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!

Hiking Canada 2023: Up Wiwaxy Gap and Along the Huber Ledges

Day 8

The forecast for July 18th looked good for tackling Wiwaxy Gap. Joan and I crossed the outlet bridge at the north end of Lake O'Hara,

and soon turned onto the Wiwaxy trail,

which is short compared to some other trails at O'Hara, but is notoriously steep. Many people climb to the gap from Lake O'Hara, but few choose to descend that way. Joan and I did so once, and once was sufficient. Today, we were above the lake instantaneously. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

The trail is full of switchbacks, with a lateral shift in the middle of the climb. A projecting rock along the lateral yields a view of O'Hara.

Joan and I have stood on that rock in the past -- I did in 2013, and Joan in 2011.

 

As we ascended, the Sleeping Poets Pool, hidden on a shelf across the valley and above the Yukness Ledges, came into view (with binoculars or camera zoom).

Finally, we reached the gap -- at 2,523 meters, or 8,307 feet. It's a challenge for those of us who spend most of our time below 1,000 feet!

To the north, Wiwaxy Peak.

As we rested and gawked, two hikers set off on the Huber Ledges trail, which will also be our path. The Lake Oesa basin is in the distance.

A few times, meltwater from the heights crossed the path. It were never an obstacle.

Looking back towards the gap and peak, before we've lost much altitude.

Joan and I descended steadily, but the lakes (Oesa, Lefroy, Victoria) were still far below us.

From this angle, Oesa looks almost heart-shaped!

Joan and I ate our lunch sitting on inviting rocks about two-thirds of the way to Oesa, and continued on. A view of the "picnic grounds" beside Oesa.

We descended to Oesa and immediately encountered a family of ptarmigans, mostly youngsters, in summer plumage. What a treat! Mama kept an eye out and peeped in an attempt to keep the kids from wandering too far.

In this photo, two chicks were wandering in the grass.

Then it was time to begin our return. In this photo, I'm looking from the shores of Victoria Lake back the way we'd come.

We soon spotted a pika carrying some harvested greenery back to the burrow.

On the shores of O'Hara, we were treated to a closeup of this young hermit thrush.

It felt good having managed to tackle Wiwaxy Gap again. We certainly enjoyed our dinner, and admired the lakeside view with the late evening light and a mirror-like surface on the water.

After all that hiking, we slept very well!

CR2016: A Huber Ledges Round Trip

The next day, July 28th, Joan and I began a double Huber Ledges day by heading around the southern end of Lake O'Hara. This photo looks across the south arm of the lake to the peninsula with our cabin.

An overview of today's trails, and our start.

We continued on to Lake Oesa. On the way we saw lots of beardtongue.

A peek at All Souls Prospect. We aren't going there today.

Joan and I took the direct route to Lake Oesa.

Arriving at the lake,

we spotted researchers taking measurements of the waters.

We swung around onto the Huber Ledges trail, aiming for Wiwaxy Gap.

Early on I took this panoramic view back.

This was the way ahead, with Wiwaxy being in the saddle of the ridgeline.

Taken from the same spot, this picture shows much of the Victoria Lake Cutoff on the side of Yukness Mountain, starting with a beige thread through the greenery at the bottom. Click on the image to enlarge.

Zooming in on the junction between the cutoff and the Yukness Ledges trail reveals two hikers in the lower left corner.

The trail blazes on the Huber Ledges helped us avoid taking less desirable routes.

The wet weather of the past weeks had created miniature waterfalls along the trail, and lush green carpets of moss.

Near Wiwaxy Gap we heard and then saw a golden-mantled ground squirrel vigorously scolding and chasing off a competitor. Afterwards he sprawled under a rock and dug out a little dirt.

He approached us, probably looking for a handout.

Here's proof that we reached the gap.

This was the spot for a well-deserved lunch.

Rather than take the steep Wiwaxy trail down to Lake O'Hara, Joan and I retraced our steps to Oesa on the ledges. The view is always different coming from the other direction. There's one location in particular where it's important to stay with the trail blaze, as Joan demonstrated, rather than take the alluring path just below.

This panoramic view from the Huber Ledges covers almost everything: Lake Oesa and its satellite lakes, the Yukness Ledges, the cataract pouring down from the Opabin Plateau just left of the Opabin Prospect, All Souls Prospect, McArthur Pass, and Odaray. Not to mention Lake O'Hara.

Some summer we'll come back to O'Hara and these blocks will be gone, perhaps having bounded down to the Lake Oesa trailside.

At this point the hike became a wildlife bonanza. This is perhaps a young winter wren.

A young pika.

Just after reaching the Oesa junction we saw a Japanese couple taking pictures of rocks, but then we saw that there was a ptarmigan.

At least four youngsters, some still with fuzzy down, popped in and out among the rocks as they grazed (buds, leaves, berries) or hunted (insects).

Mom kept up her various calls, including "I am here" and possibly also "Come to me." This chick wasn't paying close attention.

This panoramic view shows the Japanese couple, preparing to take a selfie with a Canadian flag, and in lower left one of the ptarmigans!

The clouds became denser as Joan and I descended towards Lake O'Hara, but we suffered only a few drops before we reached our cabin at 4:10. Later there was a five-minute hard rain.

That evening was our final O'Hara dinner of this visit. So soon!