If you have wondered why the famous Teapot Mountain, located just north of Prince George, is named after tea, and its close range mountain twin sister, Coffeepot is named after coffee, well, I think we figured out why.
The “Trail”
We chose Coffeepot Mountain for a Saturday family adventure. Using the 2012 hiking guide written by Rob Bryce, we knew we were in for a scramble and scree. It wasn’t until we left for the day that we found the more recently developed trailhead to summit Coffeepot (We will use that one next time!). The four of us packed up into the truck and headed off. We used our map, and took the almost 10km logging road to the parking lot on the south facing side of the mountain. Reading the book, we looked for the “trail” that leads to the scramble portion of the hike. Well, it doesn’t really exist anymore, so bushwacking it was through a short portion of thick brush until we found ourselves on the volcanic rock scramble.
We cross the scramble to the scree portion of our adventure. We think we have found where the main shute up to the top is. Having its challenges and plenty of loose rock, only Jordan made it up this section. Myself, after ensuring the kids were in a safe spot, start heading right looking at the condition of the other shutes to gain access to the top, while using our cell phones to keep in communication with Jordan while apart. I call back to the kids to head over towards me, as I found what is actually the more frequently used way up the scree. We lose communication with Jordan up top momentarily, so we decide to push ahead and make it to the top. Meanwhile, Jordan came down to help us find a route up, and now had to climb back up again himself. He got an extra workout that day.
The Summit
We all are finally on the top of the Coffeepot Mountain, and with a round of high fives, we are pretty stoked on the day. In the distance, we can see Teapot. We start the trail that loops around the top of the mountain, which is not as easily seen as the trail at Teapot. It is a beauty day, sun beating down on the four of us, and we are starting to get sweaty.
Cue the mosquitoes!
If you zoom in, can you see the giant swarm around our heads!
It became a game of how fast we could move around the mountain. Stopping for pictures meant eating a bug or two. We laughed. We cursed. We laughed some more. And when we finally made it back to the truck, we couldn’t wait to get away from the pests!
Coffee vs Tea
Completing the original Scramble and Scree route definitely has more challenges than its sister hike, Teapot. Both have visually stunning views, kick you in your cardio butt, and have a ton of mosquitoes to annoy you. But, I am pretty sure these two volcanic mountain sisters got assigned their names based on the sheer fact that Coffeepot is just a stronger, bolder and more intense cup of adventure.
**Please Note** If you choose to complete the Scramble and Scree route of Coffeepot Mountain over the trailhead route up, you should have basic scramble and bouldering skills as the mountain has many loose rocks. While this route is described as an EASY scramble and scree route, this method of hiking is more advanced than trail hiking. Be careful of rock fall in the scree shutes.
