For 45 years I have been hiking up Mara Mountain.    There are several ways up, but the best one is from the northeast with the trailhead at the Pruden Pass Road.    the route climbs through grassland and open forest steeply up to a benchland pond, then steeply up to a shoulder of the mountain.  A trail can be picked up that winds southwest, down though the gully, then back up to the west summit viewpoint.     On the way back we made our own route up to the east summit and then back, an 8km, 3.5 hour hike.

For much of the route, there is open forest, allowing easy access on trail, or off. 

The pond on the shoulder (by the old Damgaard Homestead) was very shallow and will probably dry out this summer. 

We had lunch at the viewpoint at the top of the cliffs on the south side.   The river had risen and the Tranquille lowlands were flooding (we can kayak in there now). 

The hike is a pleasing one, but it is not an easy one.    There are steep sections, route-finding is required, and there is no trail for about half the route.   All photos by the author.   Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.

north shoulder route on Mara

douglas fir forest on Mara

cliff bands on the southeast corner of Mara

the east summit from the west summit

cloud formations over the North Thompson River Valley

A few moments from the hike are captured on a YouTube video too:

We will be back to hike Mara Northeast in 2024.