Parks Canada is Off Route

Visitation to Canada’s Rocky Mountain National Parks has been declining. In an effort to reverse that trend, Parks Canada has announced it will allow the construction of a via ferrata in Banff National Park, at Mt. Norquay Ski Area, above Banff townsite.

Parks Canada does not construct new hiking trails in the Rockies. They don’t even adequately maintain existing hiking trails. (See photos below.) Yet they support what will essentially be an amusement-park attraction? We think this is ridiculous.

While hiking throughout the Canadian Rockies national parks, we’re constantly noticing areas where, if a new trail were constructed, it would soon become famous, because hiking it would be thrilling. Does anyone at Parks Canada recognize these opportunities?

A via ferrata focuses climbers’ attention on the immediate challenges it poses. A hiking trail opens hikers’ eyes, minds and hearts to the environment it traverses. Is anyone at Parks Canada aware of this difference?

Last year, we climbed some of the original via ferrata in the Italian Dolomiti. The routes were constructed during WWI to enable military troops to travel through the mountains. Re-purposing these via ferrata for peacetime recreation made sense.

Constructing a new via ferrata route where there is no such history, however, is nonsense, especially given that the Canadian Rockies’ hiking-trail potential remains largely untapped.

Yes, largely untapped. For every Sentinel Pass trail, Lake O’Hara Alpine Circuit, Rockwall trail, or Skyline trail, there are dozens of prospective trails in the Canadian Rockies that would be equally engaging.

Any of them, if constructed, would boost park visitation more effectively than would a via ferrata, because they would enhance the Canadian Rockies’ long-established reputation as one of the world’s premier hiking destinations.

Any of these as-yet unrealized trails would also better serve Parks Canada than would a via ferrata, because they would direct visitors’ attention differently: not toward a manmade contrivance (safety cables strung across a cliff, which could just as easily be located in New York State), but instead toward the unique, vast grandeur of the Canadian Rockies.

That’s our opinion. What’s yours?

Late Fall Hiking in the Canadian Rockies

Today is November 9, 2010. In our last blog post, we said that upon returning from northeast Italy and the French island of Corsica, we’d offer you whatever practical info we could about climbing the via ferrata in the Dolomiti and hiking the GR20.

Well, we’re back—early.

After one week of gorgeous weather in the Dolomiti, our via ferrata experience was cut short by an onslaught of snow and icy temperatures. Likewise, after one week of optimal weather on Corsica, we were forced off the GR 20 by lashing rain, obstinate wind, and low clouds (zero visibility), plus looming transportation disruptions in France due to nationwide protests (including fuel-refinery strikes) in response to the proposed retirement-benefits age increase from 60 to 62.

Still, we enjoyed the trip. We were grateful for the freedom to travel. And we learned a lot, particularly about how best to hike the GR20 unsupported—carrying a tent and your own food, thus avoiding the overcrowded huts. We’ll tell all soon, in an upcoming post.

For now, we’ll offer a brief report on some of the dayhikes we completed here in the Canadian Rockies immediately upon returning home. After all that adventure-quashing snow and rain in Europe, we arrived in Canmore beneath a blue sky. The sun was brilliant, the air calm, the temperature a relaxing 19° C, and the mountains not the least bit white. We dumped our climbing and backpacking gear, loaded our daypacks, and immediately ventured onto some of our local trails intending to fully appreciate this unexpected gift from that infuriatingly inscrutable weather demon Climate Change.

In Yoho National Park, we saw nobody while hiking the Emerald Triangle (Trip 52, page 199, Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies). The entire trail circling Emerald Lake (by way of Burgess Pass, the Burgess Shale Beds, the Wapta Highline, and Yoho Pass) was free of snow yet also devoid of hikers. Emerald Lake Lodge, usually a hive of activity, was closed for the season. No tour buses. No crowds. The parking lot, constantly teeming in summer, was empty. Ours was the only vehicle. So we urge you to keep this hike in mind for late fall, when you too might find optimal conditions yet have the trail to yourself.

Our experience in Yoho suggested anything was possible for hikers while such unseasonably warm weather persisted, so the next goal we set for ourselves was Tumbling Pass (Trip 35, page 152, Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies). Deep in Kootenay National Park, Tumbling Pass is among the scenic highlights of the famous Rockwall trail (Trip 89), which we’ve backpacked many times. On a dayhike (Trip 35) the pass is a distant yet worthy destination. But it’s next to, east of, and below the towering Rockwall. So we knew that, this time of year, it would be in shade when we arrived there at midday, and Tumbling Glacier would not be photogenic. What we’d forgotten was that, when the sun remains low on the horizon, shade = cold. We chose a sunny day, but our sacred star was unable to warm what it didn’t directly strike. So while the pass was snow-free, the air was icy. Soon after topping out, we were shivering. We snapped a couple photos, gobbled a snack, and layered up. Then we howled into the wilderness and began hiking out. It was November in the Canadian Rockies, we were carrying only daypacks, and at 4 p.m. we were crossing a frozen stream while still 11.5 km (7 mi) from the trailhead. It was exhilarating. What we saw on that hike, though impressive, was insignificant compared to what we felt. We were hyper-alert all day knowing winter was fast approaching, the sun was descending quickly, and we were utterly alone, way, way out in the backcountry. We treasure sharp-edged memories like this one just as much as we do the soft, warm ones.

