PART SIX: BACKPACKING MOUNT ROBESON PROVINCIAL PARK
We began our final week in
the Canadian Rockies with a 3-day backpacking trip to Berg Lake in Mount Robson
Provincial Park. Berg Lake sits at the foot
of Mount Robson, which is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The hike to Berg Lake is a demanding
one. The trail covers 12 miles and
gains 2600’ along the way. However, it
is also one of the most spectacular hikes in the world. The hike begins in an impressive rain forest
along the Robson River, before climbing up through the Valley of a Thousand
Falls (an exaggeration, but only a mild one) to Berg Lake at the base of Mount
Robson. Our plan was to hike all the
way to Berg Lake on the first day. We’d
spend the second day hiking from our basecamp before returning by the same
route on the final day.
GODZILLA
The French word of the day is “chutes”, which translates to “waterfalls” in English. As in, “We passed dozens of spectacular chutes on our hike to Berg Lake.”
I made Christy get up early
that morning. We were still car camping
in Jasper, so we had to break camp, drive an hour to Mount Robson Provincial
Park, pick up our permit, and then hike 12 miles. Considering our agenda, an early start seemed like a good
idea.
We left Jasper at 7:15 and
ate bagels on the way. We reached Mount
Robson Provincial Park headquarters at 8:15, which seemed ideal, since the
visitor center opened at 8. We parked out
front, but the building looked closed.
What, were they running late this morning? I walked to the door, where I discovered that they do in fact
open at 8. Pacific Time. We were on Mountain Time. Oops.
We were 45 minutes early. I had
to return to the car and explain to Christy that, yes, we could’ve slept in
another hour. This didn’t go over well.
Christy took a nap. I loitered around the parking lot, admiring
the view of massive Mount Robson towering over the visitor’s center. In planning this trip, my biggest concern
had been the weather. Robson is so
large, it creates it’s own weather.
This is usually not a good thing.
Storms coming from the west encounter Robson first, and tend to hang
around. Because of this, the western
slopes of the mountain are covered in a rain forest that would seem more
appropriate on the Pacific coast. My
guidebook warned that it’s not unusual to spend several days at Berg Lake
without actually seeing the mountain.
Well, I was seeing it this morning.
The sky was crystal clear, and the peak was radiant in the early morning
light. The only remaining question was
how long this wonderful weather would last.
I was ready to get on the trail!
Around 8:30 a tour bus
arrived, and discharged several dozen Asian tourists. Their feet had barely touched the ground before they were taking
pictures of everything in sight – the mountain, the visitor’s center, the bus,
the other people hanging around the parking lot, and of course each other. I actually observed one family of 5 take
photos of all of the above with every possible combination of family members in
every conceivable pose. What was this,
a wedding? Eventually they must’ve run
out of film or memory or whatever, because the photography stopped. However, they continued to mill about the
parking lot. What were they up to? Shouldn’t they get back on the bus and hurry
off to the next photo opportunity?
Shortly before 8 I moved
closer to the door and struck up a conversation with a friendly couple from a
nearby town. They were hoping to do the
same hike, but had their dog with them and weren’t sure if they’d be able to
bring her. While we were talking, the
ranger opened the front door. I heard a
roar, and turned to see a horde of screaming Asian tourists barreling down on
me. What the hell was going on? I half expected to see Godzilla in the
parking lot. Briefly, I feared for my
life. Then the rush passed by, and we
followed the stampede into the visitor’s center. I was annoyed, because I really didn’t have time to wait in line
behind all of those tourists. Surely
they hadn’t been waiting for backpacking permits.
I didn’t need to worry. The flood of tourists went straight into the
bathrooms. There were literally 50 or
60 of them crowding into the facilities.
I went to the counter, where I picked up my permit (I had made
reservations in advance) and paid the fee ($5 per person per night). Then Christy and I endured a 13-minute safety
video before returning to the car for the 1-mile drive to the trailhead.
