I just returned from a trip to Berg Lake in Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia. The weather was perfect – blue skies, and no clouds! Here are the details.

September 1-4, 2006

Pre-trip accomodations: Robson Meadows Campground

Photo Album

Mount Robson 2006 Photoset on flickr.com

Friday, September 1

Miette River, Jasper National Park. David and I stopped beside the highway just west of Jasper townsite to have lunch en route to Mount Robson. After eating, I wandered over to the river to see what I could with my new camera.

Mount Robson as seen from our campsite in Robson Meadows campground. David and I arrived early enough to secure trail permits for our group of nine hikers for the next day.

Fraser River, Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia. This west-facing view is from the bridge over the river on the road heading south from Robson Meadows campground. A trail leads from this location to Overlander Falls.

Overlander Falls, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Fraser River, Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia. This west-facing view is from the bridge over the river on the road heading south from Robson Meadows campground. A trail leads from this location to Overlander Falls.

Sunset on Mount Robson

David and I left Edmonton around 8am in order to get to the visitor information centre at Mount Robson in time to get backcountry campsites. We arrived at 1pm (all times mountain daylight time) to find that we could only get enough campsites at the Robson Pass campground. Robson Pass campground is 23 km from the highway, making this the longest hike I have ever attempted. After securing backcountry campsites, and front country campsites in the Robson Meadows campground, David and I hiked the short trail to Overlander Falls. The walk was along the Fraser river, but although we could hear the river, we rarely saw it through the thick forest. Capturing the falls on my Pentax digital SLR camera proved to be an interesting challenge. There’s still much I need to learn about the SLR camera. Following our warm-up hike, we returned to the campground to relax until the others arrived. In the evening, I wandered back over to the visitor center to take some sunset shots of Mount Robson.

Saturday, September 2

Kinney Lake, Mount Robson Provincial Park

White Falls, Berg Lake Trail, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Falls of the Pool, Berg Lake Trail, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Emperor Falls, Berg Lake Trail, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Mt. Robson and Mist Glacier as seen from a location just upstream of Emperor Falls Campground in Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia
Photo is posted on Wikipedia’s Mount Robson entry

Berg Lake, Berg Glacier and Mount Robson, Mount Robson Provincial Park

I decided that we needed to start hiking by 8:30am in order to make it to our campsite by supper time. That meant waking everyone up at 6am Mountain Daylight time (or 5am Pacific!). It was still pitch black when I crawled out of the tent to rouse the others. Breakfast was devoured, gear was shared and packed and we were off for the trailhead. Another flurry of activity followed at the trailhead as everyone got ready to start hiking. We set off at 8:40 under clear blue skies. Two hours later, we stopped for a snack at Kinney Lake campground. We reached Whitehorn campground around noon for and stopped for lunch. Then we tackled the Emperor Hill and passed White Falls, Falls of the Pool and finally reached Emperor Falls. We stopped at Emperor Falls long enough to “take a shower” in the icy cold spray. Then we tackled the last hill before the trail levels off. After a stop to recharge our batteries at Emperor Falls campground, we set off for the remaining 7 km of the day’s hike. Mist Glacier came into view shortly and from then on, our eyes were drawn to the “back side” of Mount Robson and the turquoise waters of Berg Lake. As we crossed Hargreaves creek, we encountered a flock of seven Harlequin ducks – the most I’ve ever seen in one place. We finally reached our campground around 6:30pm.

Stats: Distance: 23 km; Elevation Gain: 800 m; Hiking time: 10 hours including breaks.

Sunday, September 3:

Mount Robson reflected in a stream near Robson Pass, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Robson Lake (unofficial name), Mount Robson Provincial Park. I’ve given it this name for the simple reason that the lake at the toe of a glacier often gets the same name as the glacier feeding it.

