After spending a month hiding in the basement, we took the perfect day to head out for a hike, heading up to Stanley Glacier in the Vermillion Pass area of Kootenay Park.
We really like this trail, though it tends to be fairly busy, and on a perfect sunny Wednesday, the parking lot was mostly full when we got there at 10:45 AM. Still, once on the trail, we didn't see that many people. You start heading up through an area affected by natural forest fire about 20 years ago.
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| Castle Mt in the distance |
It's a hanging valley, so once up high, there are plenty of waterfalls and increasingly good views of the glacier itself.
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| A big single fall |
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| A pair high up |
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| Braided and green |
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| The glacier and icefield |
There's an official end to the trail about half way into the valley, but the real joy here is continuing up higher into the basin. There are at least 3 routes up, so you can pick your fave.
Up higher is a flat area where a bunch of creeks come out of the ground and coalesce to a verdant green marshy stream.
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| Soft green |
We found a mom white tailed ptarmigan and her brood of 3 chicks wandering around up here.
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| Mom |
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| 2 chicks |
Up at this level, you get "up close and personal" with the glacier (though you're still ~1 km and 400 m below the toe).
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| Yes, it's just a walk up |
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| The lowest part |
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| Head on |
Still, the views back down the glaciated U-shaped valley are pretty impressive, too.
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| Me, living life on the edge |
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| More edginess |
All that water on that knoll of course forms even more waterfalls.
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| Glacier up high, waterfall below |
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| The falls |
And of course what made the day perfect was pika sightings. One joined us for lunch. In total we saw 5 but heard at least 5 more.
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| Squished down, trying to look like a rock |
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| Foraging |
It's a pretty hike, but do climb to the trees in the middle of this photo. It's worth it.
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| Looking into the valley from the edge of the hang |
We got to the parking lot and smelled smoke. Apparently, a forest fire in the park a couple of km down the road at Numa Creek (initiated by lightning a few days ago) decide to get a LOT bigger.
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| Blue smoke with a cloud on top |
It even got bigger while we were watching it. Gonna be smokey around here for a bit.
1 comment:
Wow, that looks like one great hike!
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