CR2013: Opabin Lake and the Tree-Eating Marmot

By September 5th Joan and I had hiked Mount Yamnuska, Ha Ling, Rummel Lake/Pass, Karst Spring, Lake Oesa/Yukness Ledges, Lake McArthur/All Souls' Prospect, Wiwaxy Gap/Huber Ledges, and Last Larch Prospect. Of these only Karst Spring had been a shorter hike, and we had been able to "train" for only two and a half weeks after returning from our extended Arctic trip. We were ready for an easy day, especially for our tired feet, but we still wanted an enjoyable hike. Our go-to in this situation is always the Opabin Plateau. Just look at the map.

You can enter and exit the Plateau by different routes (East and West Opabin), visit the Prospect and meander on West, East, and Highline trails, and work your way back to Opabin Lake. What's not to like?

Joan and I started up the West Opabin trail, rockier but more scenic than the East trail. We soon encountered a hoary marmot that was staring intently out into space.

Our first extended stop was at Opabin Prospect. This photo looks up the plateau and to the west, not out to the grand view around Lake O'Hara.

The prospect is an excellent viewpoint for inspecting Mary Lake as well as Lake O'Hara.

Here's a closer look at Mary Lake.

There's  a Robin Crusoe tree down there.

On this sunny day the canoes are in use on Lake O'Hara.

Across the lake, on the trail to Lake Oesa, is the viewpoint Joan and I call "lunch rock." It's a dandy place to have lunch, or a snack, while your legs dangle over the edge.

In the other direction there are already hikers at All Souls' Prospect.

From Opabin Prospect you can even watch the comings and goings at the lodge and cabins. Take your binoculars!

At places such as this we'd love to have a geologist as well as a naturalist along. What story does this mountain have to tell us about our planet's history?

Joan and I then turned and began hiking towards the interior of the plateau. Soon there is a view of the lower of the Cascade Lakes.

Here's a section of the cascades.

The trail comes down to the level of the lakes, and here we spotted what we later identified as female harlequin ducks. Yet another reason for binos. (The males all fly back to the coast soon after mating season.)

We continued up the plateau, and at one rocky pile were greeted by a pika.

But what truly stopped us in our tracks, as we started up the final slope to Opabin Lake, was this tree-eating marmot. (Click to enlarge.)

He soon tired of the small sapling and moved off to the right.

There he found prey more his own size.

Continuing up the slope by the west-side trail, Joan and I began to catch a view of Opabin Lake in its mountainous nest.

This late in the season, the glacier at the foot of Opabin Pass looks fragile and dirty, desperately waiting for the first snows.

A closeup of Opabin Lake. Sometimes we lunch by the shore; this time we lunched with this broader view.

We exited so as to make a loop. This image is of Hungabee Lake from partway down the east-side trail. More than once, when lunching in the rain, we have taken shelter under some of those trees on the far shore. Which ones? That's a secret for Joan and me.

Back down on the Lake O'Hara circuit trail, I paused to take a photo of the water cascading down from the Seven Veils Falls.

Joan returned directly to the cabin to rest her feet, while I wrapped up a photo project that will be the subject of a later post. Dinner, as always, was excellent and reviving. My final photo for today is a twilight picture of Lake O'Hara. At this hour the day-hikers have disappeared and the campers are preparing their evening meal, away from the lodge. It is ever so quiet, and becoming chillier.

This was our last night at Lake O'Hara for 2013, but Joan and I would be taking the afternoon bus tomorrow, leaving us time for one more hike in this secluded alpine retreat.

CR2012: Opabin Plateau and Opabin Lake

The next day, July 31st, was our last at Lake O'Hara for the year. Fortunately, we had arranged to take the afternoon bus out, so we had time for one more hike. This time, we would climb to the Opabin Plateau and "mess around" on the many trails there on our way to Opabin Lake.

We took the West Opabin trail, which offers much more scenery than the East trail. Early on we were offered flowers again, this time side-by-side arnica and columbine.

The West Opabin trail quickly leaves the lakeside forest and begins to climb up a rocky face of the plateau. Looking out, even from the low beginnings of the climb, is worthwhile.

On our way up we encountered this bladder campion.

We first went to the Opabin Prospect, although we took the longer (counterclockwise) direction from the West Opabin intersection (see map below.) However, the video I took there didn't turn out well, so I have no pictures from this year to offer. But the first half of a post from last year has excellent pictures and information about both the West Opabin climb and the Prospect.

Now it's time for a map, to help me explain our peregrinations around the plateau.

In this picture we are approaching the Cascade Lakes.

We spent a while at these lakes watching the wildlife. There was a pair of common goldeye ducks diving, resting, and sunning.

And a sandpiper!

We crossed over to the Opabin Highline trail, to head up towards Hungabee Lake and then Opabin Lake. About 40 minutes later we encountered a pika by the side of the road.

The highline trail runs into the East Opabin trail just before the Yukness Ledges trail, a busy stretch of intersections. Just beyond, when you are committed to reaching Opabin Lake (no more intersections, except the return), a small portion of the trail has been rerouted. Signs and trees block the old path.

Snow avalanches over the winter had decapitated some of the trees.

We came over the top of the moraine and down to the shores of Opabin Lake.

The lake was much fuller this year than last, as the next photo, from September 2, 2011 shows. I was standing on lakebed, and more dry lakebed is visible in the photo.

Joan and I lunched on the shores of the lake, very much where this year's portrait photo was taken. There was a gray-crowned rosy finch foraging on the rim of the lake and in a feeder creek, and I caught some of its rapid hunting of water bugs in this video.


We weren't the only ones admiring the view.

There were a couple of marmots browsing on the greenery near the lake, but not close enough for a good photo.

Then it was time for us to march back to the lodge to catch the afternoon bus down to the parking area. My parting photo from Lake O'Hara is the view from the top of the moraine, looking away from Opabin Lake.

From the parking area it was a quick drive back to the Kicking Horse Lodge and the Truffle Pigs Café.

Tomorrow we would explore the trail, new to us, to Paget Lookout.