Hiking Canada 2023: On to Lake O'Hara

Day 6

Joan and I awoke on July 16th, 2023, and drove up Kicking Horse Pass to the Lake O'Hara parking area. There, the AM lodge bus arrived and disgorged the departing guests. Then it took us and the other arriving guests up the 11km fire road to Lake O'Hara, where we picked up our bagged lunches and set out on hikes while rooms and cabins were being prepped. Joan and I decided on our traditional first hike, up to Lake Oesa. This map shows our outbound route in yellow, with the alternate first chunk of return in green. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

I grabbed this image from the footbridge at the outflow of O'Hara, looking up the lake setting for the cabins and lodge. The blue skies were beautiful after all the smoke we'd encountered since landing in Canada.

I didn't take many pictures at first, despite seeing a pika, a marmot, and a distant view of a mountain goat, but to honor Lawrence Grassi is mandatory.

The trail passes the shore of Lake Lefroy, the last lakelet before the final climb to Oesa.

A staircase of stones is involved, and the sedimentary rocks reveal the ancient beach-side history of this land; the altitude of Oesa is 2,276 meters or about 7,400 feet.

Lake Oesa stretches at the feet of peaks that reach or surpass 11,000', such as Mount Lefroy.

It's quite a sight.

Here, Joan and I sat on one of the congenial flat-ish rocks and consumed our lunch. Then, rather than return directly, we decided to walk a stretch on the Yukness Ledges trail before cutting back to the Oesa route. There's a spot on the north side of the lake where hikers can clamber down and across to Yukness ...

The Yukness Ledges route begins by traversing a rubble field.

Stones, slabs, and boulders from different geologic strata abound.

At the point where the Yukness trail swings to the west, there's an intersection with the Victoria Cutoff trail, which took us down through boulder fields to Victoria Lake and the Oesa trail.

At the end, I turned around and photographed the formation we'd just scrambled down, following trail blazes (two vertical yellow bars on a blue field, which we nicknamed "route 11" signs.)

A few minutes down the trail, Yukness Lake, Lake O'Hara, and Odaray Mountain came into view.

In the evening, I caught this panoramic view from Lake O'Hara, with the Oesa basin in the center but hidden.

After a hearty dinner at the lodge, it was time to hit the sack.

Day 7
The forecasts we'd seen for July 17th called for a strong chance of showers, but in the mountains, who knows if, where, or when? Joan and I packed for any eventuality and took the West Opabin trail.

Clouds darkened to the north, but to the southwest, the direction of the wind, the sky remained sunny with occasional white clouds. On Lake O'Hara, a flotilla of diving ducks swam by.

After passing Mary Lake, the trail begins a steep climb up the side of the plateau, with many switchbacks. A fat, fuzzy pika was undisturbed by our presence.

Within a stone's throw of where the trail leveled out, Joan and I turned right, onto the trail to All Souls Prospect. It started with a daunting but manageable rock and boulder hop-fest that led us to the stony tabletop that separates Opabin and All Souls. There we took a sit-down and drank in the view. (Alas, no photo.) But the sky had grown more ominous, so we decided to descend back to O'Hara and then take an add-on hike if the weather held.

It didn't. Thunder began to boom. Sprinkles began to fall, and the sky grew darker. We stopped and donned our rain gear: jackets, pants, gloves, pack covers. It took a few minutes. Light rain grew heavier. Therefore, we bee-lined back to our cabin and ate lunch there as waves of rain and soft bits of graupel (raindrops that freeze on falling snowflakes) passed through. The afternoon became a rest period; however, the forecast for tomorrow was promising, and with a good rest under our belts, we figured it might be a good day to tackle Wiwaxy Gap, a notoriously steep climb to 8,300'.

