Five Canadian Classics

Mon.-Fri. 1-5 August:  Five Canadian Classics

Nigel Creek, Parker Ridge, Wilcox Pass, Glacier Lake, Siffleur Falls – five classic trails in the Canadian Rockies, and all conveniently located within a fairly short drive from each other.  Over a five day period, I hiked these trails, and more.

Statistics Summary
Five Canadian Classics
Mon.-Fri. 1-5 August
Total Dist.	67.4 km (hike)
Height Gain	7,130 ft.
Max. Elev.	8,860 ft.
Time	20 hrs. 46 mins.

I’ve always enjoyed camping out in a tent.  On this trip, having the use of M’s cosy Boler trailer was a whole different level of convenience, and luxury.

For the first three nights, I stationed myself at Wilcox Creek, high up on the Sunwapta Pass, at the south end of Jasper National Park, at over 6,700 ft.  Although I had perfect weather, the temperatures dropped below freezing at night.  In fact, it was at Wilcox Creek back in July 1993 that I took the girls in our tent trailer, and it snowed.  Not this time. 

Monday:  Nigel Creek

I wasted no time.  Having set up camp, I drove south a few kilometers along the Icefields Parkway to the start of the Nigel Pass trail, just inside Banff National Park.  An old road runs up the side of Nigel Creek.  This was the main Banff-Jasper road before the Icefields Parkway was opened in 1961 – exactly 50 years ago this week. Nigel Pass trail drops down to a bridge across the creek, before heading up the creek on the opposite bank.  It was a sea of wildflowers, most prominent being the bright red Indian paintbrush.  There were also lots of tiny colourful butterflies flitting about, some light blue, others orange and bright yellow.

The trail heads north up the hillsides until it reaches an old Indian camp called Camp Parker, where it turns east and climbs into a wide valley.  At the head of the valley is a fairly flat-looking ridge line. This is Nigel Pass. Or strictly speaking, Nigel Pass itself skirts the northern end of this ridge, while the trail into the Brazeau wilderness keeps higher and contours through a gap on the higher southern end of the ridge.

I stayed on the main trail.  Once at the pass, I turned up onto this ridge, which I could now see was in fact a line of bare, hummocky hills, not unlike parts of northern Scotland.  As I found a route along the highest points of this ridge, in a northerly direction, I was treated to increasingly spectacular views of the Brazeau river valley, stretching away to the east.  I watched a couple of hikers making their way down the rock-strewn mountainside towards the green valley floor.  At some time in the not too distant past, a large section of mountainside had collapsed into the valley below.  It might have been only a few hundred years ago.

At the northern end of the ridge, I dropped down to a sparkling blue lake, marking the real summit of Nigel Pass.  Here a woman with two dogs was wandering around.  Dogs are not allowed up here as they can cause bear attacks, and this was also a designated dog-free caribou area.  I think she may have been looking for a lost pet, as I saw signs on various posts along the main highway indicating a missing dog up on Nigel Pass.

I picked up a faint horse trail, obviously not well used, and returned down into Nigel Creek, to pick up the main trail in the valley.  Just off the trail I stopped at the most picturesque mountain stream one could possibly imagine.  By the time I returned to the car, I had traveled over eighteen kilometres and I was ready to put my feet up.  I had met only a very small handful of people on this wonderful trail, and these were backpackers.  I chatted to two guys heading back down the trail after a 120 km trip across from the Cardinal River on the eastern slopes of the Rockies.

It was a perfect sunny day with a cooling breeze, perfect for hiking.  I hoped that it would continue for a few more days.

Statistics
Nigel Creek
Mon. 1 August
Total Dist.	18.2 km (hike)
Height Gain	1,245 ft.
Max. Elev.	7,280 ft.
Time	5 hrs. 20 mins.

Tuesday: Parker Ridge

Of all the trails in the Rockies, this must be one of the most popular.  I had no expectations of being alone today.  Nevertheless, an early start put me ahead of the crowds, with one exception, as I discovered higher up the ridge.

This trail starts just a short distance north of Nigel Pass trail, by the side of the highway in a spectacular setting.  The no-nonsense trail heads directly up the ridge, in a series of gentle switchbacks, and wide enough to allow two-way foot traffic.  Immediately the views were stunning, with the sort of pointy snow-capped peaks which kids like to draw but which don’t look real.

I quickly climbed up above the treeline to the bare, wide summit of Parker Ridge.  By continuing across to the southern side of the ridge, one quickly finds one of the classic Canadian view-points.  At the head of the valley is the Saskatchewan Glacier, curving its way down to the valley floor.  At its foot, a duck-egg blue lake.  It was not hard to see how quickly this glacier was receding.  Not many years ago, it would have extended down the valley.  Today, the valley floor is bare and rocky.  It is still a breathtaking sight.  And the scenery above Parker Ridge is also superb, with views towards Mt. Athabasca.

