HIking Canada 2023: Last Day at O'Hara

July 21st, 2023, was our last day at Lake O'Hara. We had signed up for the 4:00pm bus, so Joan and I had time to take one last hike. When we need a quick return, we often choose the Opabin Plateau. This day we climbed to the plateau from the west, the route more scenic and more likely to provide wildlife sightings.

The rocky slopes often hold pikas or marmots.

And today we did see a pika on the way up. We took the trail to the prospect at the next intersection, which is always a treat. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

Continuing from the prospect, Joan and I reached the "hidden" stairs from the heights down to the Cascade Lakes. They're "hidden" from this direction because the hiker must step down through apparently meaningless gaps in the rock formation. This year, stones lined the true path.

Looking back from here revealed the Cascade Lakes.

This panoramic sweep reveals, starting at the left, the Cascade Lakes, the Opabin Highline, and, in the far distance, the Opabin glacier.

We took the low circuit and soon stared at this rocky ridge, a glacial deposit that hides Lake Opabin.

Climbing up the west path, we reached the lake.

Joan and I settled down for first lunch. Dark clouds gathering in the south had us wondering about rain, but fortunately they passed us by. A few mosquitoes visited us, an event we rarely encounter at O'Hara. Our view during lunch:

Here's a closeup of the glacial patch that remains.

Not much, eh?

We began returning along the Highline, which offered many views, including the "hidden stairs" formation.

From here we could see, through binoculars, hikers at All Souls Prospect. (Click on any image to enlarge).

This was the beginning of the descent on the West Opabin trail.

Near the bottom, we encountered a man looking for the rest of his family, including a young girl -- had we seen them? Joan and I had no information to offer.

At the bottom, I proposed an extension before returning to the lodge for tea-time. We hiked around the O'Hara lake shore to the East Opabin trailhead; it was a longer (more time-consuming) jaunt than I expected, and the bench was already taken. Despite my poor choice, there was still time to relax at the lodge before taking the bus down 11 km to the parking area.

From there, we drove to Moraine Lake. The hordes bound for Moraine have forced Parks Canada to ban private vehicles on the narrow 12-km approach road, except for bicycles. Commercial and shuttle buses now dominate the parking area. However, guests at the lodge can drive their own car up ... yippee! After dinner we collapsed, as our "lesser activity" day had been packed.

Back to Canada: Opabin Plateau and Low Pressure

July 20th, 2022, was our last day at Lake O'Hara. Joan and I had signed up for the afternoon (4pm) bus, making room for one more hike. We chose to stay closer to O'Hara and aimed for the Opabin Plateau, in the lower center of this map. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

As you can see, several trails crisscross the plateau's varied terrain. We started by skirting Mary Lake on the West Opabin trail, and it soon began a rocky climb, where a marmot spotted us.

He was busy foraging and ignored us.

Joan and I pulled up our binoculars and zoomed in.

Partway up, I took this look back toward O'Hara.

Joan and I decided to go a short way along the All Souls alpine route, to visit the stretch of rocky tableland that precedes the slopes of Mount Schaffer. This photo is of the trail intersection. Hikers headed towards the All Souls prospect proceed up among the rocks following alpine route blazes, blue paint patches with two yellow bars embedded.

We clambered up the stones and reached the "top,"

Looking back the way we came

and meandered until we found a congenial spot to look down on O'Hara. The wooded plateau on the right is the Opabin prospect.

A host of  landmarks were visible from this spot, including Wiwaxy gap, in the saddle above and beyond Opabin. The air was so clear that, with binoculars, we could see hikers there. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Joan and I returned to the trail intersection and walked to the tip of the Opabin prospect. Here's the view:

Many trails explore Opabin, as the map at the start of this post shows. We continued from the prospect and emerged to a viewpoint overlooking the streams, ponds, and lakes flowing down the plateau.

Those boulders and bluffs on the far side are a portion of the Highline trail, one of our favorites. We descended to the streams and crossed at the next bridge. Looking back, Joan and I could see our descent route.

After the initial climb, the Highline trail turns into a tabletop meander with its own views.

Joan and I saw marmots on the Highline, both up at our altitude and down below. We found a good roost for our light lunch, with a browsing marmot on the valley floor providing a show. Then we decided it was time to begin our return to O'Hara, with time for a tea-hour stop at the lodge before boarding the bus for an 11km ride down to the parking area.

