Rockies Roadtrip pt. 1: Mt. Robson Provincial Park

With covid we were worried that all the parks were gonna stay shut down (as Don from Comox Valley Kayaks would say "if that's the greatest of your worries, I want your life!"). Yes indeed we were both lucky to have kept our jobs and to have any kind of money. But we still wanted some summer adventure. In June, BC parks decided to open up backcountry camping so four of us seized the moment and got our hands on backcountry permits for the Berg Lake Trail. Shortly before the trip, Parks Canada also decided to open limited camping and backcountry permits. My very cool co-landlord and friend Matas and I seized the the opportunity to spend a solid 10 days exploring the mountain parks: Mount Robson Provincial Park, Jasper National Park (skipped Banff), Yoho National Park and Mt. Revelstoke National Park. His girlfriend very graciously lent us the Prius Hybrid for the road trip which ideal for 2 blokes who want to cover some distance and are stingy about gas! 

The trip started with a ferry trip from Vancouver Island to the mainland. Just after Active Pass, Matas spotted a trio of Killer Whales! A female, a baby and a big male (not pictured). I grabbed my camera just in the nick of time for this photo. 

We spotted a trio of orcas from the ferry

Normally by June it would be impossible to get permits for the world-famous Berg Lake Trail, but this year a lot of people had cancelled so enough spots opened up for us to piece together a string of camp sites.  Berg Lake Trail is popular for a reason: it has some of the most spectacular scenery (if not the most) I've seen anywhere in the world. We set off on the 5-day hike with high spirits. 

Source: BC Parks

Day 1

On July 7th we hiked the short 7 km to Kinney Lake where we were rewarded with the first of many rainbows. 

Day 2

We hiked from Kinney Lake to Marmot Basin (12 km). The early July wildflowers were in bloom in the forested zone, quite different from my 2017 mid-August trip when it was the alpine flowers that stood out. Those areas were largely snow-covered this time. 

Harlequin Duck

Day 3

We got up very early for our much anticipated hike up Snowbird Pass, a roughly 22 km round-trip from the main trail. Last time I was here, it was a bonanza of wildlife (see http://ragingbirder.blogspot.com/2017/08/robson.html). But first, we had to break camp and dump our packs at Robson Pass campground (could only get a reservation for one night). It was a bit annoying but saved us some extra hiking later on. We were by far the earliest hikers on the trail which bode well for spotting wildlife on the trail. Unlike my previous visit, the weather was cold, foggy and drizzly all day but we saw some epic wildlife in the rain. It started with a harlequin duck swimming around in the glacier-fed river. The melting of the Robson Glacier over that past 100 years had caused it to retread about 1 km. The limit from about 100 years ago is marked by a sign post. That expanse is now occupied by a silty lake flanked by moraines, and the base of the glacier is left with a dirt-stained appearance. To see the glacier in its full glory must have been awesome. In the lake, we picked out Barrow's Goldeneyes, while on the ridge we saw Clark's Nutcrackers, Pine Siskins and heard Brewers Sparrows, Townsend's Solitaire, White-crowned Sparrows and Golden-crowned Sparrows. As we got higher, the trail was flanked with tufts of white fur dangling from the shrubs: Mountain Goat fur. They were shedding their winter coats. Around the bend where the terrain opens up into alpine meadows, there they were: a herd of 5 Mountain Goats. They galloped across the stream quite epically. Several more were spotted later on. This was the definite highlight of our Mount Robson hike. Further up, we were delighted by the friendly Hoary Marmots that live up there. We spotted a Gray-crowned Rosy-finch. As I deployed my jacket hood to counter the intensifying rain, it muffled the sound of a bird that I would have missed had not Dom detected it: the sound of a White-tailed Ptarmigan. The sound allowed him to spot 2 of them flying and landing. We got very up close and personal with them (about 2 meters away from one). On our way down, we finally found an animal we had been expecting: the Pika. What I was surprised not to find was an American Dipper. During a fleeting window of nice weather, I seized the chance at shower in the alpine waterfall. 

Harlequin Duck

Mini avalanche

Mountain Goats

Gray-crowned Rosy-finch

Hoary Marmot

White-tailed Ptarmigan

The fog stole our view of the 3 mile wide Coleman Icefield

Mountain Goats

Can you identify this fledgling?

Pika

Day 4

The day after Snowbird Pass we were all a little sore and our boots had reached permanent wetness. Luckily we only had 8 km to hike...until I proposed we add the Toboggan Falls/Hargreaves Glacier side trail to our day. We were almost regretting it during the steep climb (having to again stop to remove clothing). We were continually adding or removing clothing over the 5 days, as the weather alternated between hot and cold and rainy. Our decision to do the side trail was later vindicated by the spectacular views we had, probably the best of the hike. We even found a 'cave' we'd heard about. On the way down, I stopped to look at a Golden Eagle, unbeknownst to me that my companions were preparing a devious snowball ambush. 

Mt. Robson viewed from the little-trod Hargreaves Glacier side-trail. The top only showed during the last day of the hike (when we were far from there)

I got about 50m into the cave, but the others were too scared to venture as far

Hargreaves Glacier, a sight most Berg Lake hikers pass by

Berg Lake

Day 5

On our last day we hiked from Whitehorn campground to the parking lot. Nothing eventful happened except that a stranger had removed our food cache from the bear locker and hid it behind the bear locker. Why would somebody do such a bizarre thing? We had left a note on it with our departure date. On our way out of the park, we came across a healthy Black Bear with 3 curious cubs along the side of the highway. Not the safest place for stopping but we found enough shoulder to pull over and I got a few crummy photos because my main lens had some internal fogging going on. I still managed a shot with my small lens. 

One of 3 baby black bears beside the highway

Dom and Melissa had to get going but first we stopped for some serious craft beers (Folding Mountain) and burgers in Jasper, while I got my camera battery charged and we grabbed a couple things at the grocery store. Dom and Melissa very kindly agreed to drop us off at the trailhead for the Tonquin Valley trail so that we could hike the horseshoe-shaped trail trail one-way back to our car. Unfortunately the gate person charged them 2 adult passes just for dropping us off - very uncool Parks Canada! Of course we compensated our friends for that. Everybody's joints and muscles were sore and boots were soggy from hiking frankly more km's than we'd set out to, but Matas and I were still eager for more. Our next hike would be even more epic...