Robson Glacier as seen from the Snowbird Pass trail, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Mount Robson and the Robson Glacier, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Brian in Snowbird Pass overlooking the Reef Icefield, Jasper National Park

Mount Robson from the Snowbird Pass trail, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Saturday morning, I let my fellow hikers sleep until 7am! Nice guy eh? We had a 20km round trip hike ahead of us, which involved a lot of elevation change, so I figured we better get an early start. Following breakfast, we headed south on the Snowbird Pass route. We quickly reached the unnamed lake at the toe of the Robson Glacier and then the climbing started. Some sections are very steep with loose rock as the trail surface. Eventually, we reached a high moraine on the east side of the Robson Glacier. At the point the the trail to Snowbird pass turns east, we stopped to have lunch. The trail then passes through meadows en route to the pass. On a previous trip, I lost track of the number of marmots. This time I only saw one. I also saw a couple of Ptarmigan (snow birds). Eventually we reached the pass (at least five of the nine on the trip did) and were able to look out over the Reef icefield. The return trip was much quicker than the ascent to the pass, but it did involve some involuntary sitting on the loose rocks I mentioned earlier, which I can still feel three days later as I write this. The steep downhill did a good job on my left knee. I’m not entirely sure what’s wrong, but if it doesn’t stop bothering me in short order, I will be getting it checked.

Stats: Distance: about 20 km. Elevation Gain/Loss: 800 m.

Monday, September 4:

Mount Robson reflected in a pond near Robson Pass, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Mount Robson, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Emperor Falls, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Yes, actually, we did see this duck. Flip back several dozen photos and you’ll find a flock of them.

Spotted Tussock Moth Caterpillar causing a hiker traffic jam, Berg Lake trail, Mount Robson Provincial Park

Kinney Lake, Berg Lake Trail, Mount Robson Provincial Park

We woke at 6:30am, and were on the trail at 8:40am. The weather was still nice, but there was a high smoke cloud partially obscuring the sun. We kept our breaks to a minimum so we could get back to the city at a reasonable hour. For the most part, the hike out was uneventful, but with my left knee still bothering me, I didn’t make the best possible time. But as I was hiking with a group, it didn’t matter too much as there’s always faster and slower people in a group. We lunched at Whitehorn campground again, and stopped for a snack at Kinney Lake campground. Shortly after leaving Kinney Lake, we had a wildlife encounter! We reached the trailhead around 4pm or so. After “washing up” with icy cold river water, and changing into clean dry clothes, I felt civilized. Then a brief stop for pop and chips at the gift shop before hitting the highway en route to supper at Boston Pizza in Hinton. Slow service there meant that we didn’t get back to Edmonton until 11pm. Still better than my previous visit to Mount Robson which resulted in a 1am return. All in all, an excellent trip!

Stats: Distance: 23 km; Elevation Loss: 800 m; Hiking time: 7 hours including breaks.

Total Stats: Distance : about 68 km. Total Gain/Loss: 1600m or 1.6km!

Edited: 2008-02-24 – Updated photo links to Flickr and edited the story.

I just returned from a trip to Jasper National Park’s Maligne Pass. The weather was cold at night and warm during the day – just right for hiking. Here are the details.

August 5-7, 2006

Pre-trip accomodations: Most of the group stayed at Beauty Creek Hostel. I stayed at Bea’s Hive in Jasper.

Photo Album

Maligne Pass 2006 Photoset on flickr.com

Saturday, August 5

Pobokotan Creek, Maligne Pass trail, Jasper National Park

Maligne Pass Junction, Maligne Pass trail, Jasper National Park

Our group, Maligne Pass trail, Jasper National Park

Poligne Creek, Maligne Pass trail, Jasper National Park

We started out on the Pobokotan Pass trail at 20 after 10 under a partly cloudy sky. Fresh snow and heavy rain the day before promised (and delivered) muddy conditions. The first 6 kilometres were a fairly easy walk along Pobokotan creek – mostly high above the creek on the slopes of the end of Endless Chain Ridge. We stopped for lunch at the Maligne Pass junction. Then we tackled the remaining five kilometres to Avalanche campground repeatedly crossing Poligne creek. After arriving and setting up camp, we lazed around the campsite for the rest of the day. Eventually dinner was cooked. A short walk after dinner to warm up was the only other main activity for the day. The campground was overflowing with at least six people in four tents who did not have permits to stay at the campground.

Stats: Distance: 11.2 km; Elevation Gain: 500 m; Hiking time: 4.5 hours including lunch break.