So much for the early
start. It was 9:50 (Mountain Time) when
we finished loading our packs and got on the trail. We crossed a bridge over the frothing Robson River and followed a
wide, hard-packed trail into a gorgeous rain forest. We hiked under thick stands of hemlock and cedar draped with
abundant moss. Occasional openings in
the forest provided views of the mountain, and the roaring whitewater river was
our constant companion.
1 hour and 3 miles later we
reached a bridge over the outlet of Kinney Lake. We had a snack break there, before resuming the hike along the
wooded shore of the lake. A couple of
places provided views of Kinney Lake with surrounding peaks reflecting in the
calm water. We climbed and then
descended back to the lakeshore, where we found a pleasant campground. Beyond,
the horse trail diverged from our path as we climbed to a rocky cliff above the
lake. The horse trail stays along the
shore, and we seriously contemplated going that way to avoid some PUDS
(pointless ups and downs). I was afraid
that the horse trail might be wet and muddy though, so we endured the PUDS
before descending to the river above the lake.
The Robson River is braided
into many channels here, and we crossed it on a series of footbridges. It was sunny and hot out on the river plain,
so it was a relief to re-enter the woods, even though the climb resumed. A moderately difficult section of trail
followed as we climbed high above the first of many waterfalls we’d pass along
the way. A short descent brought us to
a high but sturdy suspension bridge. We
crossed and arrived at the Whitehorn Campground at the bottom of The Valley of
a Thousand Falls. We st
opped for lunch on the
riverbank, where we had a great view of dozens of waterfalls. The surrounding mountains have many
glaciers, and the runoff from each cascades over the cliffs and into the
valley.
We were making good time, so
we took over an hour for lunch before resuming the hike at 1pm. We continued upstream, passing multiple waterfalls
before reaching another bridge over the river.
From the bridge, the lowest drop of White Falls on the Robson River is
visible. The waterfalls cascading down
the cliffs were elegant and pretty, but the falls on the river itself were
something else altogether. The river is
powerful, and its waterfalls are awesome.
We began the hardest climb
of the day as steep switchbacks led out of the valley. After a few switchbacks, we passed a side
trail heading towards the river. I
explored it, and after some scrambling over slippery rocks, found a great view
of White Falls. The view from the
bridge had been impressive, but this was even better. Little did I know the best was yet to come.
We resumed the climb, which
covered 1500’ in 2 ½ miles. Fortunately
there was plenty of great scenery to distract us from the pain. We passed an overlook that gave us a view
south down the Valley of a Thousand Falls.
A little later, we reached a higher vantage point for White Falls. Beyond that overlook was an even better
viewpoint for the Falls of the Pool.
The grade eased, and soon we
were treated with distant views of Emperor Falls. The vistas continued to improve as we got closer, before we lost
sight of the falls in the woods. We
reached a junction, where a sign told us that the Emperor Falls campground was
straight ahead. This is also the main
trail, while the obvious path to the right leads directly to the base of the
Emperor. I hiked down to the falls, and
was stunned by what I saw. The Robson
River leaps off a massive cliff with a tremendous roar. Beyond, the spire of Mount Robson towers
over the scene. The waterfall creates
an incredible amount of spray, and it’s impossible to explore near the base of
the falls without getting soaked. It’s
worth it though. I stood as close as I
could get to the froth, and the ground was actually shaking. I made some careful attempts at
photographing the falls before returning to the trail.
Christy had gone ahead, and
I followed in her wake, passing the pleasant Emperor Campground. Just beyond, I found her taking a break on
the riverbank. It was a great spot to
enjoy the river and soak our aching feet.
We resumed hiking at 4pm
with the worst of the climb behind us.
A relatively flat trail continued to the follow the river. We curved around a ridge, and gained our
first view of the Mist Glacier tumbling down the flank of Mount Robson. We crossed a glacial stream on a series of
footbridges, and entered a forest of spruce and fir. It was here that we had our most unusual wildlife sighting of the
trip. Gnomes! It could be that we were just exhausted from our hike, but this
time I have the photo to prove it. Then
again, we were in an enchanted forest, and what’s an enchanted forest without
gnomes?
