A teapot for a birthday: A spring hike in Bear Country

A short, steep hike up a wonderfully named mountain led us to some very rewarding views. Being spring in northern British Columbia we had to be prepared for everything: snow, sun and bears!

A steep mountain, with a great name

Teapot Mountain is an impressive sight as you walk up the road to the trail head, where the accent begins. It rises steeply out of the surrounding landscape looking rough and defiant and proud as it looms over the road.

The night before Jacob’s birthday, in early April, we told our friends that we planned to hike Teapot the next day. “It’s the steepest thing I’ve ever hiked, but the view from the top is incredible” was their exciting recommendation.

Spring hiking

Spring is an interesting time here in Northern BC, it can be snowing one moment then warm and sunny the next. Thankfully, the sun had come out for Jacob’s birthday and for the first time in months I left the house for an adventure with my without thermals!

But, we knew that out there, 50 minutes north of the city, there would still be deep snow. Therefore, we packed the car with the full array of equipment: sunglasses and sunhats as well as snowshoes (photos here) and spikes (photos here).

When we arrived we decided on wearing our spikes and leaving the cumbersome snowshoes in the car. This was a good call as the snow on the path was trodden down, the deeper snow was easy to avoid and the trail was icy so spikes were a perfect anchor on the steeper sections.

Might be laughing. Might be asking for oxygen.

Up we go

Unsurprisingly, for a mountain that rises so sharply from the surrounding landscape, the trail becomes a steep accent almost immediately. The basalt rocks which scatter the tree-lined path give it a ruggedness and create the impression that you’re climbing something far higher and more challenging. Although, let’s be honest, some of the steep sections were quite challenging enough!

Although it’s steep, no one could possibly get only half way up. The sneak previews of the rewarding view, which grab your attention as you climb up, leave you in no doubt that the work now will be worth it when you reach the top.

Preparing for a bear

Being without thermals and leaving the snowshoes in the car were not the only changes to our hiking routine now spring has arrived. We now have bear bells clanging away, alerting a bear to our presence so as to avoid startling it, and bear spray attached to the waste belt of our bags.

Bear spray is an aerosol spray which acts as deterrent against charging and aggressive bears because it contains the irritant capsaicin, which is the active compound in chills. If you’ve ever rubbed your eyes after chopping chilies, you’ll understand why 98% of people using bear spray correctly, during close-range encounters, escaped uninjured!

You may be wondering whether carrying bear spray is really necessary. It is. The Prince George area has a thriving Black Bear population. They are commonly seen in the city, in fact, there have been an average of 890 bear sightings a year in Prince George in the last ten years.

Taking into account these statistics, with the fact that they actually prefer areas of dense woodland or bush, you have to expect and be prepared for them when hiking in the back country after their hibernation ends in the spring.

Many locals have assured us that the sound of human voices and bear bells is often enough to keep them away and that, should you see a bear, making yourself ‘big’ and talking to the bear in a low, calm voice usually sends them away. If not, should they approach, out comes the spray.

I seemed to have developed a bit of a ‘Bear Belly’

The reward

When we reached the top of Teapot, we were among the tree tops looking out south over Summit Lake towards miles of forest. As we followed the trail around the top, the sun was moving to the west, there were less clouds and so the snow covered swaps and creeks which lie below the mountain were glowing.

Whichever direction you look towards from the top of Teapot, the view in the distance, far off on a tantalizing horizon, is the same: snow capped mountains.

One mountain, not so far away, often descried as Teapot’s twin, is looking particularly tempting for the next adventure. I wonder if you can guess it’s name?