Hike to the top of Mt. Matchett through the valley between Mt. Mckay and Mt Matchett. This hike has a very steep climb and is partly off-trail so you will need to be able to find your own way.
Round-trip: 4 km
Difficulty: Difficult
Location: Thunder Bay, ON
Drive to the old ski lodge on Mountain Road and park in the parking lot. The trail starts on the south side of the parking lot.
Hike up the rough road for about .8 km up to a big clearing area where there is a fire pit and old ski lift equipment. Near the old lift equipment, you will find a trail marked with blue flag tape. Follow this trail through the low point between Mt McKay and Mt Matchett. Be careful in the section where there are large boulders with deep holes between them.
About halfway through the valley the tape marking the trail changes from blue to orange. At about 1.75 km, before you get to where the trail meets up with the Mt McKay back trail, watch the side of Mt Matchett for a gully right next to a sheer face of the rock. You can scramble up the steep slope here. When you get to the top there are no established trails. Hike around to enjoy the views, then find your way back down the way you came.
This hike would best be done in early spring or the fall when the leaves are down so that you are able to see where the scramble to the top begins.
Can you upload a topographical map on the nor?western range so we can all see which mountain you?re referring to? I only ask because I found a map but it doesn?t align with this info. It tells me Mt Matchett is the bluffs you see from Crescent Lake….. which is the hike I?m trying to find. How to get to rock cliffs overlooking crescent lake. Thank you!!
What kind of maps are we talking about? I didn’t know I needed any?
send them to my email…and i could whip something up maybe over the holidays
Thanks, I do have all of the trails in gps format already. Very kind of you to offer.
do you happen to have the trails in a shapefile or gps format? if so i could make up a few maps for your site if interested
Hi Steve,
I get the names of places mostly from the MapQuest software that came with my GPS. They are also shown on some of the better topo maps.
Susan
hello again ..I love hiking these trails around the mtns. of Thunder Bay my question is where do you find the names of these hills. I now finally know the name of the one between Mckay and Godfrey thanks so much