 

We descended and hiked to the stream crossing, where we noticed a cluster of people on the far side. Joan and I continued over and discovered an accident scene. A woman had fallen and hit her head on one of the flat stones forming the trail, and she was unconscious and bleeding. It was a multi-generational family group, including mom, who had fallen, and her adult daughter. The daughter's husband had already begun a run for help. An additional hiker was there with an emergency radio beacon, and a helicopter had been summoned by pressing its red button. There was nothing Joan and I could contribute in those circumstances, so we continued on and descended by the west trail.

A helicopter flew in and landed briefly, out of our view, perhaps delivering an emergency responder. A bit later, a larger helicopter flew in and landed for several minutes, doubtless loading the injured woman and maybe a family member. Due to the altitude, this helicopter circled the plateau twice, climbing all the while, and then disappeared over Abbot Pass (9600') headed east. Joan and I drew closer to O'Hara, and a helicopter arrived at the warden's cabin, perhaps to pick up the husband and/or the family's gear.

After a brief respite at the lodge, we boarded the bus to the O'Hara parking lot. There we hauled our luggage to the rental car, drove to the Trans-Canada Highway, and headed for our next accommodation, Storm Mountain Lodge and Cabins, 38 km/24 mi away.

"TING!" the car announced. Unequal tire pressure, according to the light on the dash. Crap. The car wasn't pulling to either side, so we continued to Storm Mountain. At dinner, I borrowed a tire gauge from another guest, and the front right tire barely pushed it to 14 lb. of pressure, while the other three were over-inflated to 40 lb. We asked the waitstaff if anyone at Storm Mountain could check and inflate the tire? Yes -- the chef, Gary, once he had a break! He adjusted all four tires.

But should we trust the tire? Our vehicle's trunk held a temporary spare, but it was rated for only 50 miles at 50mph. That was not an option. To make a very long story shorter, I'll just report that after several phone calls to Enterprise, including the closest location (Banff) remarking that "national doesn't know what it's talking about," we arranged, through the goodwill of the staff there, to exchange vehicles the next day. Banff is not a major location for Enterprise and usually has no cars to spare.

 

As an aside, I'm weighing whether to be superstitious about July 20th. That's when I had a major bicycle accident in 1996, the day my father passed away in 2009, and now the events of today!

Tomorrow would begin with the drive to Banff, about half an hour away.

Back to Canada: Opabin Plateau

The weather forecast for July 17th included a chance of rain, so Joan and I opted to hike on the Opabin Plateau, which has much to see but is less exposed than many other trails, and doesn't take us as far from O'Hara. We chose the West Opabin trail, more likely to reveal pikas or marmots than the East trail.

Lots of trails, lots of exploration up on Opabin.

This trail again took us past Mary Lake, but on the other side. Of course, there were flowers along the way.

A yellow columbine poking up above the rest.

The trail began to climb more steeply, and we emerged from the woods, climbing near the base of the plateau through rocky areas.

After briefly spotting an elusive pika, Joan and I admired a stoic pika looking the other way. It's still shedding its winter coat! (Click on the image to enlarge.)

On reaching the edge of the plateau we had a choice of paths, and decided to visit the prospect first.

Joan and I walked around to the heights above and to the west of the lower stretch of ponds and river.

From a high spot, before descending to the waters, I took this photo that shows two trails, the Yukness Ledges alpine route (indicated by a red arrow, bottom right), and the very unofficial Sleeping Poets Pool track (green arrow). Yukness Ledges is level but not flat, that is, you don't gain altitude but you go up and down a lot. The Poets Pool, on a wide ledge above the Yukness route, is reached by a very steep and sketchy path, a bit of work going up and demanding careful foot placement going down. (Please click on the image to enlarge.)

As we climbed the final hill to Opabin Lake on the west-side trail, I took this photo looking back. The large lake is Hungabee Lake, and the Moor Lakes lie beyond.

Joan and I settled down for lunch near the east end of Opabin Lake.

There we met a woman who worked for the Alberta Provincial Parks, and had discussions about ever-changing park budgets and regulations. At one point we spotted a golden eagle and studied it as well as we could as it flew on.

