Featured Adventure: Pharaoh Peak

Beginning a hike in the middle of the night offers a unique experience. The air is cold, clear, and quiet—boots striking firm ground not yet warmed by the morning sun. Any light source cuts through the thick blackness, casting shadows that play tricks on tired eyes. But when you switch off the headlamp, the darkness shifts into something calmer, revealing an array of stars suspended in the indigo sky.

Jack, Ben, and I marched through the dark woods, one of us occasionally breaking the silence to crack a joke or call for a quick water stop at a trailside stream. We kept a careful eye on our pace and predicted arrival time, motivated by a mix of anticipation and fear of missing first light. The terrain stayed mostly flat for the first eight kilometres, guiding us steadily along the Redearth Creek Trail toward Pharaoh Peak. 

As the base of the mountain came into view, the ground turned rocky and loose. The path to the summit branched abruptly off the main trail, easy to miss in the dark. The grade steepened quickly, slowing our pace as we picked our way upward. Looking toward the horizon, partially blocked by the slope ahead, I could see distant ridgelines softening from inky black to deep shades of purple and blue. The subtle shift was enough to keep us moving, determined to reach the summit before sunrise. 

As we crested the final ridge, the view opened all at once. Scarab, Egypt, and Mummy Lake stretched below us, each surrounded by rolling peaks and steep faces of rock beginning to catch the first light of morning. The grandeur was almost intimidating—trying to capture a moment like this felt challenging in the best way. After layering up to combat the wind, I set up my tripod. The photograph below is one of the first I captured, and coincidentally, also my favourite from the trip.