Sunday, August 6

Wind blown snow ball, Maligne Pass trail, Jasper National Park

Unnamed lake, Maligne Pass, Jasper National Park

Rock sculpture in Maligne Pass, Jasper National Park

Brian in Maligne Pass, Jasper National Park

Brian, Maligne Pass, Jasper National Park

Unnamed lake below Endless Chain Ridge, Jasper National Park

Waterfall, Poligne Valley, Jasper National Park

Unnamed lakes below Endless Chain Ridge, Jasper National Park

The day dawned cold and frosty. At least one muddy area from the previous day was crunchy when I walked on it- frozen solid! The plants in the meadow in the campground were covered in frost. After breakfast, we got going around 10:30 for a day of rambling in the alpine. We set off on the 4 kilometre hike to Maligne Pass. A great deal of acrobatic activity was displayed by our group as we tried to avoid the worst of the water and mud that comprised the trail. Eventually we started climbing out of the bog on the way to the pass. We started to encounter snowy patches in the trees where the sun had not yet melted off Friday’s snowfall. The day quickly grew warm (up to +20C according to our thermometer) and windy at times. We stopped at the north end of the unnamed lake in Maligne Pass for lunch. A small flock of some kind of duck was circling on the lake at the opposite end from us. After refilling our water supplies, we headed off southwest over a series of ridges. Each ridge was slightly higher than the previous ridge. When we reached the crest of the highest of these ridges, we found another valley with a large unnamed lake in it. The lake was the usual turquoise of a glacially fed lake, but no glacier was evident – rock covered glaciers perhaps? We then hiked southeast down the ridge and then along the shore of this lake for a while until we reached the southeast end of the lake. Then we climbed a low divide to the next watercourse and in the distance we could see two more turquoise lakes – again without any visible glaciers to feed them. We hiked down along the outlet stream of these two lakes until we came to a cliff band and a waterfall. A short detour northwest around the cliff band and a rock fall area brought us to the bottom of the waterfall. Then we rock hopped Poligne creek and followed it downstream until we encountered the trail again. We arrived back in camp around 4:30.

Stats: Distance: about 11 km; Elevation Gain/Loss: 300 m.

Monday, August 7

Poligne Creek waterfall, Jasper National Park

Wildflowers, Poligne Valley, Jasper National Park

Pobokotan Creek, Maligne Pass trail, Jasper National Park

We woke around 7AM, and were on the trail at 9:30. A quick 90 minute hike brought us back to the Maligne Pass junction. An hour break for lunch was followed by another 90 minute hike back to the trailhead.

Stats: Distance: 11.2 km; Elevation Loss: 500 m; Hiking time: 4 hours including an hour for lunch.

Total Stats: Distance: about 33 km; Elevation Gain/Loss: 800 m.

Edited: 2008-02-24 – Updated photo links to Flickr and edited the story.

July 1-3, 2006

Pre-trip accomodations: Mount Edith Cavell Hostel

Photo Albums

Tonquin Valley 2006 Photoset on flickr.com | [piclens-lite-link]

Saturday, July 1

We started out on the Astoria River trail under a clear cloudless sky. Much sunscreen was applied! We stopped for lunch at the Astoria campground. At the Chrome Lake junction we stopped to fill our water bottles. Then we tackled the switchbacks in the heat of the day. A lot of sunscreen, insect repellent and water were consumed. We stopped again for water at a stream above Switchbacks campground and were swarmed by mosquitos. We then hiked through the mosquito infested slopes of Old Horn mountain until we reached Clitheroe campground.

Stats: Distance: 16.9 km; Elevation Gain: 400 m; Elevation Loss: 150 m. Hiking time: 8.5 hours.

