Mount Revelstoke, Yoho, and Glacier National Parks
We were slowly transforming into children of the forest. Always watching. Watching the woods and for woodland creatures: ptarmigans, golden-mantled ground squirrels, deer, elk, moose, bear. Watching for ice, for snow, watching the clouds and the sky and the incoming weather. Watching the faces of the mountains which wear a thousand hats in a day. Watching the stoic ranges live vicariously through the suns rays.
We were watching the snow dust the highest peaks and watching the sun come to melt it away. Sometimes the snow would accumulate and linger, but after a few days of balm the snow would disappear as delicately as it came.
After we arrived in Golden we started to see that cycle slow and eventually halt. With every snow, more and more remained.
We crossed the Continental Divide into British Columbia and were excited to see that with the greater moisture on the windward side of the mountains, the foliage seemed a few days behind where we had been, and were just about at peak. Golden was positively golden, with quite a bit of green still left on the trees. I had been hoping all along that our itinerary would take us from fall peak to fall peak, heading from leeward to windward, north to south, riding the wave of changing seasons into an artificially long autumn bonanza that would take us all the way back to Pennsylvania.
- - -
This post covers what we did while we stayed in the Golden, BC area, visiting three national parks - Mount Revelstoke, Yoho, and Glacier.
We had ten days in Golden -- four nights in a condo at the Kicking Horse ski resort (an entire ski resort accessed by a single lane wooden and steel bridge!), and then six nights in an airbnb cabin. The bridge through Kicking Horse Canyon to Yoho that we detoured around wouldn't open until October 8th at noon, and would close four days later at noon on the 12th. That would leave us with six days to visit Mount Revelstoke and Glacier.
Day 20 - October 5th, 2021
We were so excited to have a kitchen that we made two apple pies and a big pot of beef stew. We ate like kings!
We were coming off three straight days of big hikes so we decided to do some easy hiking in Mount Revelstoke. We would have rather taken a rest day but the next day was meant to have precipitation so we seized the good weather while we had it.
We endured three traffic stops on the way to Mount Revelstoke as well as crossing Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park, where it was snowing heavily. With all the construction the two hour drive ended up taking closer to three and a half hours.
We arrived in the park and noted that the trees were still mostly green out here. We visited the Giant Cedars Boardwalk, the Broken Bridge Trail, and Inspiration Woods. The latter two trails were about half way up the Meadows in the Sky Parkway, which goes all the way to near the summit of Mount Revelstoke.
The Broken Bridge Trail was a short walk to a small cascade with a bridge that had broken some 25 years prior. They left it broken because it was "picturesque". The timber remnants were in the process of being wholly reclaimed by the forest.
Inspiration Woods was not very inspirational -- park staff were doing a controlled burn and there wasn't much of interest along the trail besides a mossy forest floor. Which would have been quite pretty had the sun been out. Alas, it was not.
A little disappointed by today's return on investment, our weather senses began tingling and we stopped at an outfitter in town to pick up some microspikes. Would we need them? We hoped not, but we wanted to be prepared.
Day 21 - October 6th, 2021
Day 6 was indeed a weather day so we stayed home, ate a lot of ice cream and apple pie and enjoyed the hot tub.
Day 22 - October 7th, 2021
We decided to drive out to Mount Revelstoke again as Glacier was showing weather. I had wanted to do the 14 mile lake combo of Jade, Miller, and Eva Lakes, starting at the summit of Mount Revelstoke. We arrived in Revy (as the locals call it) and found it raining lightly, with Mount Revelstoke shrouded in mist. We went to the visitor center to wait for the rain to stop and eventually found a webcam at the top of the mountain which uh oh.... showed snow... we drove up to the park entrance and sure enough the ranger told us the parkway was closed halfway up at mile marker 13. Little did we know that yesterday was the last day it'd be open.
Feeling supremely gypped of our time investment, we stopped by Bear Creek Falls on the way back, in Glacier National Park. The sun was peeking out when we pulled into the trailhead and the trail was only wet, so we headed down the steep trail to the waterfall. The falls ended up being very beautiful, and we left feeling like the day wasn't a complete waste.
With two days of poor hiking and poor weather I was starting to become pessimistic about the rest of our time in Canada with the approaching winter. I did have a moment of wild optimism though, when I learned that I can eat at McDonalds in Canada. Canadian McD's have a dedicated fryer for their french fries so nothing else goes in that can contaminate them! They also have gluten-free poutine, which was so so so so good. I told some Canadians about this and they laughed.
