On the 13th Day of Hiking (Buller Pass)

Joan and I awakened on Sept. 18th to an unknown object blazing in the sky, illuminating mountains and casting shadows.

It must be the sun!

After many days of snow, what a sight. But, excuse me, breakfast beckons here at Mount Engadine Lodge.

There are rumors of possible afternoon precipitation, which wouldn't surprise us, but we're not going to be deterred. Today we're heading for Buller Pass, which we last hiked six years ago. After scraping ice off the car's windshield we drove up to the Buller Day Use Area and parked at the red circle on the left. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

There we met "Okotoks," a man nicknamed after the town in Alberta. He was assembling his gear and waiting for his meet-up group to assemble, and very friendly. Joan and I advised him that although we were setting off first, he and his group were bound to pass us at some point.

We crossed the road and hit the intersection of the Buller Pass and High Rockies trails.

Soon after the signposts we worked up the first climb, which led to one of the areas hit by the prescribed burn in 2011.

For a while we were gently ascending the valley of Buller Creek.

Then a refreshing stretch of greener forest.

Beyond the forest and a creek crossing was another major uphill. At one point I took this photo looking back the way we'd come.

Getting higher, but there's still a long way to go.

Eventually we were rewarded with this waterfall and pool.

The path splits soon thereafter, going to either side of the mountain in the photo. To the left, a less-traveled route to North Buller Pass, and to the right, a well-used trail to South Buller Pass, our destination. One tongue of the burn took that trail.

Joan and I heard a pika and kinglets, and saw a pair of Clark's nutcrackers. We also spotted fireweed, aster, dwarf dogwood, cinquefoil, pearly everlasting, and other such plants.

The trees shrank and petered out. The resultant meadow was pockmarked with bear diggings, where they had been uprooting tasty tubers. Not so long ago.

In the distance, the low point is the pass.

We went a bit further and then decided to have first lunch before tackling the steep and narrow final climb. The meet-up gang caught up to us and paused just beyond our sit-spot. We set out towards the pass, getting in front of the group again, and trudged up to the snow zone.

I paused when I encountered a high drift across the trail. I'd never experienced this kind of hiking obstacle before, where I had no idea what direction the trail headed once I entered the drift. Fortunately someone had been there already today, so I followed in those footsteps. This photo was taken on the way back down, after many people had come across.

The stronger hikers in the meet-up group reached us, and finally we all reached the pass. This photo is looking east, down to Ribbon Lake. The low spot to the right of the ramparts guarding the lake is Guinn's Pass. 

More of the meet-up group arrived,

and we all lingered for a while, admiring the sights.

Zooming in on Ribbon Lake. You can hike there from the other side, Highway 40, but it's a strenuous hike that includes a cliff face with chains.

This was the view looking back the way we'd come. You can tell we've gained 670m / 2200 ft.

Getting cloudy, but no precipitation today.

Joan and I gingerly descended the steep pass, and stopped for second lunch not far from where we'd consumed first lunch. The meet-up group re-formed and passed by; we'd not see them again.

We continued down the valley.

It was a quicker march down than up, but the round trip took us seven hours. Although tired Joan and I were pleased at our success, at the weather holding, and at all that we had seen. And we cleaned our plates at dinner! Unfortunately there were again no moose; rumor was that the construction clamor kept them away.

That evening the downstairs gathering was still noisy at 10:00, so I put on my bathrobe and put in an appearance, explaining that they were right below us. One guy (staff?) said, "Don't worry, we'll take care of it." I mentioned that I understood that the proceedings were supposed to move to the next room by this time, and he repeated, "Don't worry, we'll take care of it." It soon became clear that no one had budged from in front of the fire, and the noise level diminished only to 9 from a 10. But at least they broke up earlier than last night.

Joan mentioned the failure to observe the quiet hour when checking out the next morning, and the manager seemed surprised. He also did not make any mention of a gratuity for the staff, which we overhead him making to other guests. (Side note: based on our experience in other places and times, the glamping tents could prove to be particularly noisy if you have rowdy neighbors.) We won't book the Owl Room again. In fact, when we decided to shorten our 2019 visit by a couple of days, what we omitted in our planning was Mt. Engadine. Joan and I will try this wonderful lodge again, but not next year.

