Hiking Canada 2023: Eiffel Lake

 On July 22nd, 2023, Joan and I spent our first day at Moraine Lake hiking to Eiffel Lake. We had done this the year before but wanted to go further towards the lake this time. Plus, the conditions were much better than the snow-clogged 2018 attempt.

The hike began on a shared path with the route to Larch Valley. Once past the split, the early part of the Eiffel trail is wooded and thins as you proceed out and up. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

Here, other hikers are ahead of us.

A ground squirrel was keeping watch.

I took no pictures as we proceeded up the valley, but took this photo at our lunch stop/turnaround point. (To descend to Eiffel Lake requires a circuitous route down to the far side.) Our quest for a better view was satisfied.

An inquisitive pika investigated us continually as we sat there.

The beginning of the return was through mostly open terrain. We spotted a lazy marmot sunning off the trail.

As we passed, it turned to present only its rear end to us.

Joan and I continued hiking and re-entered the wooded section. The slope on either side of the path remained steep. Then, steady but unhurried, a mama grizzly and her yearling cub appeared on the path ahead. Coming towards us. Joan and I stepped off the path on the uphill side, and I pulled out my bear spray just in case. Mama came closer, glanced at us, and stepped off the path to the downhill side. She continued her rhythmic pace, but the youngster was curious. He looked at us. He took one step towards us. Joan wondered what mom would do if we had to spray her cub?

 

But mom had trained him well, and he joined her on the other side of the path. The duo passed behind some boulders across from us. The irrepressible youngster popped up again from behind the rocks, wishing he could check us out closer, but mom simply continued her stroll. Once well behind us, she crossed the path and began climbing up the slope, junior in tow. I holstered my bear spray.

Back at the lodge, we reported our adventure. "Oh," the guy at the desk said, "that's bear #142. She's well known around here." (In fact, she was spotted near Moraine Lake itself the next day.) Moraine Lake has so many visitors, we realized, that any bear who prefers this high valley must be accustomed to humans. It's up to us to not panic and do something stupid.

Smoke and Snow: Heart Canyon

Our 2017 trip to the Canadian Rockies landed in September. Joan and I were up at 3:30am on the 6th for a 7:10 flight. At the airport Joan was picked yet again by TSA for special treatment, a shoe swabbing followed by a hand inspection of her carry-on day pack. This startled our traveling pigs for this journey, PigO and Mr. Frumble, who had fallen asleep in the pack.

We had a long layover at the Minneapolis airport and took advantage of this for a sit-down hot breakfast at the French Meadow. Afterwards we took turns walking through the airport; MPLS is laid out in such a way that a long loop, not just an out-and-back, is possible. Joan stopped in one art shop and chatted with the fellow there. He had a deep backstory; born Jewish in Istanbul, he left Turkey when it started becoming less secular. His wife was working next door to one of the Twin Towers on 9/11, and after that, they moved to Minneapolis.

This year we couldn't see the mountains on the horizon as we landed in Calgary. Alberta and British Columbia were having a bad wildfire season, and the air was hazy even out in the plains.

This was our first time entering Canada through Calgary's brand-new international terminal, and after having read mixed reviews, we were apprehensive. It was a long walk from gate 94 to passport control but not as bad as we'd feared. Kiosks were available to US and Canadian citizens, so all we needed to do was scan our passports and customs form, quick and easy.

After picking up our luggage it was time for the longest walk of the day, to the rental cars. We asked an older red coat (airport volunteer) how to get there, and discovered that he was a fan of "The Big Bang Theory." Reaching the rental cars required marching the length of the international plus the domestic terminal.

We stopped at the Kananaskis Information Centre, a short side trip on the way to Canmore, to buy some bear spray. You can't take it on airplanes! In Canmore we checked in at Canadian Artisans Bed and Breakfast, which boasts a great location and wonderful hosts, Val and Bob. Our pigs had a chance to meet the other residents.

Rocky Mountain Flatbread was within walking distance, as is most of the town center, and after dinner there we returned to reorganize our luggage from airplane into hiking mode. TSA had inspected both bags this time; they must have been really bored. Then early to bed.

