July 4th 2018. Yoho National Park, British Columbia.
Round Trip: 8 hours Elevation Gain: 1180m
Mostly Hiking; Easy Scramble
“Paget III” 2740m is the unofficial name I have assigned for a high point that sits at the back of the Paget Peak Traverse. “Paget II” sits half an hour beyond the first peak at approximately 2600m. The first Paget Peak at 2560m is the formally recognized one, and has both a memorial and summit register.
Since writing the original report, some friends and I repeated this traverse on May 21st 2023. I have gone back adjusting a few incorrect notes, including an updated rating of “Easy Scramble” whereas before I had labelled this as a moderate scramble due to snowier conditions in 2018.
Follow the well used hiking trail to Paget Lookout. From here the route continues along an unofficial trail through tree-line and up the southern talus slopes. There are numerous options for reaching Paget Peak as its become a touristy scramble, achievable in a few short hours with stellar views. For those wanting a fuller day, an interesting traverse adds 2 extra “peaks” to an already rewarding day.
From the formal summit of Paget Peak the next peak, “Paget II”, lies 30-45 minutes further north. The ridge initially drops before rising again. Easy scrambling can be expected if staying true to the ridge crest. Hands-on travel can be avoided by dropping a few meters west (Sherbrooke side) back onto the talus slope. By comparison the eastern side of the ridge is quite exposed and should be avoided!
Beyond the 2nd peak lies a third high point roughly 140m higher. Compared to the earlier two Paget peaks, this third one is characterized by an almost black folded rock band pointing east towards Mt Bosworth; the scramble-accessible peak is immediately left of this black fold.
The connecting ridge from the second peak is straight forward, and like the ridge between Peaks I and II there is a sharp dip just before the slopes of Paget III. A fair bit of exposure presented itself below our east side (skier’s right) so we had to circle the long way around the west slope before crossing a snow covered scree patch. In 2023 this section was mostly snow-free and the exposed section is easily avoidable, and is mostly still a hike, though trekking poles are highly recommended! Once across the dip, it is a straight forward slog up the slopes to Paget III’s summit.
The summit is quite small compared to the previous two Paget Peaks, and did not have register. From the 3rd peak one can see an extending ridge towards Mt. Bosworth though it does not appear to a scramble.
There appears to be a forth high point that may be obtainable from here. It’s likely the southern most point of Mount Daly and would involve over 200m of elevation loss before ascending the peak’s slope. From what Bri & I could see it’s likely a moderate to difficult scramble to continue the traverse to this forth high point.
We opted to descend into Sherbrooke Lake which proved much more challenging than expected: thick bush whacking and steep cliff bands hidden within the trees. Retracing our steps might have been longer but would have been much more pleasant versus the shrubs we thrashed through. Once out of the thick-of-it the hike back along Sherbrooke Creek trail made for a gentle finish to a long day. In 2023 we stuck to the ridge crest and doubled back the way we came… this proved to be easier than the drop to Sherbrooke Lake and also proved to be an hour faster than our 2018 trip.
Steep Sheep 