We loaded our stuff into Corey, our rental Corolla, eased past the glamping construction, and headed for Upper Kananasksis Lake. That's for the next post.

On the 12th Day of HIking (Consolation Lake)

September 17th was a transition day, but being allowed to leave our car in guest parking until 2pm, Joan and I were able to take a morning hike to the Consolation Lakes.

This was the morning view from our cabin's petite balcony. A couple of inches of fresh snow had replaced yesterday's melt.

The trail starts from the rockpile at the end of Moraine Lake, seen in this photo,

and then winds up the next valley. The route was slushy, sometimes muddy or harboring ponding meltwater. Trees often shed a load of snow, so although it wasn't precipitating, we had covered our daypacks. This hike was mixed uphill and rolling stretches, but with no long ultra-steep parts. We certainly weren't the only ones on the trail.

Stopping among the rocks on the north shore of the lower lake, I took a photo of this tree, a real "leaner."

Joan and I wished we could have gotten closer to the true lakeshore, but there was still much to admire. This was the view looking south towards the lower lake.

The upper lake was a bit more than a kilometer away. It's theoretically approachable by hiking down either side of the lower lake, but under these conditions that would take a long, slippery time.

Looking north down the outlet stream.

The return walk was tedious, our third day on slushy trails surrounded by trees. I was, however, getting better at skid-sliding down the gentler stretches.

Back at the lodge a modest but free lunch buffet for departing guests offered a hot, well-spiced soup and serviceable sandwiches.  Then Joan and I took a walk along Moraine Lake. Near the end of our stroll the sun appeared.

Some photographers had more patience than I did!

Photographers and fishers.

After waiting several minutes for a service vehicle parked in the lodge driveway to move, we departed, filling up on gas in Lake Louise before heading south/east on the TransCanada, bound for Mt. Engadine Lodge. Highway 762, which climbs from Canmore to the Spray Lakes valley, still had construction going on near the crest. This made it a one-lane road with lots of fallen/dismantled rock on the right, and equipment and a sheer drop on the left. Fortunately, this stretch was brief, and our wait for our turn wasn't long. The traffic regulating lights seemed to be on a five-minute cycle regardless of traffic.

Shortly after the construction zone we saw mountain sheep on the side of the road. Then, the next 16 km of road was full of potholes, but the final 20 weren't as bad. We turned into the Engadine driveway to see glamping tents under construction. Partially built structures on the right, tools and generators on the left, and cables across the driveway, but we could still drive in. However, the tents are close to the meadow; Joan and I hope they don't prevent the moose for which Engadine is famous from visiting in the future. We hadn't seen any last year, although possibly that was a snowy September phenomenon.

Booking Engadine, even nine or ten months in advance, has become frustrating. Our favorite room is the Moose, which is spacious and quiet, has good views, and offers an indoor route to the rest of the lodge. The Elk, on the ground floor underneath the Moose, isn't bad but does receive some kitchen noise, and there's a small dash outdoors to the lodge. But we couldn't get into either one on any days we could manage. So it became our first time in the Owl room, which is smaller but has two windows and connects indoors (as opposed to cabins or the future glamping tents).

Here, at a lower altitude than Lake O'Hara or Moraine Lake, there was less snow. We saw a marsh hawk flying low above the meadow, hunting for its next meal.

The view from the lodge deck.

Joan and I returned to the Owl room following a spectacular dinner (with no moose sightings). After taking notes on the day, etc., it was time for bed. For us. A serious flaw of the Owl room became apparent: it's situated over the common/fireplace room on the first floor, and at the head of the stairs. A boisterous conversation downstairs carried clearly into our room. Closing the hallway door and cramming towels into the gap beneath our door didn't help. The party didn't break up until almost 11.