We passed the Marmot
Campground, and pushed on the final 2 miles.
This section followed the shore of Berg Lake, where there were
absolutely no icebergs. This was
disappointing, but the jaw dropping view of Mount Robson and the Mist and Berg
Glaciers across the water more than made up for it.
We reached the campground at
5:30. The Berg Lake campground is
large, and I wandered around for some time before selecting a site. We claimed a nice, private site in the woods
not far from the cooking shelter. We
set up camp, and relocated to the meadow in front of the shelter for
dinner. We had come a long way, and
wanted to soak in the view of Mount Robson for as long as we could. That’s exactly what we did while we feasted
on pizza and salad. After eating, we
were treated to superb alpenglow as Robson’s summit turned gold and then red by
the setting sun. I slept well that
night, despite the occasional roar from the glaciers calving.
WON’T YOU STEP INTO THE FREEZER?
The French word of the day is “neige”, which translates to “snow” in English. As in, “The hike to Snowbird Pass was tough, but it rewarded me with a view of miles and miles of neige, only interrupted by occasional jagged peaks.”
I was up early the next
morning. The weather forecast we had
gotten the day before had warned of afternoon rain, and I wanted to get a hike
in first. Christy had gotten enough
exercise the day before, and was planning on a day off. I had a tough time deciding on a hike. There are several options from Berg Lake,
but ultimately I couldn’t pass on the chance to visit Snowbird Pass. Snowbird Pass is a narrow notch featuring a
view of Mount Robson in one direction and the Reef Icefield in the other. The Reef Icefield is a 6-mile long swath of
snow and ice that feeds several glaciers.
I wanted to see that.
The hike to Snowbird Pass is
somewhere between 13 and 17 miles roundtrip, depending on the source of your
information. There’s also a significant
elevation change, so an early start is a good idea, regardless of the
weather. I woke to partly cloudy skies,
but breezy conditions and a cloud obscuring Robson’s summit warned of change to
come. I had breakfast burritos (made
with fresh eggs) and hit the trail, setting a brisk pace for the pass.
A mile of easy hiking got me
warmed up. I reached the Rearguard
Campground, and picked up the obvious route leading along the Robson River
towards the base of Robson Glacier.
Just below the glacier I encountered a tiny lake featuring a handful of
small icebergs. For the first of
several times that day, I wished that Christy had joined me. She had been disappointed about the absence
of icebergs in Berg Lake. Apparently
they were all hiding from her up here in this little pond.
I only spared a few minutes
for iceberg spectating before beginning the climb in earnest. I didn’t have a topo map of the area with
me, but I quickly discovered where most of the elevation gain would occur. I began climbing steep, rocky switchbacks on
the cliffs above the long tongue of the glacier. There was no vegetation to speak of, and the view of the glacier
tumbling down from the high peaks was stunning. Unfortunately, clouds were moving in, seemingly from every
direction. I was still a long way from
the pass, and there was barely a hint of blue sky to be seen. I’d never make it there before the rain.
I decided to give it a shot
anyway. I picked up the pace again, and
a few minutes later passed a group of Japanese hikers heading the same
way. I was a little surprised to see
them there, but I’m certain they weren’t the same people that we’d seen on the
tour bus the day before. We nodded and
bowed and waved, and I pressed on, wondering if I’d see them again.
Just when I seemed to be
making some progress I encountered a steep, slippery descent and then another
climb. This time though, the trail
leveled out on an open ridge high above the glacier. I strolled along the catwalk, with a sheer thousand-foot drop a
few steps to my right, and admired the view.
Despite the clouds, the peaks and glaciers were all still in sight, with
the exception of Robson’s summit. I
didn’t hold out much hope of seeing that again.
