Mt Braden, Sooke Hills, Sooke BC
Posted by: 
arby101ca
N 48° 24.823 W 123° 35.138
10U E 456664 N 5362450
Mt Braden is one of the spectacular scenic hikes in the Sooke Hills west of Victoria BC
Waymark Code: WM9RY9
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 09/26/2010
Views: 11
Mt Braden is located between Mt Macdonald and Mt Manual Quimper in the eastern part of the Sooke Hills. This great hike has been opened for hiking only in the last few years. I have seen this trail evolve from an obscure, flagged route to an established trail is just a few short years. There are several options. This route has become the established route encouraged by a couple of geocaches along the way and adoption by local hiking groups.
The trail starts at the mailboxes just where the 4 lane passing section of the Sooke Road ends. Park here and hike back along the highway to where the lines for power and telephone cross and find the trail leading off through the woods. The trail crosses Viecht Creek and follows the creek upstream on an old logging road, turn left at the junction after the large culvert crossing the creek and contine to follow the creek up until the logging road ends. The trail continues as a well flagged boot track that winds up over a couple of ridges to the summit ridge of Mt Braden. There are lots of ups and downs, scrambles and route finding challenges but the views from the top reward you well for your effort. There are great views of Mt Braden from one of the ridges, and from the lower north summit, But the viewpoint on the south summit is spectacular. Most hiker spend an hour at the viewpoint enjoying lunch and the views of the surrounding Sooke Hills. This is where the next hike gets planned. "What is that peak? Can we get there from here? Is there a route? What is the best approach?" So many choices, so little time. The average age of this Guys Hiking Group is over 70 and we continue to push the envelope on our hikes.
The wikiloc link showing the track log, trail profile and some pictures is here (
visit link)