We complained to the manager the next day, and he said that the staff is supposed to move people into a smaller room adjacent to the fireplace room by 10:00, which wouldn't broadcast noise upstairs. He would remind the staff of this. Joan let me know that if it was noisy again that night, I'd be going downstairs to hush the rowdies.

Meanwhile, we'll spend the day hiking to Buller Pass, a vigorous hike we hadn't taken since 2012. It was time.

Smoke and Snow: Rummel Lake and High Rockies Trail

Our view from Mount Engadine Lodge on the morning of September 21st was snowy. There was an inch or two of the white stuff on the ground, and the mountains were invisible.

After breakfast Joan and I stumbled through where to go, what to take, and what's already in the car? For a few minutes it looked like the pigs might be able to accompany us, as during the second day at Upper Kananaskis Lake, but our hopes were trashed as the widespread snow re-intensified, a waxing and waning pattern that would repeat through the day.

The best idea was Joan's, to take the Rummel Lake trail, just across the road, to its junction with the new High Rockies trail.

The Rummel Lake trail is tedious in its lower stretches, where it follows an old logging road, and today climbing higher did not reveal any views. Clouds and snow filled the sky. Our eyes remained largely focused on the trail, which was becoming whiter and whiter. Then we spotted tracks in that fluff, bird tracks. Joan and I slowed down and scanned our surroundings. We saw, now off the trail, a male spruce grouse.

We stayed on the path, but I zoomed the camera in on our fellow. Love those eyebrows! Click on the image to enlarge.

Joan and I gave him some encouraging words and moved on.

It seemed further than 2km, but we arrived at the junction with the High Rockies Trail. Not something we could have overlooked.

It was time to reshuffle our gear. To take this photo I left my heavy gloves stuffed into the loops of my hiking poles, and they resembled black wind socks.

Or perhaps the invisible man was standing there?

Joan and I set off south on the High Rockies. Most trails head up, towards a goal -- Chester Lake, West Wind Pass, and such -- but the High Rockies rolls and weaves along the mountain flanks, an expressway with no particular destination.

At this altitude the temperature hovered just below freezing, so flakes and ice pellets built up on our sleeves, pack covers, and hats. After forty minutes we decided to turn around, having seen nothing except the bubble of trees and snow surrounding us. The next available "destination" would be the Chester Lake parking area, and today we weren't interested in going that far (and back again).

As we descended towards the lodge we saw that, although snow was still coming down, it wasn't cold enough to prevent the slush on the trail from thinning and retreating. Joan and I reached the lodge, shed our layers, and hung them to dry. We started our "trail" lunch at 2:00pm warm and snug indoors. This was the view from our room.

On the next day, the 22nd, our last day, the weather was changing for the better. There was snow on Tent Ridge and the other elevated places to admire during breakfast.

Joan and I drove north towards Canmore after checking out.

A view along the Spray Lakes.

A zoom shot of one of the mountains above the road. It was still crowned with clouds.

In Canmore we had time to explore. We located a pop-up art shop with wonderful browsing, and tracked down the Jacek Chocolate outlet inside the Stonewaters Home Elements store, purchasing several truffles and small bars. At the Canadian Rockies Earth Science Resource Center a young fellow gave us a tour of exhibits with explanations of the geology of the region, and of the efforts to map it. We also inspected specimens and instruments. Le Chocolatier was our final stop in town, where we bought large chocolate bars, truffles, and other delights to take home for ourselves and for friends.

The last item on our list before driving to Calgary was the Barrier Lakes Information Centre. It is forbidden to take bear spray on an airplane, either checked or as carry-on, so we purchase our bear spray at this centre before hiking, and return it (as a free donation to be used in demonstrations) as we depart.

Joan and I checked into the new airport Marriott hotel, and I decided to check my email after a long time of either being out of range or snubbing the internet. I received a jolt: there was a warning about dubious credit-card charges sent by the card issuer. The card had indeed been compromised. I had trouble dialing the 800 number on either my mobile phone or the hotel room's phone, but the front desk dialed it for me and I finished that upsetting business just in time for dinner with our Calgary friend Barry.

