About 20 years ago, I rode a Honda dirt bike to the top of Mt. Buchanan near Kaslo to see the sights and get a perspective on the north end of Kootenay Lake. I've meant to get back up there for a while now, and this is when any flowers would be at their best. Perhaps because the lookout isn't visible from Kaslo, people are less conscious of it, but it is a great feature to take in if you've got a free afternoon.
Best access now is via the Blue Ridge (Seven Mile) road east of Kaslo on Hwy 31A and there is a good sign for the lookout at that point too, easily seen from the highway. The older access road, two kilometers east, is so nastily waterbarred that you are better off on the new signed road. About one km up this road, there is a fork, and turning right on it traverses you along a segment of the old wagon road until you connect with the original route, on the more recently used and maintained stretch.
My last trip up seemed to include more forest, and now it includes more open logging. As you ascend, the views into Kokanee park become clear, and the route climbs up steadily through seed tree scattered cutblocks. I met no traffic going up, and saw an excavator setting off up a spur road closer to the top. The road is in pretty good shape overall, but a decent four-wheel drive takes the tension out of this trip. With less frequent traffic than, say, Idaho lookout, any erosion ruts take longer to smooth out again...
This trip is well-documented in trail guides, and I know the Info Centre at the Moyie can tell you stuff that I may miss, so I don't see the need to give a super detailed rundown of the drive up. At the spur road at around nine km, a small sign indicates the lower road as the choice to get you the last couple kms to the views.
Arrival at the lookout is rather abrupt, and the sudden immense panorama is spectacular. Kootenay Lake sprawls far to the south horizon, with Pilot Point clearly jutting out from the east shore. The ferry looks tiny crossing the water so far off, and tiny streaks and reflected flashes indicate boat traffic far below. Kokanee Park looms to the south and much of the Purcell Ranges line the east shore of the lake. If the air is clear, the huge glaciers up the Duncan Valley to the north are pretty stunning.
From the small parking lot, you can stroll up to the hummock on which the tall lookout structure stands. A good steel staircase gets you up, and the door is unlocked to allow visitors. There is a great display of photos and anecdotes from this and other lookouts of the Interior, and even the fire finder and map remain in place. I spent a long time in the lookout, and was really pleased to see such a nice job of preservation. There is a society or committee in Kaslo which has worked hard to enshrine this site, and it's terrific.
There's a well-signed loop walk you can do below the parking lot and out to a ridge lower down and nearby. There's some modest meadows, scattered alpine forest, and you could maybe stretch out this walk to an hour. Benches at the ridgeline face down into Kaslo, plainly visible below from here, and the breezes here may refresh you. There are some hang glider ramps around the area as well, so that's what the tilted decks are about...
I'm pretty sure that hardcore downhill type cyclists are descending the original foot trail that leads to the highway eventually, and drops away from the loop trail at one spot. This seems not too bad, as these big bikes are only descending a portion of the loop foot trail, and have only chewed up a few berms and ruts so far. The folks at the Landmark Bakery in town rent bikes out and can set you straight on this aspect of the Mt. Buchanan experience.
The Kaslo folks have done such a nice job at this site, and although I'm sure this area gets promoted plenty, I met only two ATVs returning down midday, and one car heading up late in the afternoon. With clear skies and pretty good flowers, I'd expected more of a crowd that weekday.
From the lookout, you can see how the spur road from nine km climbs along the Blue Ridge to the north to a 7,600' peak, higher than the lookout's 6,000' elevation. The guide books suggest that this could offer further rambling, and next time I'll take my bicycle to see what's up out that way.