From the high point on the tourist trail, Parker Ridge rose towards the jagged mountain tops to the west.  The guide book suggested that I could reach a high point on this ridge, where it narrowed down to a rocky knob.  So I headed off the main trail up onto the ridge.  It was an enjoyable route, up an increasingly narrowing steep ridge.  Although only a very small fraction of the crowds who visit Parker Ridge would ever think to come up this far, there was still a clear trail marking the route. 

A small scramble over a steeper section brought me to the end of the hiking trail, at an exposed rocky summit, below the mountain wall to the west.  I had met the one early hiker coming down from this point.  He told me he had left a carrot out for his marmot friend and that I should not help myself to the offering!  The views were of course spectacular up there.

Back down on the main trail, I joined the crowds of tourists making their way up or down the ridge, speeding past them all on my rapid return to the crowded car park.

Driving a short distance north from the Wilcox Creek campsite, I dropped in to the Columbia Icefields centre for a look around. It was mobbed by hundreds of tourists, milling around and organizing their bus trips up onto the Icefields.  There were people from all over the world, enjoying this most classic of all Canadian experiences.  I could see across to the glacier, below which were lots of tiny stick people walking up the trail to the foot of the ice – and there were some groups on the ice itself.

In the campsite, the daily rotation of campers was taking place. Perhaps 90% of sites are occupied by people just spending one night.  So the place empties out each morning, and then slowly fills up again as the afternoon turns to early evening.  It was completely silent at night, with most people staying inside their modern RVs as the temperatures dropped towards zero.

Statistics
Parker Ridge
Tues. 2 August
Total Dist.	10 km (hike)
Height Gain	2,050 ft.
Max. Elev.	8,645 ft.
Time	3 hrs. 41 mins.

Wednesday:  Wilcox Pass and Peak

Today my hike started right from my own campsite.  Wilcox Pass trail winds up through the trees above the main highway which snakes northwards to the Columbia Icefields.  In no time at all, the trail comes out of the trees onto a high ledge above the valley floor.  From here it climbs up into a bare wilderness which is as close to a Scottish Highland scene as you will find anywhere in the world. 

This is Wilcox Pass.  It is more a wide bare valley ringed by high ridges, as opposed to being a mountain pass.  A pile of rocks marked the high point, where another trail headed west over the hillside to a spectacular view-point of the Columbia Icefields.  The ridge dropped almost vertically down to the Icefields Centre, where I had stood the previous day.  Beyond rose the icefields themselves. It was still early, and so there were few vehicles yet in the car parks, and no buses out on the glacier.  It was slightly overcast today, for a change, but the forecast was still good.

I turned northwards and walked up the open hillsides, covered with lines of jagged rocks, scraped by the ice of past glaciers.  My plan was to hike up the ridgeline of Wilcox Peak, as far as I could safely go without having to resort to any climbing.  I found a twisting trail which followed the steeply rising ridgeline.  What surprised me were the abrupt cliffs on the west side of Wilcox Peak, which dropped to the valley below.  The higher I climbed, the more spectacular the views across to the icefields, and the greater the western exposure. 

I carefully made my way up to the main ridge-top of the mountain, before stopping short of a tricky steep section leading to the summit.  Here I saw a fellow hiker making his way up the ridge behind me.  His name was Bruce and he planned to scramble all the way to the top.  He looked well equipped for the adventure.  I was happy to turn around at this point, after enjoying the exposure of standing on the edge of a precipitous cliff, way above the surrounding country, with a birds-eye view of the icefields.

As I dropped back down to the car, the number of trippers increased, until it was hard work keeping up with the constant greetings needed along the trail. The car park at the trailhead was full, but I simply had to stroll back up to my campsite.  This evening I sat out in front of the camp fire, enjoying a cheap English murder mystery.

Statistics
Wilcox Pass/Peak
Wed. 3 August
Total Dist.	13 km (hike)
Height Gain	2,165 ft.
Max. Elev.	8,860 ft.
Time	5 hrs. 22 mins.

Thursday:  Glacier Lake

In September 2009 I had strolled part way down the Glacier Lake trail to a grand viewpoint above the Howse River.  At that time I knew I would return to complete the trail into Glacier Lake.  Today I did just that.

I packed up the Boler and drove it carefully down the Sunwapta Pass to the Glacier Lake trailhead, just north of Saskatchewan Crossing.  I knew there might be bears on the trail, so I was equipped with bear spray and my noise-making tin of pebbles.  But I was taken by surprise on the very first bend in the trail by the sight of a black bear scampering off up the trail, making a galloping noise on the hard-packed trail surface with its feet.  He had become aware of me before I came around the corner, which was lucky as we would otherwise have met face to face!