At the end of the traverse I
began switchbacks out of the valley.
This climb led to a bench, where I followed an alpine valley through
expansive meadows. I dodged marmots and
ground squirrels as I headed up the valley towards the pass. As I climbed, the path split into two and
occasionally three routes. Despite the
exercise I was getting, I was actually cold.
At some point I realized that I no longer needed to be concerned about
rain. If any precipitation fell, it
would be snow. Considering the building
clouds, that seemed more and more likely.
Finally I conceded, and stopped to put on a hat and gloves. I’m sure I made quite a fashion statement,
in shorts, t-shirt, hat, and gloves, but only the marmots could see me, and
they didn’t seem to care.
One final climb brought me
to the pass. The pass was still
snow-covered, but the foot of snow there seemed wildly insignificant compared
to the view ahead. I was looking out at
the Reef Icefield, which is a 6-mile stretch of pure snow and ice. Jagged peaks crowded the horizon under a
steel-gray sky. The view was
forbidding, yet awesome. My favorite
aspect of the vista may have been a single spire of rock jutting up out of the
snowfield. From my vantage point, it
looked like the fin of a shark in an ocean of snow. Behind me, the bulk of Mount Robson towered over everything. That view was quite simply one of the most
amazing things I’ve ever seen. And all
that snow and ice and those spectacular mountains seemed to sum up our entire
experience in the Canadian Rockies.
It was still before noon,
but I was famished. I was also
half-frozen. I had gotten cold on the
way up, but standing at the edge of all of that snow and ice was like walking
into a freezer. I climbed up the ridge
on my right a short distance to an even better vantage point. I found a rock to sit on and added a couple
of layers of clothing. Then I attempted
to eat lunch. This was difficult, since
my pita was frozen, and the peanut butter wasn’t much better. I didn’t care.
The weather continued to
hold. After lunch, I couldn’t bear to
leave. I was getting cold just sitting
there though. I considered climbing
down to the edge of the icefield, but doing so looked dangerous, and actually
walking out on the icefield was probably a bad idea, too. So, I headed up. I climbed steeply up a talus slope towards the summit of Lynx
Mountain. Eventually I reached a minor
nub with an even better view. I wasn’t
far below the summit, but the last stretch would be a steep climb on loose
rock. I was totally alone in a truly
hostile environment. It was no place to
take chances. After a lengthy break I
scrambled back down to the pass.
At the pass I met the
Japanese team, who had arrived more than an hour after me. I congratulated them on their hike, but
secretly I was glad that I’d had the pass to myself. Then I began the long hike back.
Along the way I passed a few other groups of hikers still heading
up. As I hiked, I watched the clouds
and wondered how long the weather would hold.
I was convinced that I’d never make it back before the rain
started. Then I was back at the lake at
the base of Robson Glacier. Maybe I
could make it. The race was on.
I heard a rumble that I took
for thunder, but decided it was just one of the glaciers calving. Still, I knew that time was running
out. I was practically jogging by the
time I reached the campground. I found Christy
in the tent, and joined her shortly before the sky fell. Somehow I had made it. I made the roundtrip to the pass in a little
over 9 hours, with 2 hours spent at the pass.
We relaxed for a while in the tent before the rain eased. Then we headed over to the cooking shelter
for dinner.
The shelter was packed. I think everyone in the campground must’ve
been in there. Despite the cramped
conditions, it was quite cozy. It was a
wonderful feeling to be inside as the rain pounded on the roof. The wood stove was blazing, and before long
both of the doors were open to let some of the heat escape. We found a place at one of the picnic tables
and quickly became the envy of the campground with Christy’s burritos.
After eating we met some of
our camp mates. One family lived on a
farm in the next valley. They had
literally hiked out of their backyard, up the valley, and over a pass into
Jasper National Park. Now they were
looping back down the Robson River Valley.
