Canada 2024: Monica Lake and a Steep Climb

On July 11th, 2024, Joan and I packed our day gear, headed for breakfast in hiking attire and toting our stuff. We hopped on the 9:00 lodge bus and were dropped off at the Linda Lake cutoff, saving ~2.5km of outbound hiking. Our ultimate destination: Monica Lake, which lies at the foot of Cathedral Mountain, at the mouth of the Duchesnay Basin. We hadn't been all the way there since 2011. Here's a map of this day's route; (click on any image to enlarge).

The blue line took us to the cutoff, along which we headed west to Linda Lake (the southbound arrow is our return route). We trod up and down, but mostly up, and along the way crossed Morning Glory Creek.

The intersection where the Morning Glory trail splits off is marked.

The abandoned Cataract Brook trail is no longer on any map.

Continuing, we arrived at the northeastern edge of Linda Lake,

and chose to forge ahead on the route taking us beyond, rather than around, Linda Lake.

Except for a distant vision of a pika, we'd seen little wildlife but lots of flowers, and we indulged in some botanizing. We occasionally yelled "Yo Bear!" to alert any nearby ursine creatures to our presence. Some stretches of the path required close attention, crossing boggy areas or streams.

There are peaks on either side of the basin. Here's Odaray Mountain, altitude 10,292' or 3,137m.

We are not going up there.

Ducklings swimming around Linda Lake with mom.

A young marmot was on the lookout.

For a while, the trail winds gently upward.

We passed by Cathedral Lake,

and took the route towards Cathedral Basin.

The trail soon began to climb the left edge of a scree and talus field. And then it grew steeper. And steeper. Small switchbacks appeared and made the ascent safer, but still not easy, and grasping the occasional tree was mandatory.

I remember my first time on this climb; I wore clothes suited for a chilly morning. In the sun on that climb, I was soon in a sauna of my own sweat!

 

Plenty of flowers along the way.

Including this red paintbrush.

The greenery slowly gave way to stone.

Looking back. We ain't at the top yet.

Eventually, the trail leveled out and swung east towards Cathedral mountain, passing through debris and boulder fields that meant Joan and I had to carefully pick our way forward. Occasionally an ancient red-and-orange trail blaze lingered on a boulder. Still, it was clear that hikers had invented several routes through this obstacle field.

 

Then, we exited the rockfall zone and picked our way through a meadow toward Monica.

The basin and the lake. (The lake is in the lower right; click on the image to enlarge.)

Looking back towards O'Hara.

Zooming in ... Lake O'Hara is circled in green. It's a ways back there.

We found a congenial rock and had lunch in the sunshine. Three people -- the first we'd seen since the bus -- arrived, gazed at the lake, and were startled when they spotted us. After a chat, it was time for the long march back. Here, Joan identifies some plants.

One of the level stretches along the top.

Looking down at Linda (left) and Cathedral (right) Lakes.

Pink mountain heather along the way.

Whew! We made it down to the level of Cathedral Lakes.

At the south shore of Linda Lake. It's a destination in its own right. Joan and I paused here and chatted with a fellow hiker named Doug. Doug did most of the talking.

We traversed the rocky bluff at the south end of Linda Lake, and, saying goodbye to Doug, took the unsigned trail along the east shore to reach the trail we'd come in on, avoiding the horrible descent+ascent on the Beeline.

It was a long day, and Joan and I could have used an additional water bottle on the slog back on the Campground trail. We refilled a water bottle at the campground and then took the creek-side trail back to O'Hara rather than tramp on the road. A few detours were necessary because of high water (spring snow-melt).

 

After a quick cleanup, we were off to dinner, and had a great conversation with a couple at our table, Bob and Barb. We closed the "restaurant!" Then it was time to REST.

Back to Canada: Last Larch and a Slanted Bridge

 It's been a while since I posted: things have been in the way. Travel, house maintenance, and other projects. But now, let's pick up again with our July 18, 2022, hike at Lake O'Hara. To set the scene: spring had arrived late this year, so maintenance was behind on repairing the winter's damage.

Joan and I decided to tackle the Last Larch Prospect, which we last hiked in 2013. A message on the lodge chalkboard told us that a bridge on our route had yet to be fixed, but we were unfazed. To make the mileage less daunting, we hitched a ride on the morning lodge bus to the Linda Lake dropoff. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The yellow circle marks the spot.

Another couple, Sarah and Ross, also took advantage of the dropoff; we would leapfrog each other for the next several miles. Early on, we saw trail damage (primarily downed trees) that still needed to be cleared. All the creeks and outlets, such as this one from Linda Lake, were full and onrushing.

Linda Lake from the north shore. A single photo can't cover the whole lake.

We tromped down the west side to the southwest corner.

That rock pile is a great lunch spot.

Marmots and pikas consider the rock pile prime habitat.

The trail to Cathedral Mountain leaves from here, winding gently through woods and open, grassy areas. At the right time of the season -- not now -- the meadows are an fantastic wildflower quilt.

Nearing Cathedral Lake.

The bridge across the outlet stream was there, but part of it was akimbo.

This bridge is a choke point for heading further up the valley.

The bridge is at the yellow circle.

Joan and I were perplexed, trying to evaluate our options. Then Susan and Ross appeared and demonstrated two ways to cross the bridge.

Joan and I opted for Susan's approach, bumping a few inches along with each flex of the arms. The bridge's angle feels much steeper than it looks!

We caught up to the pair at the trail split, the magenta circle in the prior map. They opted to climb to the Cathedral Prospect, a "regular" trail, while Joan and I headed up the Duchesnay Basin on an unmaintained track.