This brief encounter would not put me off my plan for the day.  I just made lots of extra noise, as this bear was clearly happy to make distance from humans.

This trail crosses the racing waters of the Saskatchewan River on a long footbridge, then climbs a short steep hill, before flattening out as it heads westwards through the trees to the Howse River view-point.  It then drops down to the edge of the river.  From that point, all the way to Glacier Lake, a distance of about six kilometers, there are no views.  The trail disappears into the trees and climbs gently up the hillsides, crossing a tiny stream five times, and switch-backing up two short steep sections.  It then flattens out for about a kilometre before dropping steeply down and down.  Suddenly the trail comes out at a truly breathtaking mountain lake – Glacier Lake.

Glacier Lake is one of the larger lakes of the Rockies, measuring about 4 km long by 1 km wide.  It is set in a deep valley overlooked by tall mountains, and heavily forested around its edges.  The reflections of the surrounding mountains were almost perfect today.  A few yards along the lake, on the point where the river exits the lake, was the Glacier Lake campsite.  A young couple were its only residents.  We exchanged a cheery greeting.  There is an old log cabin there, in good condition. 

After bathing my feet in the cold waters of the lake, I started slowly up the steep hill, back to the car.  At the bottom of the hill I stopped to admire an engraving made in a tree trunk marking a topographical expedition to the lake in 1928.  Some of the names of the party were still readable.

On this entire trip I met only two groups, a middle-aged couple who were worried about meeting a bear, and three young backpackers heading for the campsite.  I was surprised that such a popular trail should be so empty.  Luckily it was now also empty of bears! 

Back safely at the car, I drove south for a kilometre down the Icefields Parkway before turning east at Saskatchewan Crossing onto the David Thompson Highway.  This magnificent wide highway, only created in 1975, is the only way out of the mountains between Lake Louise and Jasper.  It is also relatively unknown to tourists, and so much quieter than the Icefields road.  I set up camp at the Kootenay Plains Two O’Clock Creek campsite, close to the trailhead for my next hike. 

It was a hot afternoon, and I relaxed in my spacious campsite, surrounded by fields of wild-flowers, a ring of mountains, and a constant flow of vapour trails in the sky.  This campsite, at 4430 ft.,  is over 2,300 feet lower that Wilcox Creek, and so it felt a lot more like a summer’s day here in the wide Kootenay Plains.

Statistics
Glacier Lake
Thurs. 4 August
Total Dist.	18.4 km (hike)
Height Gain	1,450 ft.
Max. Elev.	5,450 ft.
Time	4 hrs. 31 mins.

Friday:  Siffleur Falls

Siffleur Falls trail is by far the most popular trail along the David Thompson Highway, and it may also be the most dangerous.  Over the years, two people have died there, as a result of which there are warning signs all the way up the trail.

The danger is due to the trail following the steep-sided canyon of the Siffleur River as it climbs to the first of three waterfalls.  Especially on wet days, the rocks become slippery, and it would be easy to lose your footing and slip down into the deep gorge, or be carried over the thundering falls.  They have constructed some sturdy lookout view-points, with some metal fencing, so you can still enjoy the exposure without putting yourself into jeopardy. 

This trail starts in the finest way, with the crossing of the Saskatchewan River on a long pedestrian suspension bridge.  The river was running high, and would be completely impassable, perhaps all year, except for this graceful bridge.  The trail then runs along a boardwalk, built to protect the fragile Kootenay Plains ecosystem.  After crossing the fast-flowing Siffleur River on a sturdy metal footbridge, the trail heads up the steep-sided Siffleur River valley.

The lower falls are worth a visit.  They were in full spate today.  I did not have the inclination to double the length of the hike, in order to take in the upper two falls.  Perhaps I might return to do this another day.  From beginning to end of this hike, I had the trails to myself.  This must be almost unheard of.  I could tell by the nature of the pathway that many people find their way into this remote mountain setting every day of the hiking season.

Packing up my campsite, I turned eastwards and completed the long circuit to Calgary, via Rocky Mountain House and Highway 22.  M’s little Boler had been happily towed 814 kilometres around the mountains, and I had successfully achieved five classic Canadian hikes in five days.  Now I was ready to put my feet up for a while – before heading out again!

Statistics
Siffleur Falls
Fri. 5 August
Total Dist.	7.8 km (hike)
Height Gain	220 ft.
Max. Elev.	4,600 ft.
Time	1 hr. 52 mins.