Evergreen Mountain

Posted by Derek on Aug 9, 2011

Height: 1368 feet / 417 meters
GPS recorded height: 1374 feet / 419 meters
Lat/Lon: N45.13832 W76.91666
Date Summited: August 8, 2011

Directions / Trip Summary:
00.0 km – Optional Parking on Mountain Chute Road, proceed to Power Line Road
01.5 km – Optional roadside parking
03.9 km – Last place to park for automobiles. Turn left onto ATV path leading to Carleton Fish and Game Camp
07.0 km – Continue on ATV path beyond Carleton Fish and Game Camp to Little Green Lake
07.1 km – Turn Left at the forks
08.2 km – Turn Left at the forks
10.1 km – Turn Left at the forks / Sullivan Lake
10.8 km – Option to diverge from the ATV path at open rocky ridge
11.6+ km – Evergreen Summit and views

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Trip Report:
As I was staying in the McArthur Mills / Bancroft area I decided to make a day trip to the (relatively) nearby Evergreen Mt. After driving for an hour and a half, I arrived at the Mountain Chute Dam. My original plan was to ascend Evergreen Mt. via Skead Lake, which could be reached by driving south from the Dam along Norcan Road. However, having consulted the Crown Land Atlas beforehand, I discovered that the Skead Lake area was on private property and might be closed to the public. Since the road was in good enough shape for driving, I decided to check out the area. After a short drive, my suspicions were confirmed, the road to Skead Lake was gated and signed with “No Trespassing Signs”.

I reversed my course and prepared for my Plan B – access the Mountain from a road that appeared to end at Little Green Lake. After passing by a parking area near the south end of the Dam, and a slight mixup by taking the wrong road from the Mountain Chutes Dam Road intersection, I found my way to the “Power-Line Road”, the start of my journey to Little Green Lake. Although the road is passable for most vehicles, after driving along it for a couple of kilometers, I decided to play it safe and pull over and continue on by bike.

The roads are popular for ATVing and I passed by a few groups during my easy ride along the gravel/dirt road. About 4.0 km from the top of Mountain Chute Dam, I found the ATV 2-track road turnoff to Little Green Lake. This road was more rugged than the “Power-Line Road” but also made for a more enjoyable mountain bike ride. After decending and ascending a steep ravine I reached a clearing and discovered the Carleton Fish and Game lodge/camp. I decided to stash my bike here as it was questionable how much further the road would take me. I continued on foot down the ATV trail which passed by the picturesque Little Green Lake to my surprise the ATV trail continued on, leading southeast. I was now in uncharted territory, the ATV trail on which I traveled was not on any of my maps and was not visible from the Google Satellite imagery I had consulted.

Spurred on by my good fortune of not yet having to bushwhack, I followed the trail south and then southwest to a creek crossing. After this point, I felt that since the trail was starting to veer away from my destination and bushwhacking would be necessary for the final portion of the trip. I pulled out my compass, set a bearing and headed out off through the woods.

With the hottest part of the day approaching, the bushwhack was a little more difficult than I thought it would be. After 40 mins, I arrived at the first major bump along the way to the Evergreen Mt. summit where exposed rocky ridges made for more easy travel and even provided some views of the higher ridgeline beyond. A short time later, after crossing a rough ATV track, I emerged onto the summit area — an area comprised of exposed rocky ridges bordered to the south by a steep cliff. After exploring the area and crossing the many rocky ridges I was fairly certain I had arrived at the highest point on Evergreen Mt – a large boulder a short distance from the southern cliffs.

After enjoying the views south from the cliffs, I decided to explore the area further and headed west along the exposed (rock mixed with grasses) Evergreen Mt. ridge. On the north side of the Mountain, I was even able to get cell phone reception where I made a phone call to announce my success. Just before descending back into the thicker forest, I intersected with the ATV path which I had crossed further up the Mountain. I decided to follow it down instead of bushwhacking, which turned out to be a more favourable option than my route in.

The ATV path first headed west, where just before reaching Sullivan Lake, the trail forked. I follow the right branch and continued west to Sullivan Lake where I stopped to take a few photos. The ATV path then turned north towards Little Green Lake and eventually passed by the spot I had bushwhacked from on my to Evergreen Mt. I stopped to filter water and cool off at the docks on Little Green Lake before heading back up the hill to the Fish and Game camp to retrieve my bike. I retraced the remainder of the route in and completed my journey back to my car.

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