Jasper National Park

DAY ZERO began with fast breaks from the office, last showers, piling everything into the car and then we headed from Calgary into the Rockies. Now, this was not a real expedition or adventure because we were not traveling in a SUV. We drove our four door sedan (with roll-down windows for air-conditioning), so it can only be termed a “trip”. It was the beginning of a three day holiday week-end so all the car camping sites along the Icefield Parkway were full. Even Jasper’s campgrounds which have 1,100,000 campsites (I may be too liberal with the zeros; actually only 1,100) were full. Rather than drive east to an “overflow” campground, we drove west towards Mt. Robson and pulled off and camped in the woods (it was too dark to see the “no camping” sign). Sandwiched between the CNR train line and the Yellowhead highway provided enough diesel engine sounds to provided us with “memories of Modena”. In case you have never camped at Modena Italy (home of balsamic vinegar), the local campground is literally surrounded by highways.

DAY ONE. The late night and poor sleep meant a slow start on the trail (11:00 a.m.). For some reason, the guide (Glenn), did not pre-book a campsite on the Mt. Robson trail, so we set our sights on the “Adolphus” campsite (Jasper NP) some 25km from the trailhead. It was a clear, warm day and we joined the week-end procession of backpackers up to Berg Lake. No one was carrying coolers of beer, so we can say we had the heaviest loads o the trail; sixteen days worth of food. Glenn’s pack must have weighted between 30 and 35 kilos, while Sheila was carrying a big load too. There are a few uphill sections along the very scenic trail up to Berg Lake. We don’t remember too much of that day, but we do remember stopping and resting a fair amount. We had dinner at Berg Lake and crossed the Continental Divide at Robson Pass. It would be the first of many crossings back and forth between Alberta and British Columbia on our trip. We stayed on “Mountain Time” and avoided jet-lag. Hanging the food at the Adolphus camp proved to be a challenge due to the combined weighty mass of our breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack bags.

DAY TWO was a “rest day”. We hiked 26km (return) to and from Snowbird Pass without loaded backpacks. The walk along the Robson Glacier moraine wall with the almost-Himalayan Kain face of Mt. Robson and views of Resplendent Mountain, topped with alpine meadows and the dazzling views over the Reef Icefield and Coleman Glacier make the Snowbird Pass trail one of the best day hikes in the Canadian Rockies. After an exhilarating walk on a warm and sunny day, the cool dip in Adolphus Lake was surely a great way to chill out.

Looking up and down the Coleman Glacier from Snowbird Pass

DAY THREE featured clear skies, a pleasant walk through open meadows and onto the Moose Pass trail. We crossed the impressive “Yates torrent” (a carved canyon draining the Coleman Glacier) and a boggy, buggy climb up into the Calumet Valley. The short day was complemented by a bucket bath and a selection from our traveling library (one paperback that was slowly burnt as we finished each chapter). We had a noisy 3:00a.m. visit by a porcupine searching for salt stained hiking boots.

DAY FOUR started as usual with a quick fire and filtered coffee to fire up the cylinders. We ran into a caribou as it descended Calumet Creek. Further up, we hit the wide open meadows of Moose Pass under sunny skies and with glacial views to the west and north. Across the creek was a grizzly sow with two cubs. We watched them digging for roots and the cubs rolled about. We moved on as they headed in our direction. Further below the other side of the pass, back in British Columbia, at Slide Lake, we saw another grizzly and Sheila whistled to let it know of our presence. Continuing on, the same grizzly crossed our path, took a good look at us, then it shot up the steep slopes like a rocket. That was four grizzlies in less than two hours. Well down the pass, we encountered two French-Canadians coming up the path. They had been out for ten days and when the topic of “moustiques” (mosquitoes) came up, their comment was “penible”. Based on his expression I surmised that it meant “unbearable”. After a rugged descent through heavy forest, we made the knee deep crossing of glacial cold Steppe Creek to a wonderful campsite, offering views of the Stepppe Glacier. More importantly, the camp featured a crude but working table! Some exploratory wanderings and another bucket bath rounded out the day.

DAY FIVE was a marathon day, and started with a couple of back-to-back fords (Steppe and Moose Creeks) to a rarely used track along the Moose/Campion Creek. The track re-crossed the creek into thick forest and plenty of blow-downs. The track was in the correct general direction, but it climbed steadily until we realized (the guide was asleep-at-the-map) that we were atop an impressive cliff. The views were excellent but we were forced to retreat and bush-whack down a steep forested slope back down to Campion Creek. We picked up a very lightly traveled track. It is likely that someone else had crawled over the deadfall earlier in the season. The track continued up the Campion Creek and then veered off in the wrong direction, so we bush-whacked up along a lengthy cascade through thick bush until we popped up into high alpine terrain. We pushed onto a tarn that sits just below an obscure pass (Hoodo Wall Pass)over the Treadmill range with glaciers close at hand in both directions. Fresh grizzly diggings encouraged us to press on until we could safely store our food. After dinner at the tarn, we crossed the Continental Divide back into Alberta and picked our way down through the steep moraine down to the terminal ponds and the tree-line. Once the food was safely hung between two trees, we crashed out.

