CR2014: Two Days at Talus Lodge

July 19th was a cool, drizzly day at Talus Lodge. We first hiked to the overlook that spied down on the valley on the British Columbia side.

The route gradually steepens until the guides decide it's time to suggest staying back from the edge.

This long-toppled tree still grasps one of the stones in its roots.

We then hiked up to the Ptarmigan Plateau as the drizzle grew into a light shower and the wind picked up. I don't have any pictures from this portion of the day, but there are plenty of the plateau to come tomorrow. The plateau is a geologist's fantasy, with many different formations and tumble-down stones from different strata above.

This photo shows us approaching the lodge at the end of the hike. Note that the tip of the Talon, top center, is in a cloud.

The skies cleared in the evening.

As the sun set Nature brought out her color palette.

July 20th was a good hiking day from the start. Here's the view from the deck at breakfast.

The tip of the Talon was brightly lit.

The guests split into two groups. Joan and I joined Chris' group and started out heading up towards the Ptarmigan Plateau. On the way we admired this moss campion.

Soon a hoary marmot bounded across our field of view.

Then the ptarmigans of the Ptarmigan Plateau made a stunning appearance, three adults and five chicks in all. In this photo there is one of each.

Two adults, one chick. Note the reddish eyebrow of the adult on the left (click to enlarge).

Now we see two chicks.

As long as we stayed subdued the ptarmigans were not skittish. In this photo we're being checked out!

A closeup.

As much as we admired the ptarmigans, soon it was time  to move on. After threading among the blocks and crevasses our group reached an outlook with a grand view of the valley to the east of our mountain. The clouds generated a patchwork of brightness and darkness, accentuated by the camera.

We then proceeded around the shoulder of the mountain, heading off to the right (south), and encountered a patch of glacier lilies.

I was compelled to take a closeup of this alpine marvel. Its tubers are a favorite food of the grizzly bear.

We continued south, crunching over snow fields. Suddenly Chris, the Talus Lodge owner and our guide, stopped. He was in front and had spotted a grizzly, downhill and slightly ahead of us. The grizzly rose onto his hind legs and scanned about, trying to identify the disturbance, and then dropped down behind the snow. I was the only one who had seen the bear, besides Chris, being tall enough to peer over the snowbank. The sighting was over in a few seconds, but we bunched closer together, slowly backed away uphill, and then turned around, forsaking the glorious glacier lily field further on that Chris had promised. Better safe than sorry! We returned as far as an overlook, and lunched. Leman Lake and Burstall Pass are in the distance, centered in the photo.

Chris liked the colors of the rain jackets Joan and I were wearing (blue for Joan, orange for me).

We began our return to the lodge by ascending to the High Bench, above the Ptarmigan Plateau. Halfway along we stopped to admire the landscape spread wide before us.

We continued on, finding our way among the fractured blocks,

and the lodge came into view.

Chris found another resting place, from which we could look down on the lodge.

Those who had not been in our group had taken up the challenge of swimming in one of the ponds this afternoon. We could hear them screaming, and with binoculars, could see ripples emanating from a portion of the waters hidden by an intervening moraine. I did take a photo of our aquatic comrades as they picked their way back to the lodge.

Today was perfect: views, flowers, and critters (even if most of us didn't see the grizzly).