikers making their way up. Little Lougheed was an excellent trip, especially for an off-season excursion.

Arriving at the boulder field.

Navigation was a bit tricky through the massive rocks.

Northern end of Spray Lakes.

Views to the east. To the far left is the Little Lougheed summit.

Looking back at the south end of Spray Lakes.

Trees clear for the final push to the summit.

Arriving on the summit ridge. Greeted by stunning views of Mt Lougheed, Wind Mountain, and Mt Sparrowhawk.

Spray Lakes to the west. Mt Nestor and Old Goat Mountain beyond.

Summit selfie.

Looking back while descending. Little Lougheed summit to the left.

View from where I parked my car. Another beautiful day in the mountains!