Sunday, July 2

Another hot and sunny day. Our objective for the day was to explore the Eremite valley. We started off down the hill from mosquito infested Clitheroe campground, past the warden cabin, and through the bog at the southeast corner of Amethyst Lakes. When we reached the bridge over the outlet stream, we were pleasantly surprised to find very few mosquitoes were present. So we parked for a while and enjoyed the sunny day. We counted at least two dozen rainbow trout lingering in the outlet stream. Eventually we dragged ourselves from the bridge and back onto the trail. A short walk later, we arrived at Surprise Point campground where we took a snack break. Not as many mosquitos as Clitheroe campground but still more than enough. Then we hiked down a very rocky trail to Chrome lake. We stopped on the shore of Chrome lake for a mosquito free lunch break. Next we decided to visit the Wates-Gibson Alpine Club of Canada Hut on Outpost lake which is reached on a very steep trail. After a short look to see what the hut offered in terms of facilities, we returned back down to the Eremite valley junction. The mosquitoes were quite hungry at the hut. It was getting late in the day and we decided to leave the Eremite for a future trip and we returned to camp with another long lingering stay at the Amethyst Lake outlet stream.

Stats: Distance:about 12 km;. Elevation Gain/Loss: Unknown.

Monday, July 3

Freedom from mosquito day! We woke early, had breakfast and got out of the campground as quickly as possible. A water stop above Switchbacks campground ensured that everyone had enough water to reach the bottom of the switchbacks on the third hot and sunny day in a row. We stopped for lunch and water near the Chrome Lake trail junction. A nice breeze was blowing and keeping the mosquitoes down. And that was the end of them for this trip. Another break at the Astoria river bridge and then the long trudge back uphill to the cars at the trailhead. On a hot day, that last 4.5 km is very monotonus and tiring.

Stats: Distance: 16.9 km; Elevation Gain: 150 m; Elevation Loss: 400 m; Hiking time: 7.25 hours.

Total Stats: Distance: 46 km; Elevation Gain/Loss: Unknown.

Edited: 2008-03-02 – Updated photo links to Flickr and updated the story.

August 20-21, 2005

Accomodations: Misty River Lodge aka Radium Hot Springs International Hostel

Participants

Phil, Mahiri, Maureen D., Celeste, Maureen M., Dolores, Ravi, Donald, Madeleine, and me.

Photo Albums

Lake of the Hanging Glacier 2005 Photoset on flickr.com | Stanley Glacier 2005 Photoset on flickr.com | [piclens-lite-link]

Saturday, August 20 – Lake of the Hanging Glacier

Saturday dawned clear and cloudless and the forecast was calling for +30C as we set off from the Hostel. The day’s adventures had begun! First off was the drive to the trailhead. We headed downhill towards the mill in Radium and turned off at the entrance to the mill onto the Horsethief Forestry Service Road. The first stretch of the road was a reasonably good gravel road. After driving for a while, and crossing several one-lane bridges, the road got quite rough. It looked like some of it had been recently reconstructed. The going was quite slow as the “gravel” got bigger and bigger. Eventually we came to a shallow stream washing over the road about 44 km in. We all piled out of the cars to see if this obstacle was navigable. After piling some more rocks into the steepest part of the drop to the creek, Phil and Maureen D. ventured their cars across the stream and we all got back in. A short distance later, we repeated the process as we crossed a dry stream bed. Then again as we passed a large puddle in the road. Finally we reached the trailhead, 49.4 km and almost two hours from Radium. Now we could start hiking! The first part of the trail was actually a detour from the parking lot up and around a washed out section of the old forestry road and then back down to the same road. As we hiked along the flatish old road through open (logged) terrain we caught a couple of glimpses of a waterfall on Horsethief creek. After climbing up and over a low ridge (the same one the waterfall cut through) we reached a bridge over Horsethief creek. From there, the climb began in earnest. We hiked uphill alongside a raging torrent for quite a while. Eventually we reached Lake of the Hanging Glacier after 8 km and 3 hours of hiking. In a word, Spectacular! We rested on the shore while we ate our lunches and watched the mini-tsunami come washing in. These waves looked like the were going to wash over the rocks right to our feet, but as the trickled in amongst the stones of the shore, the waves just dispersed. Ravi decided to brave the icy water as he tried to retrieve an iceberg that had run aground on the lake bottom. Along the hike out, we encountered a bunch of angry wasps and three of us were stung five times. That hurt like a [censored]. After applying After Bite we continued uneventfully back to the trailhead. Then came the reverse of the morning drive and a 8:30PM return to the hostel. The only difference was that the morning’s puddle had turned into a much larger puddle as a small creek was washing over the road. A few splashy minutes later, we resumed our drive home. After a leisurly supper at the hostel, we adjourned to the Radium Hot Springs pool to restore our aching muscles.

