PART
QUATRE: BACKPACKING THE ROCKWALL
KOOTENAY
NATIONAL PARK
We
spent the first four days of our third week in the Canadian Rockies in Kootenay
National Park. Our plan was to backpack
along the Rockwall, which is a series of sheer cliffs hundreds of feet high
that run for some 20 miles along the western boundary of the park. Our four-day hike would only cover about 35
miles, which sounds reasonable compared to our previous trip in Banff. However, several monster climbs and descents
promised a physical challenge equal to the one we faced in Banff. Along the way, we’d stroll through alpine
meadows, camp at a beautiful lake, and view one of the tallest waterfalls in
the world.
VERY GOOD,
SIR!
The French
word of the day is “abeille”, which translates to “bee” in English. As in, “I would’ve enjoyed the hike to
Goodsir Pass more if I hadn’t been stung by an abeille.”
We
checked out of the hotel early and ate bagels as we drove north, and then west,
into British Columbia. We crossed
Vermillion Pass, and headed down into Kootenay National Park. After only a few miles, we reached our
trailhead at the Paintpots Picnic Area.
The
first difficulty any hiker faces when tackling the Rockwall is that the two
trailheads are 8 miles apart. The
highway connects them, so any group with 2 cars can easily arrange a
shuttle. Unfortunately, we only had
one. Hitchhiking is probably a
reasonable option, but Christy has always been reluctant to try it. The only other possibility is a road
walk. Walking 8 miles along a busy road
isn’t my idea of good time, but I wanted to do the entire hike.
After
much consideration, I decided to break it up.
I dropped Christy and the packs off, and drove 3 miles to the Numa Creek
Trailhead. Numa is a side trail that
connects with the Rockwall Trail. By
parking there, I’d only have to go 5 miles to retrieve the car when the hike
was over. Instead of carrying river
sandals, as I typically do, I brought running shoes. When we reached the trailhead on Wednesday, I’d put them on and
run back to the car. That way, I’d get
a bonus workout, and I’d get the whole event over with a lot quicker.
I
parked the car, and headed back to the trailhead. The walk along the highway was actually fairly pleasant, as the
shoulder is wide and views of the surrounding mountains provided some
entertainment. After 45 minutes, I
rejoined Christy at the trailhead. We
made our final preparations, before starting our hike on the Paintpots Nature
Trail.
We
crossed a bridge over the milky blue Vermillion River, and headed into the
Ochre Beds. The Ochre Beds feature open
meadows decorated with cool but colorful pools. A few minutes later, we headed into the woods. The trail stayed well away from Ochre Creek
in dense forest. A couple of miles of
easy hiking followed, and we passed the junction with the Tumbling Creek
Trail. The Tumbling Creek Trail also
joins the Rockwall Trail. Less
ambitious hikers can make 2-3 day loop trips combining Tumbling Creek and the
Rockwall with Helmet Creek or Numa Creek.
After
covering 4 miles in an hour and a half, we descended to a campsite at the
confluence of Ochre and Helmet Creeks.
We stopped for lunch there, and watched as several groups of weekend
warriors headed out from a night at Helmet Falls. After lunch, we headed upstream along Helmet Creek before
crossing it on a bridge. A steep climb
on switchbacks followed, before the trail leveled off above the Helmet Creek
gorge. We eventually rejoined the
creek, and arrived at a shaky suspension bridge. We crossed carefully, and resumed the hike on the opposite side.
We
hiked on to the junction with the trail to Goodsir Pass. Just beyond, we reached a small meadow and a
ranger’s cabin. From the meadow, we had
our first view of dramatic Helmet Falls.
Helmet Falls spills over 1000’ into an immense amphitheater. The waterfall was still ½ mile away, but the
day’s hike was over. We crossed one
more bridge over Helmet Creek, and reached the Helmet Falls campground. We were pleased to find a large campground
with many sites, most of which were unoccupied. We selected a private site hidden in the woods near a tributary
stream.
After
setting up camp, I hiked 5 miles solo to Goodsir Pass. Christy felt that 9 miles was enough for the
day, and stayed back to relax at camp.