Nevertheless, we sought a warmer, softer experience next time out. We hiked to Old Baldy Ridge (Trip 44, page 227, Where Locals Hike in the Canadian Rockies). It’s an ideal late-fall hike, because the trail ascends beside McDougall Creek through a southwest-facing canyon into which the sun shines all day. And the ridgecrest affords a grand view west to the Great Divide. Even if you decline the final, steep-but-short ascent to the ridge, the basin below the ridge is sufficiently dramatic to serve as a destination. As recently as a couple days ago, the canyon and the ridge were free of snow.

Mt. Yamnuska, which is among our early-spring / late-fall favourites, is another hike we completed recently. We encountered only a little, crusty ice and a few patches of wet snow on the back side, but otherwise the route was dry. And we shared the mountain with only two other hikers the entire day.

Our most recent hike was on Sunday, November 7. With the temperature dropping, and dense clouds pouring over the Great Divide, we enjoyed striding around Upper Kananaskis Lake (Trip 46, page 235, Where Locals Hike in the Canadian Rockies). Our friend Wood, the philosopher chef, joined us, so the conversation was as energizing as the scenery. The entire trail was snow-free. If you’re eager to get out, this 14.9-km (9.2-mi) loop is an optimal choice right now.

Though the weather appears to be returning to seasonal norms (daytime highs at or just above 0°C / 32°F), and skiers will soon venture onto the slopes at Sunshine and Lake Louise, the snowpack in the Canadian Rockies remains surprisingly light. Many hiking trails are still snow-free. In addition to those mentioned above, here are other prime possibilities:

Wasootch Ridge (Trip 43, page 223, Where Locals Hike in the Canadian Rockies).

Mt. Rundle, South Summit (Trip 40, page 212, Where Locals Hike in the Canadian Rockies).

From Old Baldy Ridge, we could see that even Mt. Allan (Trip 15, page 88, Where Locals Hike in the Canadian Rockies) is still hikeable. Here’s the link to the article we wrote about Mt. Allan in our Opinionated Hiker column in the Calgary Herald: http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Ready+challenge+Kananaskis+Country/3443994/story.html

The crowds and bugs are gone. The scenery is as magnificent as ever. The lighting is conducive to gorgeous photography. The solitude is delicious.

Walk on.

Trip 1, on page 42 of Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies, the Opinionated Hiking Guide, is Akamina Ridge / Wall and Forum Lakes. It’s a supreme ridgewalk in little-known Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park. Views from the alpine ridgecrest extend across the adjacent national parks: Waterton Lakes (Alberta, Canada), and Glacier (Montana, USA). We re-hiked Akamina recently and were as moved by the scenery as we were the first time. Of course, we carefully re-checked the On Foot description in our book. We noted only one change: There’s now a signed trail ascending from Forum Lake to the saddle between Forum and Wall lakes. You’ll see the sign to your right as you approach Forum Lake. Beyond the saddle, the description in our book remains accurate. If you’re visiting Waterton Lakes National Park this fall, and you’re a strong hiker willing to grapple with one pitch of scrambling, we urge you to give Akamina Ridge a go. It’s spectacular.

Last weekend, we hiked over Healy Pass to the Egypt Lake campground. The vast, glacier-lilly carpet on the southeast side of Healy Pass was spectacular. We encountered no snow, and the trail is in excellent condition. Extensive, recent maintenance is evident, particularly between Healy Pass and Egypt Lake. Thank you, Parks Canada. The next day, we toured Egypt, Scarab and Mummy lakes. Though the area derives its name from Egypt Lake, it’s the upper lakes — Scarab and Mummy— and the nearby passes — Healy and Whistling — that make this a premier backpacking destination. The footlogs that previously spanned the Scarab Lake outlet stream have been pushed aside by a torrent and are now useless, but hikers have improvised a tree-limb footbridge immediately downstream. It worked for us. We encountered snow on the ascent from Scarab to Mummy, but it posed no problem. (Scenery Alert: When rounding the east shore of Scarab Lake outlet stream, detour left / east to quickly attain an exciting, aerial view of Egypt Lake below. And immediately after crossing the Scarab Lake outlet stream, look left. You’ll see the stream is very short. Follow it downstream, and in one minute you’ll be standing on a precipice, peering directly down the cascade that plummets over the headwall into Egypt Lake.) Thick snowdrifts remain on the east shore of Mummy, but the lake is ice-free. It’s a gorgeous sight. From there, you can look north-northwest through Whistling Pass, whose south slope is now snow-free. We crossed a snowfield while ascending from Mummy Lake to Sphinx Pass, but the soft snow allowed easy kick-stepping. Sphinx Pass is snow-free. Descending southeast from the pass we were again on snow until reaching treeline. Below treeline, the snow is gone. The easiest descent route is directly down the groove beneath the pass, then beside the meltwater stream draining into Natalko Lake. At the lake’s outlet stream, we found the sign indicating the trail descending into Red Earth Pass. The trail initially descends beside the stream, then curves left (north) toward Egypt Lake. The trail (a former road that served the long-ago-abandoned talc mine near the lake) is in good condition, easy to follow. You’re thinking about backpacking to the Egypt Lake campground? Now’s the perfect time to go. But remember, the short detour from the campground to the namesake lake is just the beginning of a superb, half-day foray. Continue up to Scarab and Mummy Lakes, scramble above to Sphinx Pass, descend to Natalko Lake, then cruise back to Egypt Lake campground. The scramble to Sphinx Pass is short: easy bouldering, no exposure. Natalko Lake is surprisingly beautiful—not quite so impressive as Scarab and Mummy lakes but a much more rewarding sight than Egypt Lake. For full details, read Trip 85 (starting on page 298) in Don’t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies, the Opinionated Hiking Guide.