Recommendation: Take a high-clearance vehicle like a SUV or pickup.

Stats: Distance: 16 km; Elevation Gain/Loss: 670 m; Hiking time: 7 hours round trip

Sunday, August 21 – Stanley Glacier:

Our original plan for Sunday was to hike to Jumbo Pass in the mountains southwest of Invermere. We decided to change to a different trail because of the long drive over Forest Service roads given the condition of the road the previous day. Unfortunately this meant cancelling the Environmental aspect of the trip. We looked at various trails between Radium Hot Springs and Banff and settled on the Stanley Glacier trail. The trail is in an area that has been burned by forest fires three times in the last 37 years (1967, 2001 and 2003). Some areas were missed by each fire, so the area is a patchwork of snags, deadfall and still living forest. The burned areas were carpeted with wildflowers (fireweed and a purple daisy-like flower predominated). The trail climbs steadily from the highway up the Stanley creek valley. We stopped at the end of the official trail to have lunch before heading back to our cars and the drive home to Edmonton. The valley was very beautiful and quite busy.

Stats: Distance: 10 km; Elevation Gain/Loss: 300 m.

Total Stats: Distance: 26 km; Elevation Gain/Loss: 970 m.

Environmental Notes: The original environmental aspect of this trip was to visit Jumbo Pass to try and see where the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort will be built if approved. The Jumbo Creek Conservation Society (JCCS) is the group fighting the proposed resort. Here are some pieces of information that I wanted to sort through on the proposed site:

• The resort is named after the Jumbo Glacier (part of which is the Hanging Glacier at Lake of the Hanging Glacier) and Jumbo Pass.
• JCCS claims it is pristine wilderness. The developer wants to build his community on an old sawmill site in a valley that has been logged and mined.
• JCCS claims the resort will be be built in Jumbo Pass. The developer says that the resort community will not be visible from the pass.

And on it goes…If you want to read more, please visit the websites of the opponents. Here are the addresses:
Developer: http://www.jumboglacierresort.com
Environmentalists: http://www.jumbowild.com

Edited: 2006-06-25 – Updated photo album links.
Edited: 2008-02-27 – Updated photo links to Flickr and updated the story.

July 30 to August 1, 2005

Pre-trip Accomodations: Castle Mountain Hostel.

Photo Album

Egypt Lake 2005 Photoset on flickr.com | [piclens-lite-link]

Saturday, July 30

Got a late-ish start as our group slowly got organized. We set off from the Sunshine Village parking lot and headed up the Healy Pass trail. Nothing much but forest for the first several km, but then we started to break out of the trees into wildflower filled meadows. The most spectacular that I can remember seeing. Unfortunately my HP Photosmart 935 camera didn’t do it justice. We continued our upward trek to Healy Pass through the wildflower meadows under bright sunny skies. Perfect weather for a day in the alpine meadows. We did meet a ranger near the pass who told us to keep our eyes open for a young grizzly that had been sighted in the area over the last few days. (We didn’t see it). After a break in Healy Pass, we headed down the other side towards the Egypt Lake campground. Once in the campground, we heard more rumours of bears in the campground area, so we made sure that no “smellables” were left in our tents that night. (Again, we didn’t see any bears).

Stats: Distance: 12.4 km; Elevation Gain: 655 m; Elevation Loss:

Sunday, July 31

Sunday, we dayhiked to Whistling Pass, Scarab and Mummy Lakes. That’s saying a lot in a few words! The trail from the Egypt Lake campground up to Whistling pass is fairly steep in places – especially between Egypt and Scarab Lakes. You do have to climb a headwall afterall! The wildflowers were spectacular around Scarab Lake so we took our time crossing the meadows. We took a lunch break at Whistling Pass and enjoyed the view down the west side. Eventually we packed up and headed back down to Scarab Lake where half our group decided to linger to enjoy the warm summer sun. I led two others on the “trail” to Mummy Lake. The trail here disappears into a rock pile at one point, and the only guide you have is that you need to go up the gully to the top. Pick your own route! Mummy Lake was spectacular, but there was little in vegetation along its shores – it was all rockslides. Eventually we headed back, made a brief exploration of the outlet stream from Scarab Lake as it approached the precipice above Egypt Lake, collected the others and headed back to camp. After supper, we headed back out for the short hike to Egypt Lake which was as smooth as glass in the evening light.

