Buller Pass

Buller Pass

Distance: 6.5 km to pass
Elevation: 671 m
Duration: 4 to 5 hours for Buller Pass, 7 to 8 hours for unnamed summit
Difficulty: Easy to Buller Pass, challenging to unnamed summit
Access: From access from Smith Dorian-Spray Trail

This is a lovely trail that gives you a taste of everything a mountain hike has to offer. The trail starts out in fairly thick forest, on a gentle elevation. As the trail progresses the slope increases into a fairly long uphill climb to the alpine meadow, passing a nice waterfall on the way. Once you reach the meadow, it is about a 2km fairly flat hike to the actual pass, in which you'll rise above the tree line. The pass itself is very steep, but the view the top is well worth the climb. When all is said and done, you'll have gained over 650m elevation from the parking lot.

To to top of the pass is approx. 6.5 kms one way. You can continue from the top of the pass, down the backside to Ribbon Lake, which is another 4km. This may be tough to complete on a day hike for a beginner, as you'll have to overcome the pass again on the way back. However, Ribbon Lake is home to a nice back country campground, and this hike offers a nice alternative to the "chains" of the Ribbon Creek trail (text credit: http://www.trailpeak.com/index.jsp?cat=hike&con=trail&val=1899).