After spending the previous night in a motel in Revelstoke, Kelly and I had a leisurely breakfast on the morning of 1 September 2007 before driving north on Highway 23.  I actually turned off onto the wrong forestry service road after being distracted by a black bear feeding on a large carcass beside the main highway (the bear quickly disappeared into the forest when we drove by).  Unfortunately, I did not realize this mistake until almost ten kilometres up the road, and as a result, we lost some time backtracking to the highway.  The correct forestry service road is well-signed, and despite the lengthy drive, we eventually arrived at the trail head none the worse for wear.  The eleven-kilometre hike to Standard Cabin--a free public shelter--took us about 4.5 hours, and we were quite astonished to see so many mountain bikers on the Keystone-Standard Basin Trail (challenging singletrack all the way).  Even more surprising was the fact that we had the cabin all to ourselves (I had dragged along a two-person tent in case the cabin was fully occupied).  Kelly was initially skeptical about sleeping in the public shelter, but she soon warmed up to the idea once she had a good look inside.  After dinner, we explored a nearby pond before retiring for the night.

	The trail head (1692 metres) already grants respectable views of the Monashee Mountains to the west.
	Kelly points at a rather large mushroom beside the trail.
	Kelly hikes through one of the area's many subalpine meadows.  Keystone Peak is visible at left on the horizon.
	Standard Peak can be seen fairly early along the Keystone-Standard Basin Trail.
	Here is a close-up view of Keystone Peak.
	The grassy hillsides of Keystone Basin (actually the headwaters of Mars Creek) invite further exploration.
	Kelly heads south away from Keystone Peak (upper right).
	This striking peak is surprisingly unnamed.
	Kelly enters Standard Basin.
	Standard Peak seems far removed from Standard Basin.
	Kelly arrives at Standard Cabin.
	Some reeds are reflected in the pond near Standard Cabin.
	Standard Cabin is also reflected in the pond.
	Kelly and Sonny are happy to have the cabin all to themselves for the weekend.

The next day, 2 September 2007, Kelly and I traversed Standard Peak on a day trip from the cabin.  We continued along the Keystone-Standard Basin Trail and dropped down to a forested marshy area before climbing up to subalpine meadows below the northwest face of Standard Peak.  Although the trail is sketchy or nonexistent in a few places, we found plenty of flagging and cairns to keep us on track.  We eventually gained the north ridge of Standard Peak and proceeded easily up to the summit.  After taking a break at the summit, we descended the slightly more challenging west ridge before rejoining the trail below the northwest face.  A long plod had us back at Standard Cabin after a round-trip time of about 6.5 hours.  After we returned to the cabin, a steady rain began to fall, and we were very grateful to have a dry place to cook dinner.  Furthermore, we got the wood stove going which made the cabin a warm and cozy place to spend the night.  All we needed was a full deck of cards.

	Standard Peak comes into view again along the approach trail from Standard Cabin.
	Kelly works her way toward the north ridge (left skyline) of Standard Peak.
	Kelly hikes up the broad north ridge of Standard Peak.
	Kelly pauses to admire the view of Pass Peak (2458 metres) at far left and Belcher Ridge (2419 metres) at centre.
	The last part of the ridge before the summit requires a little hands-on scrambling.
	Kelly and Sonny sit on top of the 2311-metre summit of Standard Peak.
	The unnamed peak dominates the view to the northeast.
	To the east are Bridgland Peak (over 2957 metres) and Carnes Peak (3050 metres).
	Hat Peak (2883 metres) is visible to the southwest.
	Keystone Peak is about 9.7 kilometres to the northwest.
	This is looking back at the summit from along the west ridge.
	Kelly scrambles down an exposed cliff band.
	Kelly returns to the meadows after descending the west ridge (right skyline) of Standard Peak.
	Wildflowers are abundant in this area.
	Kelly enjoys a candlelight dinner inside Standard Cabin.
	Kelly curls up with a book before drifting off to sleep.

The steady rain finally stopped some time during the wee hours of the morning of 3 September 2007.  Kelly and I tidied up the cabin before we began our return trip to the trail head.  When we reached Mars Creek, Kelly took out some art supplies and started painting while I hiked up to the summit of Keystone Peak.  She finished her painting, a landscape picture, by the time I rejoined her a little over two hours later.  The rest of our hike out was uneventful, and although we started feeling sore toward the end, an abundance of ripe huckleberries along the way helped to ease the pain.

	Morning mists persist both in Standard Creek valley and on top of distant Mount Sir Sanford (3522 metres).
	Mist also covers Lake Revelstoke as Kelly hikes back along Keystone-Standard Basin Trail.
	Sonny hikes up easy slopes leading to Keystone Peak.
	This is looking west toward the Ratchford Range from a col just south of Keystone Peak.
	A ptarmigan wanders about the upper slopes of Keystone Peak.
	Sonny checks out the east side of Keystone Peak on his way up.
	Sonny plants his foot on the cairn at the 2373-metre summit of Keystone Peak.
	The eye-catcher to the north is Downie Peak (2928 metres).
	Sir Sanford Glacier and Mount Sir Sanford are visible to the northeast.
	Here is the view to the south with the Monashee Mountains dominating the horizon.
	A repeater tower stands beside the summit cairn in this view from Keystone Peak's northwest ridge.
	Standard Peak is about 9.7 kilometres to the southeast.
	A secluded bowl north of Keystone Peak holds two attractive tarns.
	The unnamed ridge to the southeast of Keystone Peak is actually higher (over 2408 metres).
	A couple of intrepid mountain bikers push up some switchbacks along the Keystone-Standard Basin Trail.
	Kelly continues trekking back to the trail head (somewhere behind the ridge in the middle).  The striking peak at left is Frenchman Cap (2897 metres).
	Sonny cannot resist stopping to feast on tasty huckleberries. Photo Courtesy of Kelly Bou
	Kelly and Sonny show off their huckleberry-bruised tongues. Photo Courtesy of Kelly Bou