Stats: Distance: ??? km; Elevation Gain/Loss: ??? m.

Monday, August 1

Day three, we returned over Healy Pass to the trailhead. It was another sunny summer day. The wildflowers were still spectacular, the views were magnificent, but we were all tired. Due to this fact, we “lost” two members of our group when we passed a junction. They turned off the main trail instead of continuing downhill. This incident made me realize that the rules I set in place at the beginning of every trip need to be followed on every trip. I now make someone wait at every junction for the last member to arrive. Previously, If it seemed straightforward enough, I wouldn’t bother. But when you’re tired, it’s easy to make mistakes. That and the signs pointing to “Sunshine Village” didn’t help since I had told everyone that’s where we were headed. In my mind though, we were headed to “Sunshine Village” when in reality we were headed to the “Borgeau parking lot”. Live and learn. Fortunately no one was injured.

Stats: Distance: 12.4 km; Elevation Gain: ??? m; Elevation Loss: 655 m.

Total Stats: Distance: ?? km; Elevation Gain/Loss: ??? m

Edited: 2006-06-25 – Updated photo album links.
Edited: 2008-02-24 – Updated photo links to Flickr and wrote the story.

July 16-17, 2005

Pre-trip accomodations: Whiskey Jack Hostel, Yoho National Park

Photo Album

Iceline Trail 2005 Photoset on flickr.com | [piclens-lite-link]

Saturday, July 16

Got up early. Had Breakfast. Got ready to hike. Started hiking – nice and level! For all of 50 metres! Then the trail started climbing. And climbing. And climbing. It’s a long way up from the valley floor to the Iceline trail. The roar of Takakkaw Falls was our constant companion during the climb, even when we couldn’t see it through the trees. Once you reach the “level” of the Iceline, you find that it’s not very level at all. The trail undulates up and down around and across glacial moraines for most of the distance. We had some showers during our hike so we got a little damp. We paused for lunch beside a glacial stream. When we finally reached the last moraine and started down, the first touch of colour we saw was a clump of bright red Indian Paintbrush. We made a brief visit to the Stanley Mitchell hut in the Little Yoho valley before proceeding a short distance further to our campground for the night.

Stats: Distance: 10.5 km; Elevation Gain: 700 m; Elevation Loss: 180 m.

Sunday, July 17

Sunday was waterfall day. Laughing Falls. Angel’s Staircase. Point Lace Falls. Takakkaw Falls. Plus cascades from the heights above that had no name. Plus several that were not named as waterfalls, but only as creeks. Fairy Creek. Whiskey Jack Creek. The Yoho Valley is a wet place as it is located just west of the continental divide. The hike out went pretty quick. Virtually all down hill at a gentle grade, with plenty of opportunities to pause and view waterfalls. We had left our vehicles at the Whiskey Jack hostel parking lot with the permission of the manger on duty when we left. When we returned, a different hostel manager threatened us with towing as we weren’t allowed to park there unless staying at the hostel. Obviously there was some communication problems between hostel mangers. Our vehicles were where we left them, and we quickly packed up and headed for home.

Stats: Distance: 10.5 km; Elevation Loss: 520 m.

Total Stats: Distance: 21 km; Elevation Gain/Loss: 700 m.

Edited: 2006-06-25 – Updated photo album links.
Edited: 2008-02-24 – Updated photo links to Flickr and wrote the story.

June 4-5, 2005

Camping: Owl Camp – group campground. This was the GMMC’s spring get together.