DAY SIX started out well with the usual coffee and muesli breakfast. We located a lightly used, but reasonable, track and followed it down the valley with plenty of creek crossings (boot removal each time), then finally we lost the vague trail. From there on, the hike was a bush-whack; hours of pushing through vegetation, creek crossings, steep descents and tree graveyards (heaps of deadfall) until we reached the Snake Indian River (what a cool name!). we managed an afternoon ford of the river without incident and hit the North Boundary Trail. Six kilometers later, we reached the “Oatmeal” campsite (official name, not an item on our menu). To say we were exhausted from the two days would be an understatement.

DAY SEVEN featured clearing skies after the previous evening’s rainstorm. Strangely enough we saw five people that morning; we would not see another soul for a week. Snake Indian Pass was a pleasant stroll through the meadows and we stopped in at Byng campsite and cloudy late-day weather. Our intent was to do an interesting day hike in the Snake Indian Pass area the next day.

DAY EIGHT hiking plans were dashed by rain and heavy clouds. We opted for a descent down to Twintree Lake which is pretty lake. It rained through much of the day; it stopped for dinner and it drizzled pretty well through the night.

DAY NINE weather was socked in until mid-afternoon. Glenn checked out the local rainbow trout population and we both caught up on our reading while enjoying the very pleasant surroundings. A couple of hoofed creatures stomped about through the night. It was the only frosty night we experienced and it signaled the end of the bug season. Back about a century ago (circa 1910) John Yates was busy naming places like Mount Bess and Twintree Lake. Out on a rock islet, there were apparently two trees that gave Twintree Lake its name, but we could only spot a single tree. Yates was an outfitter and not a mathematician, but we gave him the benefit the doubt that there were two trees in his day.

DAY TEN brought clearing skies and we continued along the NBT. Glenn had contemplated a dash up Twintree Mountain but when faced with cloudy views and to be quite honest, the prospect of an hour long bush-whack to reach the tree line, we stuck to the trail. We crossed a gorge over the Smoky River (bridged) and onto an often-overlooked lake. Glenn pulled in a two pounder on his third cast and released it, thinking it was a bull trout (protected species). Closer examination of the next fish revealed the inhabitants are brook trout (also with spots) and quite delicious. A quick swim and we set up camp at the wide-open Chown Creek campsite with its wonderful views.

DAY ELEVEN featured an excursion over the Continental Divide into B.C via Bess Pass and onto Bess Shoulder. We pushed and shoved our way on the overgrown trail, crawled over the carnage of a recent avalanche, stomped over grizzly diggings, admired a shy moose and calf to reach the Bess Shoulder views. Beyond were impressive glaciers and peaks that should be protected, but alas in B.C., the valley has been massacred (clear cut). The return walk featured a more exciting ford of Chown Creek (the daily glacial melt pushes water levels well up by mid-afternoon). Now the reader might be picturing a babbling brook at this point, but rest assured the Chown Creek has the proportion of a small river.

DAY TWELVE was clearly a rest day. After a leisurely coffee and breakfast, then laundry duty, it was off to “Fish Lake”. A curious loon paddled over to keep an eye on us but did not respond in kind to Glenn’s loon imitation calls. We settled down at a terrific vantage point that offered superb mountain views and excellent fishing. Steamed trout tortilla wraps for lunch were followed by lazing, reading and swimming on a sunny 25C day. The fishing was better than a Japanese trout pond (in case the reader is not aware of Japanese trout ponds, they are stocked cement ponds where you pay an entry fee and pay for the fish on a weight basis). The biggest fish that Glenn pulled in, shook off the hook before the landing. The fish loitered lethargically and rolled on its back so Glenn stripped off his clothes and jumped in naked to capture the night’s dinner with his bare hands. There is no pictorial proof of this event but it made delicious coconut curry brook trout over rice.

DAY THIRTEEN: the warm weather (26C) put us in a lethargic mood and we wandered further up the Smoky River valley and lazed about the Wolverine area and watched huge fire clouds to the south. Those huge heavy food bags were no-more and suddenly the seemingly endless food supply was almost gone.

DAY FOURTEEN was the easiest section from Wolverine to Adolphus camp. An early start allowed us to pass beneath the Mural Glacier, walk the wide Smoky river gravel flats and pop into the Adolphus meadows and then the campsite by 10:30 a.m.. That allowed a leisurely day to check out the Adolphus and Berg Lakes. We did meet three guys who were much krazier than us. They portaged their canoes and kayaks 27 km over Robson Pass to launch their boats down the Smoky River for the 10 day trip down to Grande Cache.

DAY FIFTEEN featured another clear day as we walked through the four-ring circus of Berg Lake; there are four busy back-country campsites along the lake. The walk out was much more scenic than the same walk in with fully loaded packs and we enjoyed meeting the throngs of hikers huffing and puffing their way up. Mt. Robson attracts a multitude of backpackers who do their fist and last hikes up that big climb. It can be painful to watch people patching up blistered feet after just a few kilometers in. We walked through the smoky haze (due to a prescribed burn around Moose Lake) and pulled off the trail (25 km by 1:30 p.m.) and jumped into the car and back to urban life. Later that day we reacquainted ourselves with electricity and hot showers. Another trip (not an expedition!) was complete and the mystery of the unknown was gone.

Interesting critters seen on our two week hike included Grizzly bear, caribou, moose, wolverine, marten marmot, pika, porcupine, vole and white-tailed deer.