BOU AVENUE
Elmer Peak
On 28 June 2025, Zosia Zgolak and I ascended unofficially-named Elmer Peak located south of Yahk, British Columbia near the Canada-US border.  I got the idea for this trip from peakbagger.com, but the lone cursory trip report by Kjell Furland does not provide any route details.  Instead, I used satellite imagery from Google Maps to formulate an ascent route via a cut block on the southwest side of the mountain.  Our route would differ from the one depicted in Furland's YouTube video where it looks like he ascended the north ridge.

From Highway 95, turn east onto Elmer Forest Service Road (2WD gravel) 4.7 kilometres south of the junction with Highway 3 or 6.7 kilometres north of the Eastport/Kingsgate border crossing.  Drive 1.8 kilometres and keep left.  Drive another 1.8 kilometres and keep right.  Drive 2.9 kilometres and turn right at a final junction.  Drive the remaining 1.1 kilometres to road's end and park.  It is likely that there are other approaches for this peak via some of the branching roads not taken.

Zosia and I parked about 400 metres short of the final junction because we had reached the end of the road as marked on OpenTopoMap, but in retrospect, I could have easily driven the additional 1.5 kilometres to the actual road's end.  Regardless, this extra distance was not unreasonable to walk, and we made short work of it.  Beyond road's end, we ascended a vast cut block which was a bit of an unpleasant grind but technically easy.  At the top of the cut block, we entered forest and bushwhacked lightly for about half a kilometre before breaking out of the trees near the south end of the broad summit ridge.  The remaining walk northward to the summit was straightforward.

After taking a half-hour break, Zosia and I wandered a little further to the north end of the summit ridge before backtracking the way we came.  Dropping down through the forest went largely without a hitch, and although the descent of the cut block still felt tedious, it went fairly quickly.  Upon regaining the road, we easily hiked back to our car and had no issues driving out to the highway.
I could've easily driven this in my CR-V, but we're here to hike, right? Zosia walks along the continuation of the access road to Elmer Peak.
This would be a great ski slope in winter! At road's end, Zosia heads up a vast cut block.
And you even have some views! Ascending the cut block is somewhat unpleasant but not overly difficult.
And your reward for ascending the cut block is...bushwhacking! Zosia is about to enter forest at the top edge of the cut block.
But this isn't the summit... Zosia stands over a survey benchmark on the broad summit ridge.
Of course it's foggy when we're on the open part of the ridge! Zosia approaches the true summit under a foggy mist.
Hey, I think it's clearing up! Sonny and Zosia stand on the summit of Elmer Peak (2057 metres).
Does the antenna still work? The walls of this antenna building appear to have been torn apart by something.
The clouds are more interesting than the terrain! Zosia wanders to the north end of the summit ridge for a better view of the distant forested landscape.
Maybe the best view of the day. Zosia gets a glimpse of Elmer Peak's northeast slope as she heads back toward the summit.
Always nice to see! Beargrass can be found on the summit ridge of Elmer Peak.
Look out for border patrol helicopters here! Just before dropping down into forest, Zosia checks out the view to the south.  Beyond the next forested ridge is the United States of America.
A worthwhile objective despite the uninspiring ascent route. Total Distance:  7.7 kilometres
Round-Trip Time:  4 hours 43 minutes
Cumulative Elevation Gain:  526 metres

GPX Data