July 2019 UPDATE: The beginning of the trail at its lower end is now cleaned up. You can follow a faint trail through the clearcut for about 150m to meet up with the old trail. The new trailhead is still 200m further up the road from the old trailhead, and the kiosk has yet to be moved to this new location.
When people refer to Certainty Mine Trail, the trailhead starting point to which they are usually referring is the Certainty Mine Upper Trailhead which is described on that trail page.
Lower Certainty Mine Trail is a hike that is mainly forested, but ends in an alpine valley. The trail is continuously steep for 4km. It’s a hike for fit hikers. If you are primarily interested in the alpine portion of this trail, then you are better off starting at Certainty Mine Upper Trailhead. The trail as a whole (upper and lower) has historical significance. It was originally established at the turn of the century to access mining operations in the sub-alpine terrain of the 12 Mile drainage. While the mine site is non-descript – essentially depressions in the ground – the trail is a testament to the longevity of well-built trails.
The trail described below is accessed from the Lower Trailhead found low in the valley and will enable you to hike the entire trail. Most of the Lower Trailhead hike is in forested terrain. Alternatively, you can start from the Upper Trailhead (see Certainty Mine Upper Trailhead) in a cut block higher up in the 12 Mile drainage. The Upper Trailhead access will eliminate almost 3/4 of the trail so that the surrounding alpine can be reached in short order. However, the upper trailhead requires a high clearance vehicle.