5040 Peak Hike, Vancouver Island

The 5040 Peak is a gorgeous hike that epitomizes the backcountry culture of the Port Alberni-Clayoquot region, along Hwy 4 to Tofino. It has 360 degree panoramic views which highlight the raw beauty of the region. However, since most tourists and nature lovers come out this way to Tofino to go surfing, the area is hardly known for its hiking. As such there is not much infrastructure to encourage trekking enthusiasts.

5040 Peak view towards Nahmint Mountain

For this particular hike, the forest service road is difficult to navigate for low clearance vehicles, the trail is lightly trafficked and thus is not always clear, and there is no official campground. However, there is an Alpine Club of Canada hut recently completed and in use, some folks were just putting finishing touches on it when I was up there.

The Alpine Club of Canada Hut runs ~$25/night for non-members

5040 Peak is I believe named after its elevation in feet. I completed this overnight hike on July 20, 2019.

I drove out of Ucluelet along Hwy 4 towards Port Alberni. At about 1 hour and 50 km I reached the forest service road (at approximately GPS coordinates 49.242626, -125.36283) named the Marion Mainline. This road shows up on my maps.me app, as well as on Google Maps, however the road is not labelled on either.

This forest road is fairly level but it has occasional potholes and steep gravelly sections which forced me to drive slow, especially due to the fact I have a small low clearance vehicle. There was one very particularly challenging section that had a steep uphill grade and a lot of loose rocks. My car got stuck here on several occasions and had several skidding starts and stops before I was able to push through this section, but I had even considered giving up and turning back before my persistence paid off. For amateur or city drivers not accustomed to rough forest roads, I would second guess coming here.

NW Ridge Trailhead (approximate GPS coordinates 49.20412, -125.318339)

From the highway, roughly a half hour drive and 8 km down the forest road I crossed a bridge over a creek and parked at a pull-out on the right side of the road, finally arriving at the NW Ridge Trailhead. I believe this is the first pull-out I saw along the entire drive. The trailhead is just 50 m down the road from the pullout, barely visible on the left side, marked by a small wooden sign.

Cobalt Lake Trailhead (approximate GPS coordinates 49.182125, -125.3021)

For 4 by 4 high clearance vehicles, drive on past this pull-out another 3 km or so to the second pull-out for the Cobalt Lake Trailhead. The hike from here is shorter and more heavily trafficked and thus overall easier.

Note that just down the road from this trailhead is the trailhead for Triple Peak.

5040 Peak view south towards Cobalt Lake and Triple Peak, on the other side of the forest road

A time lapse I made from the summit of 5040 Peak

The NW Ridge Trail that I was forced to hike due to vehicle restriction was fairly grueling, especially since I packed for overnight camping and food. My tracking app shows that I hiked 6 km and gained 1,200 m in elevation - this includes the hike to the summit plus the decent to Cobalt Lake. That's an average 20% grade.

The hike through the forest was consistently steep. It was fairly well marked by tape, but it's possible to follow wrong leads and end up off trail. There were some sections that required scrambling and, in particular, one section had a steep dropoff and not many holds, and was a little sketchy. Once I emerged above the treeline the trail started becoming more rocky and difficult to follow. There was the occasional cairn marker, but I found myself constantly second guessing where the trail was.

I have the AllTrails app which includes a map of the trail and my GPS position relative to it, but I tried not to rely on it too much so I could test my ability to stay on trail without relying on technology. I ended up losing the trail on a few occasions, and had to use the app to get back on track.

Above the treeline, there was one notably steep scrambling section to navigate, that tested me a bit. I wish I knew the classifications but based on one conversation with a climbing friend, I would guess that it was Class 4 scrambling. I definitely wouldn't recommend this trail to beginner hikers, or hikers with concerns about scrambling with heavy packs, or those who don't have good trail finding skills and are without an app to stay on trail.

Of note is the fact there were few creeks along this trail, perhaps one at most. I can't tell you what the water was like, because I didn't need to fill up my water until I got to the lake on the other side of the summit, and I used a water filter.

Regarding bears, I carried a bear banger (makes a loud noise like a rifle shot) and frequently made whistling noises. I personally didn't see any bears, but other hikers mentioned they saw them in the area.

Cobalt Lake wasn't too cold - definitely refreshing after a grueling hike!

There is no official campground, but there are a few flat spots by the lake

No hike is enjoyable unless it's well earned, and I definitely earned this one. I probably took around 4 - 4.5 hours to complete the hike and was pretty gassed by the end. I took plenty of time to rest and enjoy the views at the summit, as well as sign the guestbook.

While I had the luxury of solitude along the NW Trail, once I got to the summit, and on the way down to the lake I encountered around 10 people. Most stayed in the hut while one other tent was setup by the lake. With no food boxes, I stashed my food in a drybag and hung it low in a tree - I found a tear in the bag the next morning, but thankfully the bag was not opened and its contents undisturbed. It could have very well been from a bear claw!

The next morning I hiked down the Cobalt Lake Trail to the second pull-out, then quickly down the forest road to the first pull-out where my car was parked. This trail was also about 6 km but I completed it in just over 2 hours.

5040 Peak view towards NW towards Pogo Mountain (Tit Peak) and the highway valley