Starting from a nondescript location (51.04534, -114.82060) along Highway 68, Asieh, Shaun, Ali, Zosia and I climbed up an embankment to the north and entered the woods briefly before stumbling onto a cut line going up the southeast ridge of Ole Buck Mountain.  While Spirko more or less followed Daffern's published route along this cut line, we abandoned it fairly early to follow the crest of the southeast ridge.  The ridge undulates a bit and has some annoying bush and deadfall in a few places, but overall, I found it to be a fairly reasonable ascent route.  Near the top, we crossed the original cut line and a barbed wire fence to reach Spirko's "south summit" which is marked by a cairn with a geocache.  This initially appeared to be the true summit, but when we headed to the PLUZ boundary fence en route to the north summit, we passed a tree stump at a random spot that seemed to be marginally higher than the cairn.  We took a photo and a GPS reading here before continuing.

The traverse to the north summit along the boundary fence line entails quite a few ups and downs but otherwise presents no serious difficulties.  In his report, Spirko made no mention of any views until he reached the north summit.  Extensive logging has evidently opened up much of the surrounding terrain, and we were surprised to have far-reaching views throughout the traverse.  After tagging the north summit, we hunkered down in the shelter of some nearby trees to take a break from the bone-chilling wind.

For our return, we retraced our steps along the fence line back over the south summit and partway along the southeast ridge.  Probably because we were too lazy to climb back over the bumps along the ridge crest, we somehow ended up on Daffern's cut line and exited the same way that Spirko did.  Unfortunately, this route has not improved over the years and is quite overgrown and bushy in places.  There is also an annoying amount of uphill travel before the final descent back to the highway.  Thankfully, we all made it back without ripping our pants!

A big thank you goes to Ali for driving all of us safely there and back.

	Asieh, Ali, Shaun and Zosia stand on Highway 68 and will proceed up the embankment behind them.
	The group ascends a cut line going up the ridge.
	Sticking to the ridge crest entails a bit of bushwhacking through toothpick deadfall.
	The group approaches the forested top of Ole Buck Mountain (left).
	Sonny, Zosia, Shaun, Ali and Asieh find a geocache at the "south summit" cairn (1721 metres).
	Asieh, Ali, Shaun and Zosia plant their feet on a tree stump which appears to be the true summit (1723 metres) of Ole Buck Mountain.
	Zosia follows a boundary fence line which leads to Old Buck Mountain's north summit.
	Some surprising cut blocks along the fence line grant far-reaching views.

 

Zosia, Asieh, Shaun and Ali seem pleased with the views from the fence line.

 

	The group drops into a dip along the fence line.  Visible on the horizon at far left is Black Rock Mountain.
	The group arrives at the north summit (1712 metres) of Ole Buck Mountain.
	This is looking back at Ole Buck Mountain's true summit (left of centre) and Moose Mountain (right).

 

Here is the view to the west from the north summit of Ole Buck Mountain.

 

	Some peaks to the northwest look more dramatic with the sun shining on them.
	The group retraces their steps southward along the fence line.
	Ali crawls under a barbed wire gate with some assistance from Zosia.
	The group descends the same cut line they ascended at the start of the hike.
	Total Distance:  11.3 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  5 hours 1 minute Cumulative Elevation Gain:  390 metres GPX Data