I backtracked to the Goodsir pass junction, and began climbing on
switchbacks immediately. The climb was
steady, but never steep as I worked my way towards the pass.
I
was hiking through heavy undergrowth when I felt a burning sensation on my
ankle. The pain increased, and I
realized I was being stung by a bee.
Soon I was swatting and dancing.
It wasn’t long before my entire leg was swollen to the size of my thigh.
Despite
the pain and swelling, I pressed on. A
few switchbacks later, the forest began to thin. Soon I was climbing through open sub-alpine forest decorated with
wildflowers. Before long, I cleared the
final trees and reached a rocky meadow.
The pass is really a long open saddle, and it’s actually difficult to
determine where the highest point is. I
wandered through the meadows, dodging marmots and ground squirrels and admiring
the view of Mount Goodsir in Yoho National Park. Eventually I climbed to the top of a boulder pile for an even
better view. I rested there for a
while, before beginning the 2 ½ mile hike back to camp.
I
returned to camp, where I spotted a mink, or possibly a marten, near Helmet
Creek. While I was hiking, Christy had
seen a coyote in the campground. Later,
we were entertained by Harlequin Ducks playing in the creek. That evening, we headed to the cooking area,
where we feasted on spaghetti. A couple
at the table next to us was eating a freeze-dried dinner, and they were washing
it down with a bottle of wine! Here’s
an idea – the next time you’re in an upscale wine store, ask the snobby clerk
what vintage goes well with freeze-dried chili mac. Perhaps something in a box?
ANOTHER BRICK
IN THE WALL (PART 1)
The French word of the day is “fenêtre”, which translates to “window” in English. As in, “At Wolverine Pass we found a break in the rockwall, which provided a fenêtre into the rest of British Columbia.”
A
cold morning led to a slow start the next day.
We munched on bagels and tang before breaking camp at 9AM. We headed upstream along Helmet Creek, but
didn’t go far before taking our first break.
About ¼ mile from camp, we reached a side trail leading toward the base
of Helmet Falls. I wanted a closer
look, so I dropped my pack and continued ahead. I found a neck-bending viewpoint where it’s possible to watch the
creek crashing over the cliffs and into the amphitheater. I probably could’ve gotten even closer, but
the waterfall is so tall it would’ve been hard to see the entire thing. I enjoyed the view I had before heading back
to rejoin Christy for the climb to Rockwall Pass and the Wolverine Plateau.
We
climbed out of the valley on switchbacks.
The trail stayed in the woods, but a couple of overlooks provided more
fantastic views of the amphitheater and falls.
We eventually topped out on ridge with nice views of the Rockwall and
the meadows ahead of us. A quick
descent followed, and we stopped at the bottom for our morning break. This was an idyllic spot in a lightly
forested meadow along a small stream.
Looming above us was the massive presence of the Rockwall, it’s sheer
granite face an impassable obstruction to westward travel. Fortunately, we were heading south.
A
steep climb up a talus slope followed.
We passed a small lake before reentering the woods. Before long the trees thinned, and we found
ourselves in a subalpine forest full of colorful wildflowers. A few minutes later, we cleared the last of
the trees and reached the broad summit of Rockwall Pass. The views were incredible. The Rockwall marched away ahead of us, an
unbroken line of sheer cliffs and jagged peaks. Across the valley to the east, we spotted Mount Ball and its
massive summit glacier. The views were
intense, but unfortunately, so was the wind.
We had originally planned on having lunch there, but the conditions made
that impossible. We staggered across
the open pass towards the wall, hoping we could find a place to take shelter
from the wind.
The
wind was blowing from the south, right along the face of the Rockwall. We hurried ahead towards Wolverine Pass,
where we hoped to find shelter.
Wolverine Pass is an improbable break in the Rockwall. It’s a narrow but extremely deep notch in
the cliffs. More importantly, it’s a
short, easy hike from the main trail.
We hiked into the notch, and the wind eased immediately. It was still pretty breezy, as the wind was
swirling through the pass, but it was nothing like the conditions out in the
meadows.
We
huddled in the pass and ate lunch.
