BEGINNINGS
We
decided to test out Christy’s newly drained knee on Wednesday. I wanted to spend more time in the Bow Lake
area of northern Banff National Park, as that had been one of my favorite
regions on our previous trip. I picked
out the hike to Bow Glacier Falls, as it promised fine scenery without much
difficulty. The total elevation gain
would be only a few hundred feet, which would be easier on Christy’s knee.
We
made a few stops before starting our hike.
This included Hector Lake, Waterfowl Lake, and Bow Lake. All of them are large, beautiful glacial
lakes with rugged mountains in the background.
Then we drove up to Peyto Lake. Peyto is quite
famous, and the area was a zoo. A short
but steep walk on a paved path led to an overlook of the lake and the Peyto Glacier. I
jockeyed for position and eventually managed a few photos from the
overlook. However, I found a better
vantage point by hiking down below it to the edge of the cliff.
From
there we drove to the Num-Ti-Jah lodge on the
north end of Bow Lake. Num-Ti-Jah translates to “expensive” in
English. Rooms there start at $270 /
night. The area around the lodge was
extremely busy, too. From the parking
area before the lodge, we hiked around along the lakeshore to a pebble beach. The beach offered a great view of the lake
and the surrounding peaks and glaciers.
We stopped there for lunch, before resuming the hike along the north
side of the lake.
The
exceptional scenery continued. We
eventually reached the end of the lake, but continued upstream along the Bow
River. There are a lot of parallel paths
along here, but we found the easiest hiking along the edge of the river. We reached the mouth of a canyon, and
continued up a steep stretch of trail climbing above it. Christy hesitated before starting up the
hill, but ultimately decided to give it a try.
The climb was steep but short, and before long we reached a junction on
the rim of the canyon.
We
took the trail down to the left, which ultimately leads to the Bow Hut operated
by the Alpine Club of Canada on the edge of the Bow Glacier. That is a much more difficult hike than the
one to the falls, but I wanted to check something out. After only a short distance, the trail
arrives at the base of a massive boulder that is wedged between the walls of
the canyon. Proceeding on this trail
requires scrambling over the boulder high above the chasm. It didn’t look dangerous, but the scramble
would be a little tricky, particularly with a big pack. The first foot hold on the boulder is about
waist high, so just getting started would be a challenge.
We
doubled-back to the main trail and climbed a bit more. After a short distance we reached a viewpoint
of the waterfall. It was still a mile or
so away, but open country allowed for the distant vista. Bow Glacier Falls drains Upper Bow Lake,
which is fed by glaciers. Those glaciers
are the source of the Bow River, which runs all the way to Calgary and beyond.
Christy
decided to wait there. I hiked all the
way to the base, but the view didn’t really improve. I stopped close to the base of the
thundering, 505’ falls. The power of the
waterfall was impressive, but conditions were poor for photography. This whole trail was extremely busy, so I
didn’t linger long. I headed back from
there, and we returned by the same route.
We took it slow on the steep descent, and Christy managed without too
much trouble.
We
headed back towards camp, but made a quick stop at the store in Saskatchewan
River Crossing for ice, ice cream, and junk food. We drove back north, and made one final stop
at the Bridal Veil Falls overlook. My
plan was to make the short hike from here to Panther Falls. Christy decided to skip this one and waited
in the car. Panther Falls is just a
short hike from the road, but it isn’t advertised by the park service. I quickly found out why. I followed a maze of primitive paths before
following a bench along the edge of a cliff to an alcove behind the falls. The creek was raging, and the views from the
side of the falls and from behind it were spectacular. There was some exposure here though, so it
was necessary to be careful.
From
there, I found another trail down to the base.
The view from there was intense, but the previous vantage point was more
scenic.
We
stopped at the Wilcox Campground to steal some firewood. The Canadian parks have a brilliant approach
to campfires. Campers have the option of
buying fire permits. Firewood is
provided, and campers with permits can use as much as they want. This means that there is no need to bring
your own wood. We had purchased a permit
for each night of our stay.
Unfortunately, after the first couple of nights, the firewood pile at
our campground dwindled. It was
completely picked over that morning, so we stopped at the Wilcox Campground and
took theirs.
Christy
made an Indian meal for dinner, and I enjoyed a couple of beers next to our
fire. That night, another thunderstorm
rolled through, and some light rain persisted into the next morning.
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!