Canadian Rockies 2025: Rainy Day, Then Wiwaxy!

July 22nd was a rainy day; never heavy, sometimes quite light. Not trusting to luck, Joan and I wore rain pants, a jacket, and even a waterproof backpack, despite its limitations. We walked around Lake O'Hara clockwise, the long way to start a climb towards Opabin, and took the west trail up. From the prospect, views of Mary Lake and O'Hara were on offer. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

From here we wandered up the Opabin Plateau's middle path, hoping to see pikas or marmots, and keeping an eye out for a dry place to lunch. Finally, snug under our "traditional lunch tree" near Lake Hungabee, we dined in chilly weather. At the end of our meal, a woman with two young folks from the UK came up. Joan and I chatted with them, and then volunteered the location. We descended on the east trail and, on reaching Lake O'Hara, the intermittent drizzle began to let up. The ducks were out.

Better weather continued to move in. After dinner, Joan and I spent time admiring the lake and mountain views from the O'Hara lakeshore.

Zooming in on the Seven Falls in the photo above.

Mountain ranges and misty peaks caught our eye.

Tomorrow, we resolved, we'd head up there -- to Wiwaxy Gap, of notorious steepness. The trail gains just under 1700 feet with an average grade of ~14%, with some gentler and some even steeper stretches. The steepness is so notorious that very, very few come directly down, but traverse to Lake Oesa instead.

 

July 23rd was a cheerful day. Off we went to the Wiwaxy Gap trailhead, and began climbing. Here's a first look back towards O'Hara as we zig-zag up the side of an avalanche gully. (There are views all the way up!)

Twelve minutes later, some hard-won progress.

More huffing and puffing -- although we felt stronger than expected, many of the young and strong passed us; we passed a few.

Then switchback after switchback. Getting near the top, we could see the chain of lakes heading up to Oesa.

At the gap!

A view towards other lakes ... our next leg of this hike, the Huber Ledges.

From here you can also see the Sleeping Poets pool, a reclusive pond hidden above the Yukness Ledges.

I asked Joan to pose in front of one of the Wiwaxy peaks.

Up here it was chilly, and we donned our rain jackets to stay warm. It was time to grab a snack, a fraction of our lunch fixings.

One group of hikers headed out on the ledges ahead of us.

Click on any image to enlarge. 

The Huber Ledges require attention. There's one spot where we lost the trail, the same spot as the last time we did the Huber Ledges. A dad with two boys came along and said he'd seen a video recommending that if you lose the trail, head up. We briefly backtracked and found the route. It really needs a blaze or two at that point. In this photo, the easily navigated last third is visible.

A look back to the gap.

This panorama goes from Oesa to O'Hara, with the Yukness Ledges in the center.

We passed a hiker who had overtaken us at Wiwaxy by proceeding nonstop through the gap. He had stopped to fix lunch along the trail, an instant pasta meal heated over a cookstove! We continued our descent.

 

Soon, a curious marmot appeared.

It was the least concerned about us -- probably spoiled by other hikers' handouts.

Oesa, at last! The smooth rocks near the lake beckon us to come and sit awhile.

We continued our descent, pausing at the extraordinarily clear waters of Lake Victoria.

Not long after, we spotted a lazing marmot.

Twenty minutes later, another marmot dashed across our path,

then turned to stare at us from the rocks. Peek-a-boo!

Fatigue was creeping into our cadence and balance, but we managed to carry on. A light shower began partway along the O'Hara lakeshore, not far from our cabin, and we picked up our pace. Mission accomplished!

Canadian Rockies 2025: Lake O'Hara, Part One

On July 20, 2025, Joan and I began our stay at Lake O'Hara. We boarded the lodge bus for the 11 km drive up the fire road to the lodge -- no private vehicles or bicycles allowed. After checking in, we started hiking towards Lake Oesa. This was the view from the south shore of O'Hara, with some cabins and the Opabin plateau centered in the frame. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

At this time of year and altitude, the yellow columbine was in bloom. Lakeshore altitude: 2,020 meters (6,630 ft).

We soon began the switchbacks and other climbs towards Oesa. This cascade

was the exit for the smaller Victoria Lake along the way.

We'd encountered three light rain showers already and decided to turn around, find our now-available cabin, and unpack. At Yukness Lake,

Click on any image to enlarge.

we observed a browsing marmot.

The low clouds lingered as we left the marmot to his foraging.

Then it was downhill to Lake O'Hara, our cabin, and unpacking.

 

The next day, July 21, Joan and I set our sights on Lake McArthur. A 60% chance of showers was predicted for today, but the rain never came! Early on, we took a short spur from the main trail to visit Mary Lake.

Then we climbed the "staircase," a series of steps and switchbacks on the edge of a talus slope. In this photo, we're partway up, looking back at the Lake O'Hara basin.

Half an hour further along, hiking laterally for the moment, we encountered this hermit thrush.

Very close to this clump of alpine/rosy paintbrush.

We examined the sign-in kiosk for crossing the McArthur gap to the Odaray Highline, out of curiosity -- already the maximum of four parties had signed in. Joan and I took  the McArthur Highline trail,

and eventually crested with a view of McArthur. We were surprised to see very few people there.

As we walked down towards a good lunch spot, we attracted wildlife, including an inquisitive squirrel.