While we ate, we entertained ourselves by killing horseflies. Christy’s favorite technique was to wait for
them to land on her before crushing them with a swift blow. I preferred swatting them out of mid-air
with a bandana and then stomping on them.
This was all good clean fun, but just killing them wasn’t enough. We decided to make a competition out of
it. We kept score, with only a
confirmed kill counting as a point. By
the time we finished lunch, Christy had already built a 14-10 lead.
After
lunch, a short walk brought us to a unique vantage point. For the entire hike, views to the west had
been blocked by the cliffs we were following.
Here though, was a hidden window to the west. We looked out over the next valley, only to see another range of
mountains beyond. Farther away, another
line of snow-capped peaks towered over another valley. I was amazed. Do the mountains just continue like that forever? I suppose they do, until they run into the
Pacific Ocean.
Eventually
we had to leave our relative shelter.
We hiked back out into the wind and tried to enjoy the sweeping views of
the meadows, peaks, and glaciers surrounding us. We descended quickly, and soon found ourselves in another
subalpine forest thick with wildflowers.
The trees sheltered us from the wind, and a quick descent to Tumbling
Creek followed. At the creek, we found
a large camping area. In fact, there
are 3 camping areas at Tumbling Creek, and each has multiple sites. We had only seen one another group on the
trail that day, and the campground was virtually empty. We selected a site, set up camp, and spent
the afternoon relaxing out of the wind.
Horseflies were plentiful at our campsite, and I rallied. By the time I left camp for a short hike
downstream to Tumbling Falls, I had a 19-16 lead.
The
hike was less than a mile, but down a serious hill with lots of
switchbacks. The falls are nice, but
not exactly comparable to Helmet Falls.
Then again, very few waterfalls are.
That’s the problem with the Canadian Rockies. They set the standard for scenery almost impossibly high.
There
is a good view of Tumbling Falls from the trail, but I bushwhacked to the base
to get a better photo. I’m not sure it
was worth the trouble. Before long I
headed back to camp. I was about
halfway up the hill when I was stung by another bee. My sting from the previous day was still itchy and swollen, and
now I had a matching wound on the opposite leg.
That
night we had chili for dinner, and the horsefly killing competition
continued. While I had been hiking to
Tumbling Falls, Christy had been running up the score by killing horseflies
around camp. I had actually taken the
lead earlier in the afternoon, but by that evening the temperature dropped, and
the horseflies disappeared (or Christy killed them all). The day ended with Christy leading 23-22,
but the competition wasn’t over. We
still had 2 days to go.
THE HAPPIEST
DAYS OF OUR LIVES?
The
French word of the day is “neige”, which translates to “snow” in English. As in, “The last thing I expected to see on
August 2nd was fresh neige.”
We
woke to another frosty morning the next day.
I slipped out of the tent and headed for the cooking area to prepare
breakfast. As I walked, I noticed heavy
clouds and patches of blue sky overhead.
By the time Christy joined me, more ugly grey clouds were rolling in
from across the mountains. It wasn’t
long before the rain came. Then, the
rain changed to sleet.
I
was in a grumpy mood. The weather
forecast we had seen 3 days earlier had made no mention of rain or sleet or
snow in the days ahead. Of course, we
would learn over the course of the trip that any Canadian weather forecast more
than a day in advance was worthless. In
fact, even the forecasts one day in advance were highly suspect.
We
finished breakfast and Christy hurried back to the tent. I cleaned up, re-hung the food, and went to
the bathroom. When I came back out, the
clouds had cleared and the sun was threatening to make its first appearance of
the day. I woke Christy back up, and we
broke camp. By 9:45 we were wandering
through the maze of campsites. We
crossed the bridge over Tumbling Creek, passed a few more campsites, and began
the steep climb out of the valley.
As
we climbed, we noticed more dark clouds rolling in from beyond the
Rockwall. A few minutes later, the rain
came again. In short order, the rain
changed to snow. We stopped to put on
goretex and pack covers before resuming the slog uphill.