In 2013 the above pond was dry, but not this July. A duck took advantage.

The trail grew sketchier and sketchier. In 2013, the route up this draw had been clear.

Now the creek bed was filled with fallen trees. More than once we were forced to cast about for route hints. It was slow, tiring work, but Joan and I made it to the last pond before the final uphill push. Stacked rings of pollen had collected on the rocks as the pond dried.

We snacked and debated how much further to go. Dark clouds were piling up, and it was hours of hiking to get back to our cabin, so we decided to eat part of our lunch and turn around. Brief showers peppered the journey back to Linda Lake; they had us donning and doffing our rain gear. Without the need for route finding, our hike back to the slanty bridge went quickly. The angled portion seemed much longer the second time!

Joan and I stopped at Linda Lake's south-end rock pile to snack again, keep an eye out for critters, and enjoy the view.

I admired the color transitions as the water deepened.

We spotted four marmots -- mom, two kits, and pa taking a break further away. Here's one of 'em.

As we left Linda Lake, we encountered our first hikers since leaving Susan and Ross. Then, Joan and I descended an interminable series of downhill switchbacks on the Beeline trail to the Morning Glory Lakes. From there we could see meltwater falling off the mountains.

Next? Regaining the altitude on the other side, and a foot-numbing slog on the Lower Morning Glory trail. Once a fallen tree forced us to doff our backpacks and crawl underneath it to continue. The best parts were hearing varied thrushes several times, chatting with an O'Hara newbie, and the rain staying in suspension. When we reached the Elizabeth Parker Alpine Hut and its pond,

we rejoiced at being almost home. Just enough time remained to clean up before dinner! A tiring day, but instructive and brimming with surprises.

On the 7th/8th day of Hiking (Linda Lake)

Not every day can be a sunny day, especially so during September 2018. Today, the 12th, Joan and I first thought, given the patches of blue in the sky, that today could be the day to tackle Wiwaxy Gap/Huber Ledges, a climb to about 8,000 feet and much of it exposed. A few minutes after setting out we could see weather coming in, and reversing course, changed our destination to Linda Lake. We were too late to catch the 9:15 bus for a dropoff that would save a couple of kilometers on the outbound leg, and took the Morning Glory route towards the lake.

The MG route is rocky and rooty, but Joan and I plugged on, changing our outerwear every so often in response to the fluctuating conditions. We were glad to have donned our rain pants while in the cabin!

On the way we crossed paths with two grouse. Finally the trail curved sharply to the south-west and began a descent to the Morning Glory Lakes. From there Joan spotted a mountain goat on the flanks of Odaray Mountain, lifting our spirits. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

The next phase was a climb of many switchbacks up the Beeline trail, a warming effort. I had unzipped anything I could by the time we hit the top.

We reached the shore of Linda Lake and Joan was soon dispensing trail advice on routes both well-marked and incognito, using a map to assist a group of four and another of two, both new to the O'Hara trail system. The situation at Linda Lake is especially confusing ...

You can make a circuit around Linda Lake, but whether the leg on the eastern side exists or not is mystifying to the newcomer. The trail on the southern side is narrow and sometimes at the water's edge, but easy to follow, and takes the hiker to a rock pile that in better weather is a fantastic lunch spot with views of Linda Lake and resident pikas on parade.

Joan and I found a quasi-sheltered spot for lunch at the top of the rock pile among a thin stand of trees. There were waves of ice pellets, but none so strong as to accumulate or keep us from our sandwiches and cookies. I slipped when standing up from lunch, but no harm done!

One disadvantage of my point-and-shoot camera is that there is no lens guard, and when powered on it sticks its snout way out. Thus, I'm reluctant to use it in weather like we had this day.

Afterwards we hiked a short distance towards Vera Lake, and caught this view of the heights on the north side of Duchesnay Basin.

On our return we crossed the north side of Linda Lake and continued downhill to the crossroads with the Lower Morning Glory trail. The Lower Morning Glory was so free of foot snares (roots and rocks) that we must have traveled twice as fast as our incoming pace. We encountered a solo grouse, who was much warier of us than the pairs we'd met so far. Perhaps it was the survivor of a pair.

This route took us through the campground, and we admired the level gravel pads and supplementary tarps strung above many of the tents, covering much of the pad. Rather than continue up the road Joan and I crossed to the trail along the east side of Lake O'Hara's exit creek, which we'd done once before. We caught a few minutes of heavy rain before reaching our cabin and hanging our stuff up to dry. There were no bats. This was the view from our cabin; no mountains in sight.

The meteorological situation hadn't improved the next day. Snow had fallen overnight on the middle and upper altitudes, and ice pellets rained lightly before and during breakfast.

Joan and I decided to wait and see what developed. Soon after we returned to our cabin it began to snow intensely, but with light wind. By lunchtime there had been two waves of heavy snow bracketed by calm times and light precipitation. We caught up on some reading as our traveling companions, pig and frog, looked out the window.

We ate lunch on our porch, accompanied by pipits, a yellow-rumped warbler, various small mousy critters, and a hopeful squirrel that we discouraged by foot stomping. Later in the afternoon Joan and I circumambulated Lake O'Hara in the snow to get out of the cabin and get some exercise.

Then it was time for dinner, a first-class experience at Lake O'Hara. We arrived early and I captured this view from near the entrance of the dining room.

The sun began to make an apologetic appearance during the meal, sinking lower but offering a promise for tomorrow.