The next day we flew back to Columbus via Minneapolis. Our trip of smoke and snow ended with a tropical homecoming -- we were dazed by 90° temperatures and high humidity. Was this really September 23rd in Ohio??

Smoke and Snow: Bridges on the Galatea Lakes Trail

Wednesday, September 20th. Joan and I breakfasted at the Forté restaurant within the Delta Kananaskis Lodge (now the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge). The smoked salmon and eggs bake, a dish very much like eggs benedict, was good. The menu item called eggs benedict, however, had no meat in it. None, nada, zero. The server and the kitchen verified that this was correct and by design. To us, this verged on false advertising!

We drove down to the Galatea Lakes trailhead and set off, again visiting the new incarnation of a trail that had been knocked out of commission by the 2013 floods, in this case one we'd never been on. The route, meandering west and up the watershed, has been laid over the terrain in this Google Maps image.

The trail dips rapidly and then crosses the Kananaskis River on a suspension bridge.

We were passed by a faster couple here, and they told us the path ahead boasts 10 more bridges as it winds up the valley of Galatea Creek, all reconstructed.

Our second bridge crossed to the north side of the creek, and the junction with the Terrace Trail. It was framed in fiberglass, which we'd first seen in 2016 hiking down from Prairie View to Jewell Creek.

Next to it was an improvisational bridge based on the remains of the original. Probably useless after a rain!

After a section of switchbacks the trail followed the creek more gently upstream. Here Joan and I are approaching bridge #3, which was built from logs, not fiberglass.

Crossing #3. A nice fresh deck!

From  #3 we could see bridge #4.

Soon we were there. In this photo there's a large, moss-covered stone at far left.

From #4, Joan and I could see two tributaries feeding into Galatea Creek.

 Zooming in on the little waterfall.

Shortly thereafter, another large chunk of mountain.

On to bridge #5, another log construction.

 The approach to bridge #6 skirted a large wash and the ruins of the old bridge.

Bridge 6 was not far upstream.

 This bridge was built with the fiberglass framing also seen in the second one. I'm guessing that the longer spans get fiberglass.

Click on the above image to enlarge it and white spots and streaks will appear. The snow flurries that had been increasing as we ascended were now thick enough to catch the camera's eye.

My notes say this was bridge #7, not #6. Either I failed to photograph one, or lost count!

This seemed a good spot to turn around. The snow would continue to increase if we went higher, and we didn't have time to make it all the way to the lakes anyway. However, this trail is one of our ambitions for 2018. On the way down we spotted some bear scat but never saw or heard anybody of the ursine persuasion. We did yell "Yo Bear!" periodically.

At the junction with the Terrace Trail we took that trail north. In 2013 Joan and I had taken the Terrace Trail south from Kananaskis Lodge most, but not all, of the way down, and we wanted to plug that gap. It would be easy to find the 2013 spot ... the rubble outwash from Mt. Kidd. This image predates the 2013 floods, but the channel is clear.

On the way we encountered this tree, which has oozed layer upon layer of protective sap.

 When peeking closer we saw trapped insects.

The rubble field came into view. There's a vague trail scuffed into the detritus, but we kept our eye on the path emerging from the far side.

It's obvious where all those stones, large and small, came from.

Joan and I lunched here. My hands grew steadily colder, and I was ready to move on immediately after the last bite. We hiked north for another quarter-hour and then returned.

From the parking area we drove down to Kananaskis Lakes and then up the Smith-Dorrien through waves of heavy flurries to Mount Engadine Lodge, where we'd spend the next two nights. The Moose Suite offers a great view of the meadow.

Dinner was great. The house wine was a British Columbia merlot, the least expensive offering, and it was good. We never get a chance to sample B.C. wines in Ohio! Dinner chats included a long discussion with a Malaysian woman about hiking in the area, including pulling out maps and pointing out options.

In late September it got dark early. It almost never happens, but tonight no moose showed up to check out the mud wallow just below the lodge.

Our choice of hike tomorrow would hinge on the weather when we woke up.