I
enjoyed every bit of the hiking we did in Canada, with only a few
exceptions. This was one of those
exceptions. The problem with hiking in
rain gear, even breathable rain gear, is that it’s easy to get overheated,
especially when going uphill. Even
though it was a cold morning, we were in the middle of a tough climb. Before long we were drenched from
sweat. Ultimately, the rain gear didn’t
really do us much good.
Luckily
the snow stopped before we reached the top of the hill. The sun came back out, and we stopped for a
break in a meadow just below the massive bulk of Tumbling Glacier. This was one of the more impressive glaciers
we saw during our trip, and we were almost close enough to touch it.
We
resumed the hike over Tumbling Pass, and left the glacier behind. Ahead of us was a long, rocky, tedious
descent to Numa Creek. Even though we
were heading downhill, this was the worst part of the trail. The footing was terrible, and our progress
was slow. We crossed a couple of
streams, and the grade of the knee-pounding descent eased. We couldn’t enjoy it though. The trail entered dense thickets of
vegetation that we had to fight through.
After a mile or so of nasty bushwhacking, we could finally hear Numa
Creek ahead. It was a huge relief to
reach the camping area along Numa Creek in time for a late lunch.
ANOTHER BRICK
IN THE WALL (PART 2)
Things
began looking up that afternoon. During
lunch, I killed 2 horseflies to retake the lead, 24-23. At Numa Creek we were mostly battling
regular flies. By the time we finished
lunch, we had piled up the carcasses of a couple dozen dead flies on the picnic
table. I’m sure whoever ate there after
us was thrilled to see the carnage.
We
had covered 6 miles that morning, but we still had 5 more miles and nearly
3000’ of elevation gain ahead of us.
Thanks to the morning weather, we were running behind schedule. It was 2:45 before we left Numa Creek for
Numa Pass and Floe Lake.
We
had some trouble finding the trail out of the campground. We crossed Numa Creek, partially on bridges,
and partially by rock hopping. Then we
wandered around for a while, before finding the trail on the far side of the
cooking area. The path led through
another lush forest broken by the occasional meadow. We passed a pair of impressive waterfalls, before reaching a
wobbly footbridge. The bridge was
narrow and without railings, and stood a full 10’ above a rushing creek. After a nervous crossing, we began the climb
to Numa Pass in earnest.
An
endless series of switchbacks followed.
The climb was long and steady, but never steep. We kept a steady pace, and eventually
reached treeline. From there, we
battled more gusty winds on a final climb across a steep talus slope. We finally attained the pass, and stopped
for a well-deserved break despite the wind.
Behind us, the Rockwall marched away to the north. In the far distance, the peaks around Lake
Louise were visible. Ahead of us,
lovely Floe Lake was tucked up against the cliffs of the Rockwall. Floe Lake beckoned to us, and we gathered
our belongings for the final push to camp.
The
final descent to the lake was an easy hike through fields of gorgeous wildflowers. This area may have had the best wildflowers
that we saw on the entire trip. It was
early evening when we reached the campground on a hillside above the lake. After considerable exploration, I found a
great site with a view of the lake and its headwall. It was the nicest campsite we stayed at during the entire
trip. That night, we left the fly off
the tent. The clouds were long gone,
and the stargazing was superb.
After
setting up camp, we headed down to the lakeshore for dinner. We had soup and freeze-dried dinners, and
enjoyed the view of the lake. A large
group of middle-aged hikers was eating nearby, and they were incredibly
chatty. By the time we had dinner
ready, we knew more than we ever wanted to know about them. At one point, they were arguing over who
would get to have dessert. Well, I
suppose you can’t have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat. How can you have any pudding if you don’t
eat your meat?
THE BURN
The French word of the day is “douche”, which translates to “shower” in English. As in, “There’s nothing better after a long, hard hike than a warm, relaxing douche.”
We
slept in a little the next morning, despite the noise from our neighbors. I was still up early enough to get some
great photos of the Rockwall reflecting in Floe Lake. After breakfast, we reluctantly broke camp. It was a hard place to leave. Christy and I both would’ve been happy
hanging out there for another day and doing nothing. Unfortunately, we didn’t that kind of flexibility.