Day 23 - October 8th, 2021
We said goodbye to the luxuries of a condo in the AM and headed towards Kicking Horse Canyon to get in line to cross and head over to Yoho. I was pretty anxious to see how the weather was over there -- I couldn't help but feel that the weather had changed permanently for the season and our fun would be over.
We crossed the canyon at noon where it looked like construction was wrapping up for the holiday, and headed over to the Paget Lookout trail. It was quite cold and windy at the trailhead, and only patches of snow on the ground.
We crossed the wildlife fence and headed up. We passed by a stunning overlook of Sherbrook Lake with a spectacular mountain ridge behind, lightly dusted with snow that had not yet melted on the northeast faces. It gave the mountain a metallic glow.
The trail continued steeply upwards and as we ascended the snow increased, but luckily only to a few inches. Before long we arrived at the lookout and across the valley was a beautiful vista of snowy peaks.
All of my pessimism was wiped away. Who cares about some snow and ice on the trail when the views look like this?
We smelled an animal on the way back down but thankfully didn't see anything. We always enjoyed fewer people on the trail as we stayed later and later into the end of the season but were also often spooked about being the only humans on the trail.
By the time we were making our way back to the trailhead the snow had already started to melt. We hoped that this was a warming trend for our next few days....
We headed back towards Golden, stopping to visit Wapta Falls. We powerwalked as fast as we could through the gloomy forest and away from the crying children at the trailhead.
We passed by a particularly burly tree that reminded us of the elder wand from Harry Potter.
We arrived at the falls just as the sun was about to disappear below the mountains. It was a short scramble down to the water, where several other people were cavorting about and taking photographs.
The water was a hallmark Canadian Glacial Flour turquoise green. The primary rock present here is Burgess Shale, a flaky sedimentary stone which is full of fossils. We flipped some pieces over looking for ancient remains but didn't find any.
We turned to the falls --where the sun was hitting at justtt the right angle for a DOUBLE RAINBOW! Those are sheets of Burgess Shale blocking the view of the waterfall. The waterfall has eroded the shale where it drops, but the layers that were just out of reach of summers meltwater remain.
We admired the view until the sun was just about to set, and then hiked back and headed over to our new place in Blaeberry. Blaeberry is tucked away along the edges of the greater valley that holds Golden and was quite rural and very peaceful. The neighbors had some unusual artwork out front!
We pulled in and were greeted by Jasper the dog and a very cute cat, who was not forthcoming with her name. The little cabin was pretty well outfitted, except for one little quirk. The hot water heater must have been only 5 gallons, because the shower was depleted of hot water in about 3 minutes. You had enough time to wash your hair OR your body, but not both.
Day 24 - October 9th, 2021
We headed up to Yoho again to do a sampler hike, including the length of the Iceline, which a ranger recommended to me. We were quite apprehensive about snow, especially considering the name of the trail, and we headed out with intrepid intrigue.
It was very cold at the start, and the ground was frozen solid with a layer of frost. The first leg of the trail passed by Takkakaw Falls, a long thread-like drop with frozen mist clinging to the canyon walls. I stopped to take some photos because I knew the ice would be gone by the time we got back -- and Vitali was quite irked. "We'll never finish!" he wailed plaintively.
The trail continued to be thoroughly frozen but snow and ice free. We took this as a positive sign and quickly crossed the length of the first leg of the loop, coming upon multiple trail splits to Angels Staircase Falls, Point Lace Falls, and Duchesnay Lake, which we elected to skip to keep the mileage down.
While performing a particularly acrobatic hiking maneuver, Vitali experienced a blow-out in his favorite hiking pants. Luckily he had leggings on underneath.
Our last point of interest along Yoho Valley was Laughing Falls, a spectacular waterfall which we found to our delight, was in the process of becoming frozen. It was beautiful. Huge icicles clung to the rocks around the fall and the waterfall mist had coated the entire area with a tonguing of ice.
The trail took a left behind the waterfall and we began ascending into Little Yoho Valley. There was a somewhat steep section at the start but once we gained the shelf it was more moderate for the rest of the second leg.
Snow and ice began appearing on the trail, gradually increasing in depth until it was a few inches of fluffy powder.
At the head of Little Yoho Valley was an alpine hut where at least one backpacker was staying. Surrounding the open meadow nearby were beautiful snow-capped peaks, bathing in the warm sunshine.
We passed a ranger station too, although I think it was closed for the winter.