After an après-breakfast chat with Val, Bob, and a Dutch couple also staying at Canadian Artisans, Joan and I walked over to the Thursday Farmer's Market. We were first-timers at the market because we'd never managed to be in Canmore on Thursday before. The edibles spanned the entire spectrum from meat to baked goods to veggies and fruit. We ogled fresh, astonishingly good berries from British Columbia and bought some, along with lunch fixings.

Joan and I then drove to Heart Creek, a short, popular hike just outside Canmore that we had been postponing for a long time. Today was the day for several reasons:

• Taking a canyon walk instead of a climb to a high view was the better choice given the smoke.
• In years past we had been able to do substantial training before heading north, but this year there were only 16 days between our return from Greenland and leaving for Canada, so we needed a few days of ramping up.
• I didn't want to aggravate an intermittent atrial flutter that had been diagnosed back in May.

We arrived around noon. Heart Creek had been irrevocably altered by the flood of 2013 (click on the image to enlarge).

One measure of the ferocity of that event is that the footbridge at the far end of the trail wound up only a few hundred feet from the Trans-Canada highway. The rest were smashed.

September is binge-feeding time for the black and grizzly bears in the Rockies, in preparation for hibernation. Make enough noise that you don't surprise them and carry bear spray.

This is a typical view of the lower range of the creek. There is debris, wood and stone, all the way up.

A more detailed sign about the flood.

In this picture the extent of scouring from water and tumbling rocks and boulders is evident. Also, note how trees further away begin to disappear in smoky haze.

This canyon is also frequented by rock climbers.

Crossing one of the replacement bridges.

Tons of undermining at this bend.

As the canyon rose the smoke became thicker.

Another stream crossing.

A very simple bridge.

The end of the easy trail, although it's possible to climb a much steeper route either to the left or right of the photo.

The sun, aiming down the canyon, bathed a bench in a haze-tinted light.

Joan and I found a spot out of the glare, on the edge of the water, and ate our lunch. This upper part of the gorge was comfortable, even though the day's official high temperature was 30°C/86°F.

On our way back down we studied a nest, high up the canyon wall, that Joan had spotted on our way up. Through binoculars we could see that it was large, secure in an alcove, and composed of large sticks. Vegetation was clinging to the rock face below it, fertilized by the dribbles and drainage from the nest. Our consensus was that it was likely a golden eagle nest, vacant this late in the year.

Near the bottom of the trail, where the flood debris had fanned out for dozens of yards, we met two or three rock climbers unsure of the way. After pointing them in the right direction we listened to them deciding whether to wait for the rest of their group. The other car had been seen, but maybe it had parked in another area. This bunch had agreed last night to wait for the other bunch, but then someone pointed out that they had been drinking, perhaps excessively, and therefore the agreement wasn't valid. Fortunately the other group showed up before the pact was broken.

Joan and I walked a short way east on the Trans Canada trail, and then back to Heart Creek parking and our car. The walk's climbs had been gentle, with occasional bumps, but it also gave us practice on rocky and rooty trails.

CR2016: Chester Lake, Three Lakes Valley ... and a Grizzly

On Monday, our penultimate day of hiking, Joan and I decided to visit the ever-popular Chester Lake and extend that journey up the Three Lakes Valley. This was our first visit since the floods of June 2013 damaged the parking area and lower reaches of the trail. Perhaps because it was Monday, the re-groomed parking area for Chester was empty when we arrived shortly before 10.

The day trippers from Calgary haven't arrived yet.

The lower reaches of the trail had been re-routed; there was a different starting point, and the first section was now a one-way loop.

It took a while for our well-used muscles and lungs to warm up after yesterday's climb of Windtower, but we settled into the hike. The route at first is a small road,

but eventually becomes a path after passing through a zone of old logging roads and cross-country ski trails. Mostly it climbs but sometimes it's level. In this photo Joan and I are approaching the last bump or two before reaching the lake.

Almost there. Most of the glacier lilies near the lake had been dug up, being a favorite treat for grizzly bears.

Chester Lake is popular for a reason. It's not too difficult to reach, and it's gorgeous. OK, that's two reasons.

There is also a formal "rest facility" here, the tubular toilet.