 

Returning on the east side, another photo down to Hungabee.

We returned on the highline trail, between the east and west trails. There were good views down to the other trails.

From our perch we saw glimpses of marmots, but none held still long enough for me to grab a photo.

For the sake of variety we took the east trail back down to O'Hara, and along the shoreline spring pollen had accumulated in downwind areas.

There was plenty of admire along the lakeshore, including creeping beardtongue,

and an orchid, a northern twayblade.

All in all, a satisfying and rain-free day!

Smoke and Snow: All Souls Prospect

September 15th, our last day at Lake O'Hara, had the best weather of the last three days.

Where to hike? We needed to be back in time for the 4:00 bus, so Joan and I chose All Souls Prospect and on to Opabin Plateau, rather than Wiwaxy Gap and on to Lake Oesa.

We started by repeating Big Larches, but with a side trip to Mary Lake. All Souls Prospect is the triangular promontory in front of the line of peaks.

The waters of Mary Lake were reflective, green-tinted glass.

When climbing Big Larches we were favored with a pika viewing.

When not keeping lookout, the pikas were busy foraging, accumulating "haystacks" of fodder beneath the rocks for the winter months.

The All Souls alpine route branched off just before the Big Larches trail reached Schaeffer Lake.

After a few easy switchbacks the route became steep and rocky.

Sometimes it was necessary to look for the alpine blazes, two vertical yellow bars on a blue square, while at other times the path was obvious. But always up; our hiking poles were essential today. 

At least the exertion kept Joan and me warm, for in the shade or at a breezy spot, with which All Souls is well endowed, it was very cold. The muddy patches bristled with long ice needles. We continued to climb.

Partway up there was a natural terrace, handy for catching the breath, adjusting boots,

 and taking in the view.

Continuing on, Joan and I encountered a trail volunteer repainting alpine blazes. She was chilled, sitting on the ground with just her jacket and cap against the wind. We chatted briefly before she resumed administering fresh blue and yellow paint over faded markings.

We were first to the cairn atop the Prospect, despite our deliberate pace.

Perhaps this was because we were headed counter-clockwise on the Alpine Circuit. If a hiker traverses the entire circle of alpine routes around Lake O'Hara in a day, with photographic proof at key locations including Wiwaxy Gap and All Souls, he/she can sign a register at the lodge and be awarded a pin. Most often this challenge is taken up in a clockwise direction to avoid going down from Wiwaxy Gap, making All Souls the final leg before descending to O'Hara.

 Looking over to Odaray Mountain.

 Lake O'Hara, Wiwaxy Gap, Huber and part of Yukness Ledges.

Our solitude was brief. Peter arrived up from the Opabin Plateau, having come down from the (now defunct) Abbot Hut and across the Yukness Ledges. We marveled at his strength, and we took turns portrait-taking.

Four more arrived by the way we had come, and Joan and I had a "first lunch." It was much too cold -- my fingers were freezing -- to eat it all there. We hiked down the All Souls route towards the Opabin Plateau.

A closer look at Opabin Prospect across the way.

We stopped at the Rock Garden, a zone of tall slabs and boulders near Opabin, to finish our lunch, including the all-important Lake O'Hara cookies. A pika was sunning nearby.

The All Souls route reaches the West Opabin trail via a tall boulder waterfall from the Garden. In this photo Joan and I were partway down, and a trio at the junction were discussing. (Click on the image to enlarge.) Again the hiking poles were handy.

Looking back up from the junction.

As we started down the West Opabin trail, headed for the lodge and bus, we spotted a mountain goat browsing on a ledge below the All Souls route we'd just finished. The distance demanded binoculars.

We passed this duck on the shore of Lake O'Hara, perhaps a female, or non-breeding-plumage male, Barrow's Goldeneye.

Joan and I reached the lodge in time for a pit stop and the afternoon tea. We had greatly enjoyed our time at O'Hara, as always, despite some weather challenges.

At 4:00 the bus took us 11 km to the parking area, and we drove down Kicking Horse Pass to Cathedral Mountain Lodge. Tomorrow would be our final day of hiking in Yoho National Park before shifting our activity to Kananaskis Country. Our goal: the Iceline.