Photo Album

Owl Camp 2005 Photoset on flickr.com | [piclens-lite-link]

Saturday, June 4 – Prairie View Trail

We set off from the Barrier Dam trailhead in the pouring rain – many umbrellas were put to good use that morning. This trip had originally planned to scramble to the peak proposed to be named in honour of Grant MacEwan, but the poor weather side tracked us to this lower, more sheltered trail. Twenty-six intrepid adventurers headed up through the forest with the goal of reaching a viewpoint or two. Eventually the rain stopped and the rain gear got packed away. By the time we reached the site of the old fire lookout the clouds had cleared enough to give some nice views of Barrier Lake, Barrier Mountain and points south. A little higher at the Prairie View viewpoint, we had a good view of the prairie for which the viewpoint is named. At that point we stopped for lunch before heading further up the ridge to the current fire lookout site. After an all-too-short stop at the fire lookout, we retraced our steps back to the viewpoint. The return journey was peppered with light rain in the latter stages as we hiked back down through the forest to Barrier Lake and the cars. Wildlife sightings: Near the fire lookout, one male spruce grouse; and a raven with a badly torn wing (in flight). Distance hiked: 12.2 km. Elevation gain to lookout: 600 m.

Saturday, June 4, evening

An enjoyable game of (modified) Cranium was enjoyed in the Owl Camp hall. In addition to the standard Cranium game cards, an additional category of Scuplture was added to the game. The goal of the sculpture category was to try and build something and have your teammates guess what you were sculpting. Thanks go out to Claire and Christine for organizing this entertainment.

Sunday, June 5:

When I awoke on Sunday morning, the mountains had ceased to exist. The clouds were hiding everything, but at least it wasn’t raining. As I was eating my breakfast, I proposed a short hike to Grassi Lakes in Canmore. By the time I finished breakfast, the rain had resumed and did not let up. The hike was cancelled and David and myself headed back to Edmonton. No photos taken on Sunday.

Edited: 2006-06-25 – Updated photo album links.
Edited: 2008-02-23 – Updated photo links to Flickr and the text of the story.

Interesting photos from Japan. I liked the warning signs.

September 4-6, 2004

Photo Album

Fryatt Valley 2004 Photoset on flickr.com | [piclens-lite-link]

Saturday, September 4

Saw bear scat a couple of times in the first 7 km, but no other sign of bears. We encountered a couple who crossed the Athabasca river in a canoe around 7.2 km. We stopped for lunch around 8.6 km at a viewpoint of the Athabasca valley where we had the worst rain of the trip – not much of a view because of the rain. The hill after the Lower Fryatt Campground is quite steep. This section felt like a rain forest with its very lush vegetation and plentiful fungi. Finally after crossing some gravel flats we arrived at Brussels campground where we stayed for two nights. Parks Canada needs to revise the trail between the Fryatt Creek Bridge at km 15.9 and Brussels campground as it is crumbling into the creek in a few places. Hiking time: 6.5 hours (including breaks).

Stats: Distance: 17.2 km; Elevation Gain: 450 m.

Sunday, September 5

We had some rain during the night which stopped before morning. We hiked from Brussels Campground to the Alpine Club of Canada’s Sydney Vallance hut. While hiking along Fryatt lake, it rained a little. After leaving the lake, we followed Fryatt creek up to Headwall campground. Then we hiked on up the very steep headwall section of the trail. The hut at the top is well worth staying at in the future. A trip to the hut should consist of a canoe to cross the Athabasca river, and lighter packs due to the amenities of the hut. It would also enable more exploration of the valley above the hut, which we didn’t have time for on this trip. In our very short hike up-valley from the hut, we saw a flock of about half a dozen Harlequin ducks on Fryatt creek.

Stats: Distance: 9.6 km; Elevation Gain/Loss: 340 m.

Monday, September 6

We awoke at 6AM in the cold and dark and hit the trail around 8AM. Picnic tables, wooden bridges and tree roots are quite slippery before the frost melts off them. After leaving the Lower Fryatt Campground, the sun started to break out of the clouds and the day grew warmer – but still not a heat wave. We could actually see the view from the Athabasca valley viewpoint this time. Hiking time: 5.5 hours (including breaks).

Stats: Distance hiked: 17.2 km; Elevation lost: 450 m.

Total Stats: Distance: 44 km; Elevation Gain/Loss: 790 m.

Edited: 2006-06-25 – Updated photo album links.
Edited: 2008-02-22 – Updated photo links to Flickr and the text of the story.