A Canadian Adventure - Day 26

Monday 28 August 2017

A Walk from Adolphus Lake (beyond Berg Lake) to Berg Lake Trailhead

When we arrived yesterday, Curtis and Claudia recommended the walk from Berg Lake to the trailhead. "It's an excellent 21 km walk" asserted Curtis. But how to get to Berg Lake? It would be a long walk in and a long walk back - a 42 km day in hot weather. We checked the options and found them to be fully booked. We'd have to walk in as far as we could, then retrace our steps. "I'll see what I can do in the morning" quipped Curtis.

Sue continues today's narrative:

Alarm was set for 7.30am and lunch made. Breakfast was granola and yoghurt with strawberry and rhubarb compote, then egg nests. These muffins with a nest of ham with an egg baked in it had just been delivered when Curtis announced that there were two spaces on the helicopter if we wished to take them. 

We ate quickly then grabbed our bags and boots and drove a short distance, past the Visitor Centre to the heli take-off area.

Jim and Ellen, the Americans we'd met at dinner last night, were waiting for their lift, which would take them into their campsite for 4 nights. They had been ready to go for some time and envied our breakfast.

Around 9.45am, once everyone else had headed off, we had our turn, with Matthew from Helimagic, and the pilot. I sat in the front seat, with the window open. It was a fabulous 8 minutes in the air, with the trail below us, and views of lakes, waterfalls, glaciers and mountains surrounding us. We flew into Alberta before landing in British Columbia at Robson Pass, around 1700m.

Now, we had a 23km walk back! Adolphus Lake, in Jasper National Park, was close, so we walked out to this lake, close to the Robson Pass, before turning round to visit Jim, Ellen and Peter, at their campsite, where we chatted for some time before continuing.

The Robson glacier could be seen on the left, as we arrived at Berg Lake, which is an amazing blue colour, and into which the Berg Glacier calves, creating chunks of ice in the water. Lateral moraine can be seen to either side, showing the original width of the glacier. The Berg Lake Campground was passed, with tent spaces made from squares of wood, with chippings on which to pitch. Beside the path one-flowered wintergreen, Indian paintbrush and fringed grass of Parnassus were still in flower. Beyond Berg Lake, an open area of streams before views of Whitehorn Mountain appeared, a steep pyramid of rock.

The view from today's picnic bench was down the valley, with waterfalls spilling down the mountainside, and just at the start of a 4km sustained downhill section. With no clouds in the sky, it was a warm day, particularly in the sun.

The Emperor Falls were huge, creating a fine mist of cool water and soaking the rocks. A little lower were the Falls of the Pool, another multilevel waterfall crashing down the mountain.

The trail weaved in and out of the trees, and beneath a cliff near White Falls, a long cascade beneath us.

There were bridges to cross, campgrounds passed, a blue river joining a silty grey one, before Kinney Lake, where the trail gave us some ascent into dappled, mossy woodland, with red bursts from the bunchberry growing by the path. A last water and biscuit stop was taken in a wooden shelter at a shady table.

We chatted to a Swiss man who had been at university in Sheffield for 5 years, who was in a group of four who had been up and back to Berg Lake, starting at 7am. Beyond Kinney Lake, the trail descended gently and we gained speed in the cool shady woodland, with big cedars and the rush of the white water next to us.

Back to the car at 5pm, it wasn't far back to the Lodge, where a cup of tea was welcome and a pile of washing was not! Showers, beers and dinner with a couple from Staffordshire, Mark and Sue, made for a relaxing evening, with a cloud-free view of Mt Robson from the dinner table.

Thanks Sue, you should do this more often!

Today's pictures are chronological as usual.

23 km hike with about 100 metres ascent and 1000 metres descent.