We
left the campground on the Floe Lake Trail, and immediately encountered an
amusing sign. The Floe Lake Trail
passes through a valley that was severely burned during a forest fire a couple
of years ago. Many dead trees are still
standing, and they pose something of a hazard to hikers passing through. The purpose of the sign was to warn hikers
of this danger, but the photo and text are hilarious. Here’s my interpretation of their suggestions:
1)
Wait for favourable weather – This is a nice idea, but you can’t exactly
rely on the weather forecast.
2)
Travel quickly to reduce your exposure time – The trees are
falling! Run for your life!
3)
Spread your group out to reduce the risk of multiple casualties – Let’s
not all get killed by the same tree.
4)
Stop only in open flat areas at least one tree length from standing trees
– No such areas exist, so I guess that means no stopping. At least that’s consistent with #2 above.
5)
Avoid steep slopes – fallen trees may slide downhill – Avoid steep
slopes – don’t hike in the Canadian Rockies.
6)
If trees are actively falling, leave the area or take shelter – I’m not
sure where to start. I’m actually
falling all over myself in anticipation of making fun of this one. First, what’s the difference between trees
that are actively falling, versus trees that are just falling? Is there a difference? And if trees are falling, how exactly does a
hiker leave the area? By hiking. So how would that be any different from what
you’re already doing? I suppose you
could take shelter. Where, under the
trees?
Now,
let’s turn our attention to that photo.
I think it needs a caption.
Here’s a few suggestions:
1)
Beware of exploding trees.
2)
Warning: hostile
limb-throwing trees ahead.
3)
Matt hated putting up the Christmas tree every year.
4)
Merge to the right ahead, but avoid the body in the right
lane.
5)
These are the trees your mother warned you about.
6)
This hiker didn’t wait for favourable weather, and now it’s
too late to travel quickly. Now would
be a good time for him to leave the area, or take shelter.
If
you have any additional suggestions for an appropriate caption for this photo,
please email it to me at akunkle99@yahoo.com.
Beyond
the sign, we immediately entered the burned forest. Most of the pine trees appeared to be burned and dead, though the
majority were still standing. If you’ve
ever wondered what a burned forest looks like, check out this photo. We followed the trail down switchbacks built
into a steep slope. The outlet stream
from Floe Lake cascaded alongside us.
Eventually the grade eased, and we continued down the valley, although
the trail remained on the hillside well above the stream.
Despite
the burn, there was still beauty to be found.
Wildflowers brought color to the forest, and occasional openings
provided views of the surrounding mountains.
Some time later, we descended more switchbacks, and then gradually
worked our way down to the creek. We
crossed it on a bridge, and began hiking downstream parallel to the Vermillion
River. A few minutes later, we reached
a temporary bridge over the river. The
temporary bridge had just been installed a couple of weeks earlier, which
opened the Floe Lake Trail for the first time since the fire. For being a temporary bridge, I thought it
was quite impressive. In fact, it was
far more sturdy than many of the permanent bridges we had encountered during
the hike.
A
couple of minutes later, we reached the trailhead parking area and the
highway. We dropped our packs, and
Christy made herself comfortable. I
switched from boots to running shoes, and headed out to retrieve the car. I knew I had at least 5 miles to go, and
that was more than I was inclined to run, so I started out walking. After about 10 minutes, I began to jog. Fortunately, the highway has a nice wide
shoulder, and running along the road wasn’t bad. Except for the heat. The
sun was brutal. That and the
hills. Based on the map, I was
expecting a fairly flat run. The map
showed that I would cross only one elevation contour. Unfortunately, the elevation contours on the map occur only every
100 meters. That’s more than 300 feet
of elevation change between each line.
Let me tell you, a lot can happen in 300 feet. What appears to be a flat trail (or road) on the map could
actually cross a series of 200’ climbs and drops.
That’s
exactly what I encountered on my run.
The hills weren’t big, but combined with the heat, they were
grueling. I ran for about 35 minutes
before I had enough. I then walked
another 15 minutes or so, and reached the rental car at the Numa Creek
trailhead. I picked Christy up a couple
of minutes later, and we were on our way to Jasper National Park. After spending the first 2 ½ weeks of our
vacation in Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay, we’d be relocating for the rest of the
trip.
