Monument Mtn, Sooke Hills - Scenic Hikes on Waymarking.com

Monument Mountain Ridge is one of the scenic hikes in the Sooke Hills. The hike starts at the parking lot at the end of Harbourview Road, east of Sooke. The Mt Quimper trails start here as well. Walk up the Sooke Mountain Road to the elbow at 48° 24.996'N 123° 40.769'W and turn left onto an old logging road. Follow the obvious main route down to the Charters river crossing. Continue up to meet the Waterboard Road that comes in from the Sooke Waterboard treatment plant on the Sooke Potholes Road. Note: Waterboard in this context is the local Public Utilities Commission, the Water Board, not an instrument of torture. I confess that the trails here serve that purpose. This road is the alternative approach. Turn right to follow the road up to Grass Lake or turn left, walk for about 20 m to find a vague unmarked trail on the right. This is the direct route up the nose of Grass Lake ridge. Climb above the trees to enjoy the great views from the open slope. The scenic climb tops out at 395m Continue past the Dorksen memorial plaque to find the cairn at the summit 413 m. This is the south summit. You can push farther along the ridge as we did to follow the ridge, to the north summit at 462 m, descend to Grass Lake and return. The scenic hike to the south summit is moderate, the hike further north along the ridge and down to the Grass Lake trail is difficult. The route to the north summit is quite difficult, a little used bushwhack through Salal and over deadfalls with only an occasional flag to guide you. The trail down to Grass Lake from the north summit is better, being improved by campers hiking up from Grass Lake. If you wish to visit Grass Lake return on the ridge, go to the lake first, skip the north summit and find the trail on the right just past the start of the steeper gradient on the Grass Lake Road at 48° 26.300'N, 123° 40.762'W. This vague trail takes you to the ridge trail and south to the the scenic descent route.

The route as shown in the track log on wikiloc (http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=1200969) is rated difficult. The rating for the easier sections is moderate.

Picture location 1: N 48° 25.744 W 123° 40.944 Picture Location 2: N 48° 25.926 W 123° 40.883 Picture Location 3: N 48° 25.989 W 123° 40.902

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