Back to Canada: On to Lake O'Hara

After breakfast on July 15th Joan and I drove up Kicking Horse Pass to the parking area for Lake O'Hara, the tent-pole that anchored our Canadian schedule. We took the lodge bus up the 11km fire road, picked up our bagged lunches at the lodge, and set out. Our traditional first hike of an O'Hara visit is to Lake Oesa, hidden among these mountains.

The spring thaw was late this year, and we had been advised to avoid the higher alpine trails because of snow. Oesa would be safe, but we might find a bit of snow or ice up there.

 

The first leg was to go around the north shore of O'Hara, passing by the Wiwaxy Gap trail for the Oesa trail.

Blooms were everywhere along the lakeshore.

Alpine/Bog Laurel

As we began our climb to Oesa, I was struck by this view towards Mount Schaffer.

The taller pine towards the right displayed scarlet/violet cones.

More blooms among the rocks, if you look.

Eight-petal mountain avens.

Gazing back to O'Hara ... still far to go to reach Oesa. The lodge and cabins sit at or near the shoreline; click on the image to enlarge.

Avalanche debris forms pale green rings in the lake.

A pond at the foot of Mount Yukness appeared after the route passed through more boulders, slabs, and rubble.

The cascade of water headed towards O'Hara falls down a steep face, which we must climb.

The trail owes a debt of gratitude to Lawrence Grassi, who laid the trail and built steps where needed.

Looking back after some climbing. The pond is now well below us.

In the other direction, more steps to the top of the cascade.

On past Lake Victoria and a few more staircases lay Lake Oesa. Yes, spring hadn't fully arrived here.

Joan and I found a congenial, sun-drenched rock and ate our lunches, admiring the view. Then we wandered over to the western side, where the trail towards Mount Yukness, an alpine route, dropped down from the lake.

Heading back as we came, I took a photo down to Lake Victoria, the final lakelet as hikers approach Oesa.

A connector to the Yukness alpine route is there.

Snowmelt rushed down from the peaks surrounding O'Hara, which vary in altitude from about 8,800' to 11,000'.

Joan and I continued our descent, and lower down a hermit thrush boldly sang. When I took out my camera it stared at me before flying off.

We approached the level of Lake O'Hara and I snapped this view of the Seven Veils waterfall(s).

Joan and I decided, on reaching the lake, to continue in a clockwise direction and thus circumambulate it. Along our way a rock supported a mini-garden: hiking in the mountains includes observing the small as well as the large.

We reached our cabin. The first order of business was to install our travel companions, the pigs Pudgy and Floppy Harry, in the window so they could check out the view and all the hikers passing by.

It was a smooth and uplifting re-entry to Lake O'Hara after three years away, even if we hadn't seen any pikas or marmots yet. We had five more days to explore this mountain retreat, blessed with no internet or cellphone service to interrupt us.

Canada (2019) Part Two -- and Post #500

Now it's time to resume reporting on our September 2019 trip to the Canadian Rockies. This is the second post and will cover the first part of our five days at Lake O'Hara; the first post is here. There was, of course, no 2020 trip.

This is also post #500, yes, the five-hundredth of this blog; the first post was in June of 2009. That's roughly one post every eight days. Who would have thought I'd stick with it so long?

Lake Oesa ...

Joan and I drove up Kicking Horse Pass and reached the parking area for Lake O'Hara in good time. A warden, Lorraine, was there to explain maps, options, the lodge bus vs the campground bus, and the 11km walk uphill to the lake if you hadn't already booked a spot -- with no guarantee of a bus ride back. No bicycles. Even so, Lorraine informed us, during the long summer weekends there were up to 140 walk-ins a day!

Joan and I had a lakeside cabin, which wouldn't be available until 1pm. We picked up a bag lunch at the lodge and took what is a traditional first-day hike for us, up to Lake Oesa. We hoped to see mountain goats at some point during our visit, but to our gleeful amazement they were visible on the Yukness Ledges from the Oesa trail.

With binos the sight was even better.

We pointed the goats out to other hikers and we all had a good look, passing binoculars around.