As we ate, we heard a loon call multiple times, and later spotted it! After rest and replenishment, Joan and I wandered down to the lakeshore.

Here's the signpost by which we measure the lake's level; this year, it's a smidge low.

We began our return on the low-level trail, which merges with the high-level trail at a saddle.

The low-level dives into the trees.

Moss campion was blooming!

Marmots were active here, some not too bashful.

As they foraged.

Joan and I made a side trip on our return since it was still only 2:30. We took an "alpine" route to a viewpoint partway up the All Souls Prospect trail. This path was dodgier than non-alpine routes in terms of footing, steepness, and high steps, but it offers great views. It gave us a great sense of accomplishment, training, and hope that we could tackle other demanding hikes during our visit. Here's a panoramic take. Some haze has built up, but it's still beautiful.

It was a long but rewarding hike.

Canada 2024: Paget Lookout and Whyte Museum

Our goal on July 16th was to climb to Paget Lookout, which Joan and I had only visited once before -- in 2012! The first part of the trail serves two destinations: Paget Lookout and Sherbrooke Lake. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

Across from the parking area and Wapta Lake runs the Canadian Pacific railroad.

The trail climbed steadily, with flowers along the way.

On reaching the intersection, we took the right-hand path,

and the flowers continued -- for a while.

The trail grew steadily steeper and narrower, and the foliage began to change; after all, the lookout is 2,000' above the parking lot. Here are some flourishing pine cones.

The view began to unfold as we huffed, puffed, sweated, and pushed on our hiking poles. We could see Kicking Horse Pass and, beyond it, the flatter lands around the town of Field and its Canadian Pacific train yard.

On the far-side slopes above Sherbrooke Lake, the geological stresses of the past are evident.

The trees thinned and the sun grew hotter. This was real work! Then the old lookout hove into view.

Below the hut lay a bench composed of three aging slalom boards. Here's a panoramic photo looking outward; the two segments composing it were taken from slightly different positions, so you may notice a few discontinuities. 😎

Other hikers came up. We had some good chats, particularly with two young women who have been working in Golden, about twenty miles southwest of Field, for five years. One was Dutch, and the other Quebecois.

 

Some continued on to scale Paget's peak. There is no trail, just route finding amongst loose rocks, and that did not appeal to us. The view to the east revealed a hazy sky; this image also includes the tan stones that form the upper reaches of Paget.

After consuming water and snacks, we descended to the Sherbrooke Lake intersection and headed for the water. Along the way we saw this spruce grouse. She was continually cheeping to lead her four chicks off the trail.

We had visited the lake several times in the last dozen years, most recently in 2022. I didn't take any photos this time, even though the route was lush in flowers, including orchids and insect-eaters. As usual, the prime lakeside spots were already taken, so Joan and I beat up the trail to find a decent spot to sit, and encountered our Dutch & Quebecois ladies again! We eventually found a suitable spot, ate another snack, and then began our return. The weather threatened and sprinkled a bit, but it didn't really count as rain.

The next day, the 17th, was entirely different. We began with the visitor center in Field, adjacent to the Kicking Horse River.

The river was high today, with various braided channels in the stream bed merging into a vigorous stream.

Joan and I arrived a few minutes before the visitor center opened, and we were treated to the passage of a train.

 

Inside the visitor center, I took a photo of the double spiral tunnels that the railroad takes to halve the steepness of Kicking Horse Pass. These double tunnels, modeled after those in Switzerland, were finished in 1909 after twenty-five years of runaway trains, the need for extra pushers to overcome uphill gradients, and other problems.

Then we drove up the pass and on to Banff, solely to take in the MacDonald exhibit at the Whyte Museum, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the artist's first visit to Lake O'Hara.

The geologists Patricia Cucman and the late Stanley Munn worked for 18 years to identify the spots from which MacDonald made his paintings. They also found evidence, such as paint scrapings and teacup shards, in those locations. Being Lake O'Hara devotees, Joan and I tried to identify as many of the painted views as we could. We had a great time at the museum.

 

Otherwise, there is little to recommend Banff anymore. Visitor cars must be parked at an extensive lot on the edge of town. In town, the swarms of tourists are subjected to a beehive of gift shops, art galleries, restaurants, and other methods of diverting you from the mountains and draining your purse, with quality ranging from high to, say, modest. The day was hot, and we bought some ice cream. One park had a vendor fair that we perused, but it was so hot that we saw one soft drink can, left in the sun, explode. I will confess that we did enjoy some of the veteran art galleries in town. But be aware that walking around the Banff core in high season is like trying to part the waters.

Then it was time to drive on to our next base of operations, the Lodge at Bow Lake. First opened in 1922, it has been refurbished and reopened, with ongoing work of expansion and infrastructure updates. (We got the 4th floor suite and loved it!)

Bow Lake itself is a magnet, situated just off the Icefields Parkway, that attracts walkers, hikers heading up to Bow Falls or Bow Hut, watercraft renters, wedding parties, and gawkers. There is a reserved parking area for lodge guests a short distance from the lodge, which provides transit services for guests via golf cart. Here's a photo of one portion of Bow Lake in the late evening calm.

Our goal for tomorrow is Helen Lake, an extensive hike we had done only once before, long ago.