We made a sharp turn left again and officially joined the Iceline. Our anticipation of trail conditions were immediately answered -- over the course of a few hundred feet the snow depth quickly increased by several inches. We slipped on our new microspikes for the first time, which performed well in the wet snow, and less well on a 50 foot section of solid ice.
We continued up a short steep hill and turned around to see the valley we had just left. What a view! The Iceline was meant to have spectacular views, and here we were finally getting the first taste. Up until the top of Little Yoho Valley the views had been only forest. I had planned it counter-clockwise to leave the best for last and I'm glad we did it that way.
We walked along a ridge for maybe a quarter mile, reveling in the magnificent views around us. The mountains we could see here had beautiful sinuous folds, appearing much more delicate and pliable than the unforgiving quarry of limestone and shale reality.
There's something very special about being out in the mountains in the winter. Sure, the summer is fantastic -- the days are long, the sunshine is warm, and temperatures are reassuring. Plants and animals alike are rejoicing in the bounty of the season.
In the winter though... you have a chance to peek at the true nature of the mountains. An immense stillness settles upon the sleeping land, and within that stillness a latent capacity to transform into an unforgiving tempest of penetrating ferocity.
That transcendent solemnity is enough to make you quit your job, camp for six months, and drive 26,000 miles to get to it.
It felt quite auspicious that we were able to get up here and experience the trail at a time when the mountains are in the depths of profound change. We picked our way across the alpine landscape, covered in snow varying from 4"-10". The wind was thankfully not too aggressive, although the sky was beginning to show signs of the incoming storm that was forecast for the evening.
We passed a handful of small lakes and tarns, which frankly littered the landscape, with their thin layers of ice and mutable blue hues. The trail meandered up, down, and around small hills of talus, continuing generally in a southeast direction. Vitali skipped some rocks on the frozen lake and I heard the strangely synthetic pinging it makes for the first time.
We met a few groups asking us where we had come from and advised them on timing. After seeing the incoming storm we hoped they would be able to get off the mountain safely.
Finally the trail began a gradual descent, just as the sky was beginning to look its darkest.
We continued past a few streams, dodging sheets of ice and morasses of slush. Once we started to descend in earnest we let gravity take the wheel and quickly lost enough altitude for the snow to disappear.
The trail changed from rocks and gravel to reassuring soft soil once we were welcomed back into the safety of below treeline.
We arrived at the road a shortwhile later, just when it started to snow.
Day 25 - October 10th, 2021
Today was another weather day.
Day 26 - October 11th, 2021
We had originally planned for a mere three weeks in Canada when we planned to go in July. I am so grateful we were able to expand our visit this fall, and to have the opportunity to really be immersed in this place. One of my favorite things was driving the same road at different times of the day, in different directions, in different weather. You never knew which face the mountain would put on.
The sun rose to a clear sky the next morning and we headed for Emerald Lake, another recommendation of the park ranger. It was forecast to be fine weather, and we would attempt another sampler loop.
We arrived at Emerald Lake and Numa read a chilly 24 degrees. We exited our vehicle, walked a hundred feet and were blown away by the view right at the edge of the parking lot. IMHO, this view blew Lake Louise and Moraine Lake out of the water. There was a thin fog settled on the water's surface and the mountain behind was brilliantly lit by the sunrise.
We headed past the lodge on the edge of the lake and out on to the trail, which wasn't marked, and frozen solid. The lodge looked mighty cozy inside, as we saw a family shivering in their pajamas and waiting with their suitcases outside for transport.
We expected more snow at elevation but had our fingers crossed we could complete the loop. We followed the edge of the lake until getting to the junction that would take us up to Burgess Pass and beyond.
We had to bushwhack a bit to get up past the first few hundred feet -- it seemed like the trail was not very popular. The trail surface was soft soil with just a dusting of snow, although as we gained elevation the snow increased.
We came upon the grouse that I learned are Ptarmigans, who ran ahead of us on the trail trying to get away. As he turned to flee he slipped on the snow and ate shit... It was adorable, little bunches of snow splattering as he tripped and his feathery chest hit the ground. He regained his composure, looked around like nothing had happened and then flapped away quite laboriously to a low branch.
We continued up the trail, on a seemingly unending series of switchbacks with increasing snow. It went from nothing, to a dusting, to about a foot up near the pass. We turned around to look about three quarters of the way up and knew we were going to have epic views. We labored and labored, following two sets of footprints ahead of us.