Along the way we admired the late-blooming flowers, including harebells, and various fungi. In September the birds were silent and the marmots were hiding, maybe hibernating already, but the autumn has its own charms. The larches turning yellow are the counterpart of the autumn colors back east.

Lake Oesa spread out before us. The weather graciously permitted us to eat our lunches perched on a flat rock, a treasured spot up here; today wasn't crowded.

Joan and I decided to return via the initial stretch of the Yukness Ledges alpine trail and the Victoria cutoff. This photo looks back at the Oesa outflow after descending to the alpine trail.

We met several people on the trail, including a German couple who got separated when she went ahead while he took photos and chatted with us. When she couldn't find him on the Yukness Ledges, she decided to pursue the Victoria Cutoff, where we also went. Then he backtracked, she spotted and called to him, and I wish I understood German ... but they went on to complete the Ledges after having hiked in from the parking area and up Wiwaxy Pass and along the Huber Ledges to reach Oesa. Whew! Young, strong, and well-trained they were.

Not far from Victoria Lake the outflow transforms into a tumbling cascade.

From here we spotted our 9th mountain goat, a solitary male.

We finished our hike by completing the loop around Lake O'Hara itself. This photo looks up from that path to the Seven Veils falls.

Then we reached cabin #4 and began unpacking. That evening at dinner we swapped stories with our table-mates about hiking glaciers, biking, and so forth, plus Lake O'Hara tales.

Opabin Prospect ...

The next day (September 9th) began with rain showers teasing us, off and on, during breakfast.

Joan and I decided to hike to the Opabin Plateau and see how the weather developed; Opabin is lower than other destinations, and it's usually easier to bail out from there. Because of the precip the kids decided to stay behind.

"We'll be fine, thanks!"

We started for the west trail, which skirts Mary Lake by just a few feet. Mount Schaffer had its head in the clouds.

This is a look at the lower part of the west trail, which hugs the bluffs of the plateau. Click on the image to enlarge, and you may spot the path, starting about 1/3 of the way up the left-hand side.

The marmots may be dozing, but the pikas were still out harvesting. They are so fast, though, that getting a sharp picture isn't easy when they are dashing back to add to their larder.

From the west trail we went across to the Opabin Prospect, which usually offers a spectacular view, but not today. The Prospect consists of large blocks with cracks and gaps in between and a sheer drop at the edge. Joan slipped on wet lichen on one slab, banging her shin, but didn't fall into a crevice or suffer any serious harm. We began walking up the plateau. This photo looks back towards O'Hara, but you can't see anything beyond our surroundings.

From above the Moor Lakes we spotted a couple of american dippers, hurrah! This bird feeds on various invertebrates by walking and swimming underwater.

Joan and I crossed the lakes

Pop down from here to cross to the central ridge.

on a footbridge and headed up the plateau on the Highline trail. Showers came and went, light and sparse, and then grew heavier and steadier. Joan and I reached our favorite rainy-day lunch spot up here, a small clump of trees split by the path, only to discover that it was already occupied. We continued past the Yukness Ledges terminus and reached Lake Opabin in a steady rain.

We paused momentarily to absorb the view, then returned and found the lunch spot open. Two of our table-mates from last night, Greg and Nancy, trod by as we ate. Joan and I were astonished to learn that they were attempting the entire Alpine Circuit today, Lake O'Hara > All Souls Prospect > Opabin Plateau > Yukness Ledges > Lake Oesa > Huber Ledges > Wiwaxy Gap > Lake O'Hara. Bad weather for it, we thought, but perhaps this was their last chance.

We returned to Lake O'Hara by the east trail, boring compared to the west but only a stone's throw away, and hence the quicker choice. Back at the cabin we spread things out to dry -- there are never enough hooks -- and at dinner had a new set of table-mates. At O'Hara your dinner partners are changed by the management nightly, unless you have a request otherwise. Joan calls it speed dating.

We'll see what tomorrow's weather brings.