An open alpine area is accessible from the YORA West Ridge Cabin (for overnight stays or directions to the cabin, contact YORA, or inquire locally to find out where to register). From the cabin, walk directly uphill through parklike subalpine areas until you reach the timberline. Here you can explore an extensive alpine bench and some ridges and gullies. A small lake is a nice destination or lunch stop. The trails you may notice near the lake are heli-hiking routes used by Canadian Mountain Holidays. You could encounter a group of guided heli-hikers in this area. You'll probably find their guides friendly and happy to describe the area briefly for you.

As for West Ridge Forest Road above, but follow the "CMH Cariboos" signs. Trailhead is approximately 15.5 km. up the Cariboo Lodge Road and marked with a BC forest service trail sign and the "hiking man" symbol. Caution: Some helpful people have been known to confuse this trail with the Lower West Ridge loop (previous page) and vice versa, resulting in wrong directions being given.

Allow about 3 hours to reach the cabin. The trail is very steep in places. It is only about a 10 to 20 minute hike from the West Ridge cabin to timberline. From there, simply watch the time as you wander, and allow sufficient time for your return.