Rambler Peak East Gully HAG9
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This mountaineers only cache is hidden at the top of the East Gully on the Spiral Staircase route up Rambler Peak, the islands 5th highest peak. I hid it in August 2012 after summiting the mountain. I had intended the cache for the summit, however the climb up the summit tower and on the actual summit is quite exposed and there weren't great hiding spots on top. So I brought the cache part way down to make it a little more accessible.
I hid this cache on day 2 of a 6 day traverse of Strathcona Park, from the Elk River Trailhead to Westmin Mine. Day one was a gorgeous sunny day as we headed up the well maintained Elk River Trail, past the lower gravel bar camp, the turnoff to Landslide Lake and on up the steepening upper valley. We camped at the top end of a dry portion of the river bed, where there is water and a good camp. On day two we bushwhacked up through avalanche debris choked with alder, and up onto snow in Elk Pass. We set up camp in the pass and then headed up to climb Rambler by the Spiral Staircase route. On snow we headed to the south col and the south ridge. Keeping right and descending slightly we crossed a scree/snow slope to the bottom of the East Gully, which is the key to the upper mountain. We used crampons on the snow as well as ice axes. We harnessed and roped up for the gully climb which is low 5th Class, but didn't really find the rope necessary. We were glad to have our helmets, however, as it is virtually impossible not to dislodge a lot of rock going up the gully. We continued on north across the upper Rambler glacier to find the North Gully on the north side of the imposing summit tower. The gully is not much more than a vertical crack, but has good holds and although very exposed is not too difficult. There is a very airy move to get onto the actual summit, which provided the requisite adrenalin rush. After summiting we made use of the rope and rapped back to the glacier and crossed back over to the top of the East Gully, which is when I hid the cache. It has been to the top of the mountain, and if you are a climber, I recommend you do to, but it isn't necessary to log the cache.
I don't want anyone going all the way up to the top of the gully without having a good chance of finding the cache, so the following paragraph gives as good a description as I can of how to find it. Stop reading now if you don't want the spoiler.
The cache is hidden in a lengthly crack in the rock that forms a ridge separating the East Gully and south side of the mountain from the upper glacier. Once you are up the gully you would drop over this ridge to get back on the glacier. Instead of dropping over, find a long crack running up the rock to the right (east) and follow it up. I put the cache container in a tight spot at the top of the crack where it meets another crack crossing the rock. I put a small rock on top of the container. I suspect with snow, rain and flowing melt water it might move, but hopefully it stays in the crack. While you are congratulating yourself on the climb and the find, look east and pick out the Golden Hinde and the Behinde. Also have a look at all the country in between, as that is where our trek took us next. It was 4 days of bushwhacking hell in wet, wet, wet conditions. Highly entertaining! If you like the looks, head over to the Hinde and find my Golden Hinde Grinde cache.
We rappelled back down the East Gully, and I highly recommend taking a rope for this, even if you don't need the protection on the way up, as it makes the descent a lot faster than scrambling back down. We made it to camp with lots of day light left. Hiking all the way back out to the trailhead the next day would definitely be doable.
This cache is not for casual hikers. It is a minimum three day backpack excursion and requires some 5th Class climbing, with exposure. It is in a place well worth getting to, if you are so inclined, and is most of the way up one of the Island's great climbs. Although the mountain might be climbable at other times, the cache will be under snow in all but summer and early fall. I highly recommend Philip Stone's "Island Alpine" guide to hiking and climbing on the Island for route descriptions on Rambler Peak and throughout the Island.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Bu pbzr ba, V gbyq lbh ubj gb svaq vg!