Joan and I did not linger but went around the left-hand shore until we reached the side trail leading to the Three Lakes Valley. After rising from the lakeside the trail passes by rock formations known as "Elephant Rocks."

The trail swung to the right and continued to climb after it entered the Three Lakes Valley. After fifteen minutes we encountered a lookout, a hoary marmot.

Here we are about to reach the first lake.

The first lake could be a destination in itself. This photo was taken from the up-valley side.

 The trail goes up a steep gully after the first lake, OK if dry but treacherous if wet or if snow lingers. Joan and I were glad for our poles. From the top, the lake looked like this.

From this point the route was a mix of visible trail segments and cairns. It wasn't possible to become lost, however, because the valley was narrow and it was obvious which way was up. But the horizon was close, as this photo shows, looking back.

The geology in the valley was full of striations, folds, and fossil corals.

We found this body of water, which is either a seasonal pond or the second lake.

Or a seasonal lake?

Joan and I decided to climb over one more rock band and discovered the third lake. Here we stopped and ate half our lunch.

Some algae here!

On our way back, still in the rocky zone but passing by a low, wet area with vegetation, we encountered pikas chasing each other away from choice spots. We counted at least three; it was difficult to photograph running pikas, but when they were on lookout (for a few seconds) or browsing, I had a chance.

I caught this one in mid eeep, the pika alarm call. (Click on the image to enlarge, and check out the lips!) 

A wind-ruffled fur photo. 

Further down, the guard marmot was still on duty.

As Joan and I descended to lake #1 we encountered our first other hikers, a party of three with a guide. The wife of one, not present, had lived in Columbus and so he was familiar with locations such as Broad St. and Bexley.

Down at the Elephant Rocks we circumambulated the impressive rocks on the other side of the trail and polished off what was left of our lunches.

We soon met a solo guy who inquired whether he was on the way to the Three Lakes Valley trail; Joan told him he was on it! He'd intended to go to Headwall Lakes, whose trail also leaves from the Chester Lake parking, but became turned around.

More people were at Chester Lake, with even more arriving. The cow parnsip was in full bloom and covered by buzzing flies.

Shortly after leaving the lake we met a man who was standing guard as his wife and daughter were taking an off-trail pit stop. He was skeptical of the bear warnings (we saw one covering the whole of Kananaskis the next day), having seen no scat, which he said he often saw while cycling Back East.

Fifteen minutes later I came around a bend in the trail and saw a grizzly at the next bend, headed our way. This was the first in-person in-the-wild meeting we'd had in fourteen years of hiking. I halted abruptly and said, "bear;" Joan was expecting "grouse" or something more prosaic. She started chatting at the bear, to let it know we were humans, and she reminded me to pull out the bear spray on my belt. I belatedly started talking too. The bear, of a size that made us think it was his first year away from Mom, swung his head back and forth. He took a hesitant step or two in our direction, wanting to stay on the trail rather than beat cross-country, but then he turned and trotted uphill through the woods. We were a bit rattled, of course, but the rest of the walk down to the car was uneventful. We reported the encounter back at Mt. Engadine Lodge.

Our last night at the lodge was a fine one. Joan and I certainly had a story to tell!

The moon was high in the sky when the sun set.

Time to go pack ...

Great Bear Rainforest (Part 3)

The evening of the 2nd day and morning of the 3rd were taken up with grizzly watching from our zodiacs at Mussel Estuary. Accordingly, this blog entry will be mostly photos. Two other boats were in the estuary, but we stayed out of each others way. The morning trip was pre-breakfast, and we got several hours of viewing before anybody else showed up.

Here is an action shot. In the evening, we were watching a mother and cub on one bank, and a solo female, Blondie, on the other.

The next morning, we watched the mother and cub forage for salmon up and down the bank, in slow-moving water, and in fast-moving water. 

Here our ursine friends give us a quick, unconcerned glance before ambling off.

I took this shot on the way back to the Island Roamer. Look closely at the silhouetted stump ... on the right side is a bald eagle. We saw lots of bald eagles on this trip. (The tip for spotting bald eagles is to look for "golf balls" in the trees. They are the heads of the eagles.)

Here are two happy grizzly watchers, Mareda and Joan.