That is, until we passed the owners of the footprints (and their tiny dog which was clearly suffering), and were confronted with having to trailblaze through fresh snow the rest of the loop.
Do we continue? We debated this for a few minutes but ultimately decided to turn around. We had two legs left of the trail with unknown conditions. I was quite disappointed... we could see the pass, had put in all the effort to get there... and had to turn around. Next time.
We turned around at our high point and had just a glimpse of the views that promised up at the pass....
We headed back down and craned our necks to enjoy the views as much as we could.
It was much, much colder on the way back, since we were now only falling down the mountain in a controlled manner. I would guess in the single digits.
We stopped by an overlook we had passed on the way up, looking for some big mountain views that we were cheated of.
Slowly the snow decreased as we descended, getting closer and closer to the lake until we had made it back, flopping out of the overgrown trailhead. Even though we didn't get to complete this hike we still agreed that Yoho was our #2 favorite park behind Banff so far.
Day 27 - October 12th, 2021
Last on our list in Golden was Glacier National Park, which had remained frustratingly elusive with near constant precipitation in its forecast. Rogers Pass sits at a mere 4,360' but was worlds apart from Golden or Revelstoke in terms of weather. If I had done a little more research I would have endeavored to visit Glacier first since its elevation is higher than the other parks, and winter comes earlier.
We finally had a sunny day in the forecast. We hadn't been west of highway 1 since a few days prior, and we weren't sure what weather had brought itself to that part of the mountains. I checked the trail reports, all of which read as "Snowbound", and/or "Grizzly activity". I wasn't real confident about what we'd find.
We headed up to the pass and stopped at the visitor center to ask the ranger if snowshoes would be required on the trails. The answer was a resounding yes, and we had no snowshoes. We called some places but their snowshoe rentals "were still in the basement", so we were out of luck. But, the sky was clear and heartbreakingly blue. The snow covered mountains stood out in ripe contrast, waiting to be explored.
We decided to hike into the Asulkan Valley, which was lower elevation than the other hikes we were interested in, and decided to see where that got us.
The trail was snow-free for about a quarter of a mile and then we began to walk over frozen slush. I realized we might see some water and Vitali very kindly ran back to Numa to get the tripod.
We passed the site of the old Glacier House, which was a tourist stop on the old Trans-Canada railway. Wildly popular with intrepid adventurers, visitation increased year over year while avalanche mitigation proved to be an ongoing and deadly challenge. Over 200 lives were lost over a period of 30 years before the railway decided to construct a tunnel through the mountain to avoid the pass and avalanche issues, leaving the hotel cut off from direct access to the railway. The hotel closed in 1925 as visitation gradually decreased, and the building was dismantled to avoid future hazards. Now all that remains are the foundations, a relic and curiosity.
We took note of the increasing snow depth and continued onward up the valley, passing the meeting of two creeks. I set up my tripod that Vitali had retrieved and realized I didn't have my ND filter! 🎶Curb music plays🎶 Luckily, it was just dark enough that I got by without it.
We continued in deeper and saw the trail split for Glacier Crest. It was too alluring to pass by, so we strapped on our microspikes and headed up.
And by headed up I mean we trudged up the side of the mountain with increasing difficulty, being the first people on the trail since the last snow.
It started off with a few inches and turned into two feet before we gave up. Snowshoes were definitely needed to continue further.
We took a look through the trees at the best views we were gonna get, and headed back down, disappointed and defeated. The pessimism resurfaced.
Day 28 - October 13th, 2021
Our time in Golden came to a close unceremoniously with another weather day. I had wanted to do the Hermit Trail in Glacier National Park, which the lady on Cory Pass had recommended. It was an extraordinarily steep (steeper than Cory Pass) and south facing trail, straight up three miles to a beautiful meadow with big mountain views. I thought there was a chance it was snow-free being south facing, but every time we drove by the trailhead was always empty. So we assumed it was fully snowbound and without snowshoes we would probably get nearly to the top and then have to turn around.
We saved the energy and heartache and spent the last day in our cabin enjoying the sauna. We did do quite a bit during the ten days we were in Golden, but at times I felt very pessimistic about the weather and our big plans to visit all the parks. Intellectually I knew there would be weather and weather days but we had been so spoiled in Jasper and Banff that I held out hope that the good weather would continue right through to the end of our trip.
We turned our eyes south, packing up and driving to Radium Hot Springs, where we'd spend four nights visiting Kootenay National Park. I desperately hoped the lower latitude meant we'd be able to squeak out a few more big epic hikes.
Commenti