After turning off the main road about 18 kilometres south of the junction with Highway 532, we parked among some random camping sites before walking down to the river to scout for a reasonable place to cross.  For some reason, the embankments on the far side of the river here are all quite high and steep, and it took us awhile before we found a suitable crossing.  We dashed back to the car to gear up and to pick up our hip waders before returning to ford the river.  Although we both made it across safely, I was a bit unnerved by the strength of the current which, at the deepest part of the crossing, threatened to sweep us off our feet if we were not careful.

After ditching our hip waders on the other side of the river, we climbed up the embankment and almost immediately picked up a double-track heading eastward through a fence.  This double-track quickly leads to the aforementioned exploration road, and except for one detour to avoid some unnecessary elevation gain and loss, we followed the road without much fuss up the Bruin Creek valley.  We eventually left the road to hike up a succession of clearings--a sort of "glade-hopping"--in order to reach the crest of Chaffen Ridge.  Travel was generally easy even in the trees.  A few lingering snow patches guarded the high point, but these were less of a hindrance than the numerous cow patties we had to sidestep.

After a lengthy and comfortable stay at the high point, we retraced our steps back down the valley.  The weather turned out to be very warm on this day, and the shade of the forest was most welcome for much of our hike out.  Re-crossing Livingstone River was thankfully also uneventful, and we finished the short hike back to my car still wearing our hip waders.

Be sure to check out Bob's trip report here.

	Bob fords Livingstone River.
	Bob follows an old exploration road up the valley.
	A clearing in the forest provides a glimpse of Chaffen Ridge in the distance.
	A spruce grouse tries to look inconspicuous on a tree branch.
	Bob climbs up a steep slope below the ridge crest.
	Bob hikes along the ridge crest toward the high point.

Bob pauses to look north at some familiar peaks including Coffin Mountain, Saddle Mountain (barely distinguishable), and Sheep Mountain.

	Bob stands atop a thick snow patch not far from the high point.
	Bob and Sonny stand on the 2228-metre high point of Chaffen Ridge.

The High Rock Range stretches across the horizon to the southwest.

	The Elevators stick out like a sore thumb to the west.
	Prairie crocuses are a sure sign that spring has arrived in the mountains.
	Bob heads back across Livingstone River.
	Total Distance:  13.0 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  5 hours 55 minutes Net Elevation Gain:  649 metres GPX Data