Tuesday, August 5, 2025
End: Azouzetta Lake Lodge and Campground
Route (km): 15.8
Total (km): 183.5
Actual (km): 17.8
Hours: 7.3
Total (hrs): 104.5
Soothing Murray Ridge
It was a big relief know that I would be up on the rolling waves of Murray Ridge all day. It’s great to be able to see far ahead, and know that no major obstacles lay in your path. The only real difficulty is the climbing and descending.
By now it was Day 10 for me, and I was getting tired. I’m normally good with the climbs, but I needed extra time to pause and recover on each one.
It is a big morale boost to be able to see the highway up close and the Powder King Resort so early on. Laterm Azouzetta Lake comes into view as well. If anything, I even felt a small hint of sadness (though just a hint) that the route was ending soon, and my hike as well.
Some Water
If you’re wondering if there is any water to be found up on Murray Ridge, the low areas will probably have something for you. I found small streams in several of the areas. You may decide to treat the water if all you find is a collection point of stagnant water, but those are there as well.
Murray Trail Ice Sheet
My GPS led me to a point where the Murray Trail was supposed to start. I don’t know why I keep falling for this, but the trail itself was not so easy to distinguish higher up. I followed my GPS while on the trail to make sure I was indeed still on the trail.
Descending more and more, the trail entered a water drainage ravine with steep sides. There is an ice sheet in the middle, presumably there year-round. Don’t be like me and follow the trail down the East side. There are multiple trails apparently, and the West side is the way to go.
I went down the East side, and my trail ran out of dirt as the steep ravine wall closed in on it. The trail ended, and I turned back to hike back up the mountain and go around to the West side. Too tired to climb back up, I made the horrible mistake of attempting to cross the steep ice sheet to get to the trail on the West side.
Do not set foot on that ice sheet. I slipped and started sliding on my stomach, picking up speed quickly. If I had not performed a difficult self-arrest by digging in my trekkking poles hard into the ice, I would have shattered my legs on the rocks below, and who knows how many other bones. I don’t think it would have been fatal, but I’m not positive.
Be careful when you are very tired and have the finish line in sight not to get careless.
Azouzetta Lake
The campground is a welcome respite and return to civilization, but it is weird to be thrown right back into society with other human beings after ten days alone. I didn’t see another soul on the whole MHR, including the Murray Trail, and so my first interaction was stepping into a crowded Cafe 97.
That was a shock, but a welcome one once I got a burger and fries I settled in. BC Bus North stops here on Tuesday and Friday evenings on its way to Prince George, which was by backup plan.
One final note: I wouldn’t count on the staff at Azouzetta Lake to be of much help when it comes to your hike. I don’t think they’ll hold a resupply box for you, and I couldn’t get ahold of them by phone. I received a hint that they are under new ownership and are raising prices, and I doubt they will be of much help for hikers coming through, which is a shame as they are pretty much the only option in that part of the Rocky Mountains.
