Starting from the parking lot at Bridal Lake (49.05892, -117.04073), Zosia and I carefully crossed to the south side of the highway and began hiking up Monk Creek Forest Service Road (FSR).  A little more than two kilometres up the road, we reached the park boundary and the signed trailhead for Ripple Ridge Trail which is the summer approach for Lightning Strike.  Other than one section of rock slabs on the ridge which demands a bit of careful route-finding, the trail is generally easy to follow, and we reached the summit of Lightning Strike about two hours after starting out.

	Zosia starts hiking up familiar Monk Creek Forest Service Road.
	At the park boundary, Zosia leaves the road to take the trail to Lightning Strike which is also sometimes referred to as "Ripple Ridge".
	A break in the trees grants a view of Lightning Strike in the distance.
	Zosia gets her first glimpse of "Monk Peak" (right) as she ascends the ridge crest of Lightning Strike.
	Cairns help point the way on these rock slabs.

Here is an unobstructed view of Ripple Mountain (left of centre) and Monk Peak (right).

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

 

Zosia stands on the summit of Lightning Strike (2179 metres) for the second time in her life.

After tagging the summit of Lightning Strike, Zosia and I promptly dropped down steep slopes to a col along the connecting ridge to Monk Peak.  Occasional cairns and bits of trail helped keep us out of more technical terrain.  From the col, the steep east ridge of Monk Peak looks rather daunting, but with a little careful route-finding, the ascent is nothing more than a steep off-trail hike.  The panoramic views from the top of Monk Peak were exceptional on this day, and we stopped here for an extended break.

	Zosia begins to descend into the col between Lightning Strike and Monk Peak.
	The east ridge of Monk Peak looks a little daunting.
	The ascent of Monk Peak's east ridge is actually nothing more than a steep off-trail hike.
	Here is a look back at Lightning Strike from the top of Monk Peak.
	At centre to the west is Lost Mountain (in front of Old Glory Mountain which is on the distant horizon).
	In this view to the northwest, the mountain at right with a road going to the top is unofficially known as "Microwave Peak".

Cornice Ridge at centre is difficult to discern from the surrounding landscape in this view to the north.  Bridal Lake is visible at far right.

 

Zosia and Sonny give thumbs up to the summit of Monk Peak (2281 metres).

When we resumed hiking, Zosia and I descended the south ridge to the col separating Monk Peak from Little Monk.  More careful route-finding was necessary to down-climb some steeply stacked boulders near the end of the south ridge, but once we reached the col, the remaining hike to the top of Little Monk was short and straightforward.

Once we tagged the summit of Little Monk, Zosia and I retraced our steps back to the col, but instead of climbing back over Monk Peak, we traversed its lower southeast slopes to get back to the Monk Peak-Lightning Strike col.  This turned out to be a very reasonable off-trail route with only minimal bushwhacking and boulder-hopping required.  Upon returning to the first col, we grinded our way back over the top of Lightning Strike and took a short break before hiking out the rest of Ripple Ridge Trail and Monk Creek FSR without any trouble.

Sonny sets his sights on "Little Monk" (left) while Ripple Mountain dominates the view to the south.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

 

	Zosia is almost at the col separating Monk Peak and Little Monk.
	Zosia ascends the easy north ridge of Little Monk.
	A helicopter hovers near the northwestern outlier of Monk Peak.
	Sonny and Zosia stand on the summit of Little Monk (2218 metres).
	Here is the view of Ripple Mountain's impressive north face from the top of Little Monk.

Here is a comprehensive view of Monk Peak and its northwestern outlier (left).

 

	In this view to the southeast, Snowy Top sits just on the US side of the border.
	As Zosia descends Little Monk, she aims to traverse along the boulder field to the Monk Peak-Lightning Strike col at far right.
	Sonny picks his way through some boulders just below the Little Monk-Monk Peak col. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Bear grass are in bloom in the area.
	Zosia is a little off-route here as she scrambles back up to the top of Lightning Strike.
	After climbing back over Lightning Strike, Sonny and Zosia take a break to air out their feet. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Total Distance:  13.2 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  8 hours 11 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain:  792 metres GPX Data