Mount Rose

Elevation: 933 m
Elevation Gain: 268 m
Mount Rose and Mount Swanson are nearby highpoints northwest of Armstrong, BC. Rose Swanson was the daughter of Catherine and Augustus Schubert. In 1862, Catherine Schubert became the first European woman to enter BC overland from the east when she followed her husband to Armstrong in search of gold. Pregnant during her journey, she went into labor on the Thompson River and delivered a daughter, Rose, in a First Nations settlement. Rose went on to marry into the local Swanson family and the nearby peaks are both named in her honor. While the peak names are official, there is some disagreement between locals and Natural Resources Canada as to the location of the summits with official topographic maps showing peak locations slightly to the north of each locally accepted summit.
My Ascents:
June 26 2020
Trailhead: Rose Swanson Trailhead
GPS Track: Mount Rose

A couple of months ago, my sister-in-law (Auntie Jana) and her fiancé Craig purchased a beautiful property just outside of Armstrong, BC. Of course, Brianne, the girls and I were excited to visit but, with interprovincial provincial travel frowned upon during a pandemic, we were forced to settle for Skype tours that were, occasionally, interrupted by bears. As June neared an end, however, and reported cases of “red plate hate” dwindled, we decided that it was finally time to pay Auntie a visit. Since no visit is complete without a trip up some local peak, I took advantage of the Google machine to evaluate nearby options and was pleased to discover the well-travelled Rose-Swanson trail system 14 km to the west of Auntie’s new homestead. And so, with the entire Christison clan along for the ride, we set off to explore Jana and Craig’s new backyard!

After easily locating the Rose-Swanson trailhead (right where Google Maps said we would), we set off along the loop in a clockwise direction using the “orange” trail. This trail meanders through an incredibly buggy, but equally scenic, cedar forest.

LEFT: The group pauses to marvel at a particularly unusual cedar.
RIGHT: A closer look at said cedar.

After a couple of late nights partying with Auntie, Penny was ready to pass out only 15-minutes after we set out from the trailhead.

LEFT: Nannie tackles a steep section of trail with her “butler.” In general the “orange” trail that we used for ascent was narrower and steeper than the “blue” trail which we descended so the unresearched decision to do the loop in a clockwise direction proved wise since the narrower, steeper “orange” trail would be a bit harder to descend than the road-like “blue” trail.
RIGHT: Sisters reunited in cedars.

Nannie tackles a nice little bridge.

Crux, on the other hand, opted to avoid the bridge in favor of bathing in the mud puddle below it. 🤦‍♂️

LEFT: As the trail continued to wind its way upward, the dense cedar forest was replaced by more open lodgepole pines that allowed for a proliferation of colorful wildflowers.
RIGHT: Indian Paintbrushes.

LEFT: Wild Rose (hey, this isn’t Alberta…)
RIGHT: Our gracious host (thanks for not keying our car because of its Alberta plates)!

LEFT: Orange honeysuckle.
RIGHT: An aptly named tiger lily.

Orange whatchamacallit.

After a hot hike up, Nannie was beyond pleased to earn a piece of chocolate cookie thanks to her ability to count to 10 en français. Gotta bring treats to keep the “kids” motivated! 🤣

LEFT: Mera tackles a final steep slope up to the locally accepted summit of Mount Rose.
RIGHT: After spending the entire ascent in the trees, we were greeted by unexpectedly open and spectacular views to the south from the (locally accepted) summit.

(Locally accepted) summit asters.

One of the Rose-Swanson trail maps outlines the contentious peak locations.

Officially Government surveyed or otherwise, the panorama from this summit was outstanding. Click to see larger.

A closer look at the farmland mosaic to the south in the Spalumcheen Valley below.

To the south, Otter Lake occupies the foreground while more-distant Vernon sits on the far shore of Swan Lake.

The northern end of the expansive Okanagan Lake.

Nannie and Papa were obviously happy to be out and about (and on top) again.

LEFT: My eldest is turning into quite a little hiker!
RIGHT: Mera investigates the (locally accepted) summit thing-a-ma-jig (?!?).

Daddy-daughter summit picture #1.

Daddy-daughter summit picture #2.

LEFT: Despite overcast skies, Mera “needed” to wear Papa’s sunglasses…
RIGHT: Goofballs and their grandparents (note that Papa is now missing his hat and sunglasses).

The great big family summit photo.

Nannie, Papa and their girls. After the usual myriad of family summit photos, we turned our attention towards the descent via the “blue” trail.

LEFT: The “butler” watches on as Nannie tackles a steep bit just below the (locally accepted) summit of Mount Rose.
RIGHT: Mera was no less of a goofball on descent…

Penny helps her mom down the “blue” trail before the signed turnoff for Mount Swanson. While the short two’fer up Swanson was tempting, we decided to save it for our next visit!

LEFT: Mera making great time thanks to her “Giddy Up” stick.
RIGHT: Craig gives his “Giddy Up” stick a go only to discover that his “Giddy Up” is no match for a 4-year-old’s.

Out cold AGAIN (and this was not a long hike)!

Enjoying cedar scenery as the trail transitions back to lush forest.

The odd toad-sighting here and there helped to pass the time on descent.

After hiking the 5.3-km Mount Rose loop, we’d worked up a mighty thirst. Mercifully, there’s a lovely “locally accepted” cidery/pizzeria on Mount Rose’s eastern flank! Cheers to family, Spalumcheen summits, craft cider and accidentally ordering WAY too much pizza for at least 1 person in our group! 🥂