We also met Steve and Valerie from Toronto. They had flown to the Rockies for their summer vacation. We taught them how to play spades, and
stayed up for a couple of hours playing cards as the rest of the crowd
gradually trickled back to their tents.
Eventually we braved the rain and raced back to the soggy tent for the
night.
ALLIZDOG
The French word of the day is “biere”, which translates into “beer” in English. As in, “Christy and I were really looking forward to cheeseburgers, fries, and biere after hiking out from Berg Lake.”
It was hard to leave the
next morning. I could have easily spent
another day or two at Berg Lake, hanging out or doing other hikes in the
area. It was cloudy, windy, and cold
that morning though, and that helped motivate us. We broke camp, wolfed down some oatmeal, and hit the trail at
9am. It was cold enough that we set a
brisk pace, and we covered the first 3 miles to Emperor Falls in an hour. This time Christy joined me for the short
side trip to the falls. The Emperor was
as impressive as I remembered it, but we couldn’t get close to it. It was way too cold to get wet.
A long tedious descent
followed. Our feet were aching by the
time we reached Whitehorn Campground.
It was still cloudy and cold, so we only stopped briefly for lunch. Peanut butter wasn’t very fulfilling anyway,
since we knew burgers, fries, and beer were waiting for us in Jasper.
By the time we reached
Kinney Lake the sun was starting to show, and it had finally warmed up. We reached the car at 3:30, and drove back
to Jasper. We returned to the Wapiti
Campground, where we had reservations.
Our campsite was better this time, but we’d only be staying one
night. We set up camp, dried out our
gear, and took showers. Then we headed
into town to feast.
We decided to try a different
restaurant this time. Eventually we
chose the Ded Dog Brewery. We walked in
and ran into Steve and Valerie. We had
seen them on the trail heading out that morning, but somehow they had made it
to the brewery ahead of us. We joined
them for a great meal that featured everything we had been fantasizing
about. They declined a rematch at
spades, and eventually we parted ways.
Christy and I attempted to play scrabble in the tent that night, but we
fell asleep in the middle of the game.
We needed some rest, as we’d be starting our final backpacking trip the
next morning.
Editor’s Note: In
case you were wondering, the trip report title, ALLIZDOG, is GODZILLA
backwards. We chose this title because
the hike was the same as the first day, in the opposite direction. Luckily though, we didn’t see a horde of
screaming Asian tourists in the parking lot this time.
The trip in review:
Starting trailhead: Berg Lake trailhead (1 mile from the
visitor’s center off highway 16).
Ending trailhead: Same.
Day 1 – Berg Lake trailhead
to Berg Lake. 12.5 miles, 2600’ climb.
Day 2 – Snowbird Pass
dayhike, 13+ miles, another big climb.
Day 3 – Berg Lake to Berg
Lake Trailhead. 12.5 miles, almost
entirely downhill.
The
campsite ratings (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being paradise):
Kinney
Lake*** Nice spots right on the lake
Whitehorn** Near the river in the Valley of a Thousand
Falls. Picnic shelter.
Emperor
Falls*** Nice spots along the river,
but not very close to the falls.
Marmot*** Small, quiet. One or two nice spots right on the lake.
Berg
Lake**** Scenic, but large and
busy. Nice picnic shelter and toilets.
Rearguard*** Quiet, still nice views of the mountain.
Highlights: Waterfalls (especially White Falls and
Emperor Falls), Berg Lake, views of Mount Robson, glaciers, Snowbird Pass, and
the Reef Icefield.
Low Points: Crowds, weather on days 2 and 3.
If I had it to do all over
again – I would do it the same way, but I’d spend at least one extra night at
Berg Lake, if not two. A return trip to
Snowbird Pass would be a must.
Official Pest of the
trip: Horseflies. Oh yeah, speaking of horseflies…Christy and
I resumed our competition. I don’t
recall the final score, but Christy beat me like a drum.
Continue reading about our adventures in the Canadian Rockies as we backpack the Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park.
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!