Mysteries of the Sooke Hills – Sheilds Lake Shortcut & Lost at the West Clapper

For this hike we’ll start at the Charters River where it meets Sooke River Road. We’ll hike up the Charters River, past the confluence of the east and west branches, and on to the orange truck for the obligatory group photo there. (Sample below.) Then it is on up the west branch to the waterfall trail, where we’ll stop for a bite, then push on across the west branch (might be a bit of a challenge crossing the creek – see below), and up past (or through) what should be a beautiful waterfall with this week’s rain (see below). This is the start of the famous Shields Shortcut – a nearly direct route to Shields Lake bypassing Grass Lake, and with only a little bushwhacking. At Shields Lake we’ll stop for lunch and see if anyone is itching to get in their November swim. (Sample deleted.)

In order to warm up after that, and to provide a different route back other than the obvious Grass Lake one, we’ll go straight up Sooke Mountain, on to West Clapper, then down the latter’s cliffs. We are almost sure to get lost at this point, but we’ll have compass and backup GPS! After considerable swearing we’ll find ourselves at the West Rampart and work our way down back to the Charters Trail. Another hour should see us back at the car park.

This hike is about 15 km, has moderate up-and-down, moderate bushwhacking with maybe one or two more difficult patches, and should take about 6 – 7 hrs of hiking. Thus, with these shorter days, we need to meet at the Charters parking at 9am, and emergency headlamps are obligatory, along with the expected rain gear, good boots, and layers of warm clothing. If weather or other conditions get quite ridiculous, back-up plans are available, but count on a challenging day.

Co-led by Mike Whitney & Peggy Taylor.  Trip rating: B2 (Moderate pace) Max group size of 12 – new members welcome!  No dogs please.  Contact Peggy Taylor at

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