We
stopped for ice cream in Lake Louise, and then took the Icefields Parkway
north. It was a long drive to Jasper,
but it was beautiful. We stopped at a
couple of overlooks, and I even did a short walk to see the view of Peyto
Lake. After Peyto Lake, we kept moving. At one point, a black bear wandered across
the road right after we passed. By the
time we reached the fabulous scenery around the Columbia Icefield, we were
ready to get to camp, clean up, and have dinner. We didn’t stop the rest of the way. We’d be back though, as one of the Jasper dayhikes I had planned
was in the area.
We
reached the Wapiti Campground, where we had reservations. The campground is conveniently located off
the Icefields Parkway a few miles south of the town of Jasper. We set up camp, and it was time to get
cleaned up. Whenever I travel, I keep
all of my bathroom articles in a small bag.
So I grabbed my douche bag, and went to bathe. The showers at the Wapiti Campground were
much nicer than those at Johnson Canyon, in Banff. However, they were barely adequate. There were only a few shower stalls available for a campground
with over 500 sites. If you camp at
Wapiti, plan on waiting in line for your douche.
That
evening, we went into town for dinner.
We went to another local brewery, and the food and beer were pretty
good. It wasn’t nearly as good as the
Grizzly Paw in Canmore though. That
evening, we relaxed and discussed our plans for the rest of the trip. We’d be car camping in Jasper for the next 4
days. I planned out 4 dayhikes, while
Christy looked forward to a change of pace.
She planned to hike with me one day, and rent a bike for at least 2
more. After that, we still had a pair
of 3-day backpacking trips. The first
would be to Berg Lake, in Mount Robeson Provincial Park. Then we’d return to Jasper for a trip along
the well-named Skyline Trail.
The
trip in review:
Starting
trailhead: Paintpots Picnic Area /
Ochre Creek trailhead
Ending
trailhead: Floe Lake trailhead
Day
1 – Paintpots Picnic Area to Helmet Falls campground. 9 ½ miles, plus a 3-mile roadwalk and a 5-mile side trip to
Goodsir Pass.
Day
2 – Helmet Falls campground to Tumbling Creek campground. 7 ½ miles, plus a 1-mile side trip to
Tumbling Falls.
Day
3 – Tumbling Creek campground to Floe Lake campground. 11 miles, with 2 big climbs and
descents. 4000’ of elevation gain.
Day
4 – Floe Lake campground to Floe Lake trailhead. 6 ½ miles, mostly flat or downhill, plus a 5 mile roadwalk / run.
The
campsite ratings (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being paradise):
Helmet
Falls **** Lots of sites along the
stream, view of the falls nearby.
Tumbling
Creek *** Huge camping area on both
sides of the creek.
Floe
Lake ***** It doesn’t get much better
than this.
And
a few we didn’t stay at:
Numa
Creek ** In deep forest along a
pleasant stream.
Helmet
/ Ochre Jnct. ** Nice streams, but really nothing special.
Highlights: Helmet Falls, Goodsir Pass, the Wolverine
Plateau, Tumbling Glacier, Numa Pass, and Floe Lake.
Low
points: Rough trail coming down into
Numa Creek, challenging climbs, bee stings and horseflies.
Oh
yeah, speaking of horseflies…they disappeared during the last day. I won, 24 to 23. However, one of the horseflies Christy killed was on my leg and
ready to bite. Since Christy saved me,
I decided to grant her a bonus point.
So we finished tied at 24. Of
course, no competition can end in a tie.
We’d have to go to overtime on the next trip…
If
I had to do it all over again…I probably wouldn’t change anything, although it
would be nice to arrange a shuttle and avoid the road walk. Also, spending some extra time at Floe Lake
would be nice. I might actually
consider doing the hike in the opposite direction, just to avoid the nasty
descent from Tumbling Pass to Numa Creek.
Back to the Canadian Rockies
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!
The
official pest of the trip: bees.