Guinn's Pass from cache hiding spot, Mt. Bogart in the distance
Guinn's Pass, accessed from the Galatea Creek trail, is named after Alvin Guinn, who led a string of 20 pack horses over this pass from Galatea Creek to Ribbon Lake. By the time he reached the ridge, night was falling and he needed to hurry, so he led the horses straight down the scree slope to Ribbon Lake! The next morning, while looking for a better route back, he discovered Guinn's Pass.
The first 5.5 km of this hike is along the well-established and well-used trail to Lillian and Galatea Lakes. It's generally a very pleasant, moderate hike; in addition to the suspension bridge at the bottom of the slope leading from the parking lot, you'll cross 8 more bridges before reaching the junction for the Guinn's Pass trail. Much of this distance is shaded, which makes the hiking reasonably comfortable on hot summer days. In fact, you may wish to time your visit for mid-summer, when the trail is direst and the meadows are ablaze with wildflowers.
From the Guinn's Pass junction (well-signed), you'll be heading generally NW. After two bridge crossings within meters of the junction, you'll be steadily climbing. This last 2.5 km to the Pass entails 500 m of elevation gain, some of it through wildflower meadows, some of it along a rough and rocky "trail" paralleling a small creek (may be dry), and some of it up a steep scree slope (look for the switchback trail marker about 2/3 of the way up the slope for a slightly easier route).
A look at Guinn's Pass trail
The views from the Pass are worth the effort: Mr. Galatea, Fortress, Mt. Bogart, the alpine valley below Buller and North Buller passes and the neighbouring sheer wall of an unnamed peak are all visible from the saddle. And there's even greater payoff if you continue another few hundred meters more northeasterly, to an point overlooking Ribbon Lake basin and Mt. Kidd.
We elected to make this an "up and back" hike, but options from the Pass include lopping down to Ribbon Lake, along Ribbon Creek and back to Highway 40 (short shuttle required). For a more detailed description of this option (and others), refer to "Where Locals Hike in the Canadian Rockies" by Kathy & Craig Copeland or to "Kananaskis Country Trail Guide Vol. 1" by Gillean Daffern.
As we sat enjoying our lunch up at the Pass, we spotted the most logical spot for hiding a geocache, one we're sure most experienced geocachers will quickly identify. However, we had a lock on only 5 satellites for most of our hike, so you will probably want to study the spoiler photo a bit before heading out.
From the cache hiding spot looking towards Fortress
The cache container is a 1.1 litre camo-painted lock 'n' lock containing all the usual contents: logbook, pencil and appropriate swag. The bag containing the logbook also holds a number of finders' cards, so be sure to let us know when (if) they run low.
We highly recommend following good hiking practices if you go after this cache: check trail conditions and weather forecast before heading to the mountains (and even then be prepared for rain, wind or snow); follow recommended bear awareness / avoidance techniques; take plenty of water; and follow "Leave No Trace" recommendations. Solid hiking boots and trekking poles are pretty much essential for this hike.