Having searched for the beginnings of this trail a couple of times and needing a way to avoid all the 9/11 anniversary coverage and since it was a great day and because we could....it was London Ridge on Thursday.
A quick drive towards New Denver brought us to the "summit" at Bear & Fish Lakes, elevation around 1100 meters. An hour of uphill hiking through the trees brought us into more open terrain. Another hour or so landed us at the actual ridge, elevation around 2250 meters. Views were great in all directions, from Alps Alturas just across Kane Creek to Mt Loki, about 41 km away across Kootenay Lake. Other nearby peaks were prominent: Whitewater Peak and Mt Brennan, and we could see Mt Reco, only about 7 km away to the south. Once again, it was great to hike without smoke haze obscuring the views.
Colors on the ridge were excellent, with the blueberries and huckleberries an intense red color, along with the various shades of greens from the mountain avens, grasses and mosses. London Ridge was explored for minerals in its past; the access road we hiked was an old mining exploration road, rather than the usual Forest Service Roads we usually drive. Old scars from the digging in various places was visible continuously after we left the trees. The open slopes seems like they would be great for skiing, though, so I'm sure I'll be back once that season arrives.
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