Today’s Walk – The Trail to Glory

(Old Glory, that is—the tallest mountain in the Rossland Range)

June 18, 2025

I’ve been to the old lookout on the peak several times, but I don’t have the stamina for that long a hike anymore, so I had to be content with a hike up the Plewman trail as far as Unnecessary Ridge and the Seven Summits trail.

Before I even got started, I braked for this mule deer doe that was licking what I assume to be salt from the middle of the highway. I had to (almost) nudge her with the truck before she very reluctantly moved to the side.

The Plewman trail is part of the popular Seven Summits network of hiking and biking trails and is an alternate (shorter but steeper) route to Old Glory. It starts out in a stand of old-growth cedar and hemlock, winding around into the Hanna Creek basin.

The shady conditions along this part of the trail favour plants like coralroot orchid, foamflower and wintergreen.

Coralroot orchid

Foamflower

The trail crosses a couple of tributaries of the stream and then starts ascending the western side of the basin. In a shady site along the creek, I noticed this five-leaved bramble (Rubus pedatus) nestled among the ferns.

As the trail gains elevation, the cedar and hemlock forest gradually gives way to subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce. The vegetation growing on some of the moister sites includes cow parsnip, lovage, angelica, monkshood, Sitka valerian and twinberry, along with many others.

Columbian monkshood

Red twinberry

I noticed some pine siskins in among the red twinberry shrubs, and finally figured out that they were feeding on the fruits - both ripe and unripe, it appeared.

Gotta go!

The forest thins out as the trail approaches the ridge, and the trees are replaced by meadows adorned with alpine wildflowers.

One special feature of this hike is the prevalence of sulphur buckwheat on the drier slopes. It seems to be far more common here than many of the other subalpine areas of the region.

 A natural rock garden with buckwheat, penstemon and other flora. Can you spot the Columbian ground squirrel keeping a wary eye on me?

The flower meadows are feeding grounds for a host of insects, including this Clodius parnassian butterfly. I rarely see these beauties, but a couple of them were flitting about, nectaring on the Sitka valerian blossoms.

I finally made it to Unnecessary Ridge, where the Plewman trail converges with both the Seven Summits and Old Glory trails. Here I could smell the smoke from the Hope fire in Washington State - smoke that made for some very hazy vistas.

A smoky view of Old Glory. The inset shows a closer look at the old forestry lookout on the summit.

 After a short lunch break, I started to make my way back down the trail, stopping often to revel in the vibrant dance of life unfolding on all sides.

A beetle on a subalpine daisy blossom

These fritillary butterflies are attracted to something in this (perhaps coyote) scat.

This is one of my favorite hikes because of the wide variety of ecosystems it encompasses, including the shady forest that brings a welcome relief from the summer heat at the end of the day.

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