The Phelix Creek Trail constructed in 2007, is a 4.0km trail that links Phelix Creek FSR to Brian Waddington Hut. The trail travels through a few old cut blocks before continuing on a moderately steep ascent of second growth forest that follows Phelix Creek. The valley is consistently steep from trail to peak and as a result landslides and avalanches are fairly common. This is the reason why much of the trail travels through second growth rather than old growth forests. There is one major crossing at the outlet of Betsy Lake (3.2km from the trailhead). The trail stays on the west side of the creek and more or less follows the historical traditional winter route. The new trail is suitable for travel in both summer and winter but is a moderately difficult ski due to the steep forested terrain. Skiing the trail is approximately the same difficulty as a gladed black diamond tree run. The trail has been marked with retro reflective marker diamonds, but some sections are still a little sparse. The constructed trail ends at the east end of Betsy Lake. From there, the best route is to follow trails around either side of the lake to the Hut. From the end of the Phelix Creek FSR cross the two clear cuts without gaining or loosing any elevation until you find 2 huge white boulders at the far end of the second clearcut. Here you will find a huge tree with a sign for the trail with some kilometer distances for the trail. From here, head north and slightly uphill across the first avalanche path. Once you are across the slide area, you will enter a forested section for a bit before crossing the second avalanche path. These avalanche paths ins the summer can grow quite quickly and may require you to slash some vegetation to get through. The VOC runs yearly workhikes in an attempt to keep these sections passable. Once through both avalanche paths the trail is fairly well marked with orange reflectors all the way up to Besty Lake.
Statistics
5 - 6
hrs
1,127
m
115
m
27
max°
Difficulty
FATMAP difficulty grade
Moderate
Description
the Hut at the end