Coast to Coast Trans-Canada Road Trip, Days 5 & 6: Glacier National Park, British Columbia

Balu Pass Trail

I LOVE Glacier National Park. I believe I could easily spend a week, perhaps two, exploring it's many fine hiking trails. Who knew? Certainly not I, having obviously been unfairly distracted by the lure of it's more iconic neighbours to the east, Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay.

We had planned on staying one night in Glacier and decided to pony up for two. This gave us enough time to hike two of the park's most scenic trails, as recommended by the helpful Parks Canada staff, Balu Pass and the Asulkan Valley.

Balu Pass Trail
Estimated time (return): 4 hours
Distance (return): 12.8km
Elevation gain: 788m
Difficulty: Moderate
Hike details for both hikes taken from the Glacier National Parks trail brochure.

The trailhead for Balu Pass is conveniently located behind the visitors centre at Rogers Pass. It starts with a steep climb through a fairly unremarkable (sorry, but I must call a spade a spade) stand of hemlocks. Not to worry though! In a reasonably short amount of time the trail opens up into alpine meadows with gorgeous views stretching across the valley to Balu Pass. I know all valleys and alpine meadows make for pretty pictures, but these are particularly scenic AND the layout of the trail coupled with uncharacteristically well-aligned valley walls allow for unobstructed views for the remaining length of the hike. Charge your camera batteries before you go and pack a big lunch! This trail requires some degree of endurance but you'll be well rewarded for your efforts.

Asulkan Valley Trail
Estimated time (return): 6 hours
Distance (return): 13.8km
Elevation gain: 869m
Difficulty: Moderate

Here is the Canadian alpine hiking experience of your picture-postcard-perfect dreams. I mean it! Close your eyes and imagine the required elements of the quintessential west coast alpine hike and this trail has them in spades. Valley views, a rushing icy creek, glaciers, wildlife, even an alpine hut and, oh yes, a steep grind or two (or three or four) to get the blood pumping. As an added bonus, the hike begins with a walk through the ruins of the old Glacier House Hotel, complete with plaques detailing the establishment's colourful history. What more could one ask for in a trail?

Note: Snow cover made the last sections of both these hikes difficult and slow-going. What's more, though we saw no bears on either of these trails, we have heard that bear activity can be of heightened concern some years. Check trail conditions with Parks Canada staff at Rogers Pass before heading out. Happy hiking!

Coast to Coast Trans-Canada Road Trip, Day 3: Vancouver to Sicamous, BC

Aside from brunch at  Havana and a quick stop at the Super Saver to pick up groceries, today was mainly a day for highway travel. Having spent the first 3 days of our journey lollygagging in the vicinity of the coast the time was more than ripe for getting a sizable chunk of road between us and the Pacific Ocean. We drove over 500km east of Vancouver past many scenic vistas along the Trans-Canada and Coquihalla Highways to Yard Creek - a fittingly pedestrian name for a park who's most winning attribute, as noted in it's own brochure, is the reliable availability of campsites.

Now, before you get the urge to scold me for slagging a provincial park (I didn't write that brochure, you know) I should add the park has suited our purposes very well. We've found our lovely wooded campsite to be amply sized and offering an adequate degree of privacy. It's also reasonably-priced (campsites are $20/night with a maximum occupancy of 4 persons, bundles of campfire wood are $5). It may not have much to offer in the way of hiking trails, but that's easily overlooked with the promise of Revelstoke and Glacier National Park located just down the highway. We hope to arrive at Revelstoke tomorrow morning. If you've been to these parks and have any suggestions for things we should do or hikes we should check out, we'd love to hear them!

And speaking of tomorrow morning, it's time for this sleepy traveller to hit the proverbial hay (unroll my Thermarest and crawl into my sleeping bag). G'night!

Farewell, Vancouver Island: 5 Years & 10 Favourite Outdoor Adventures

Less than a week until we hit the road! I'm beginning to suspect one month may not be enough time to effectively plan and make arrangements for an around the world journey...but check-in with me in a day or two and we'll see where things are at. Fingers crossed!

Keeping focused on the most important details at hand, we've been taking time as of late to bid a fond farewell (it's not goodbye) to friends and pay a visit to some of our favourite places on Vancouver Island. Of course, some of those places are too far afield to get to before we leave on Friday, so I'll have to make do with encouraging others to visit those places in our stead.

My 10 Favourite Outdoor Adventures on Vancouver Island

1. The North Coast Trail/Cape Scott Trail

A shoo-in for the number one spot on my list is our 6-day, 72km hike on the North Coast/Cape Scott Trails. When we did the trip in 2009, the North Coast Trail - a rugged and beautiful traverse of beaches and forest at the north end of Vancouver Island - had been in existence for less than a year and was somewhat of an undiscovered gem. The lack of trail traffic we encountered heightened that soul-satisfying sense of exploration and adventure - every long distance hiker's raison d'être. What more could you ask for?

2. Summiting Mount Albert Edward, Strathcona Provincial Park

The trail to the summit of Mount Albert Edward - one of Vancouver Island's 5 highest peaks - starts at Paradise Meadows and heads across the Forbidden Plateau in Strathcona Provincial Park. We set aside 3 full days to enjoy the 30km trail at a relatively laid-back pace but we did notice others doing the trip as an overnighter or even as a day hike. The views from this trail are breathtaking - both literally and figuratively - but while it's steep in spots, this isn't a technically difficult summit. Good times for the whole family!

3. Kayaking the Broken Group Islands, Pacific Rim National Park

Last year we spent 6 glorious days kayaking the Broken Group Islands - a collection of small islands and islets in Pacific Rim National Park. The sunsets were beautiful and the paddling was mostly calm (though things did get a bit choppy on the longer crossings). We also saw lots of wildlife, including a humpback whale that breached less than twenty metres ahead of us in the open water off Reeks Island.

Rounding Out My Top 10…

4. Juan de Fuca Marine Trail
5. Caving at Horne Lake Caves
6. Kayaking in the Gulf Islands
7. Tidal Pools at Botanical Beach
8. Winter Camping on the Forbidden Plateau
9. Coastal Trail, East Sooke Park
10. Cathedral Grove

What About the West Coast Trail?

Those familiar with hiking trails on Vancouver Island may notice one glaring omission from this list. Despite hiking just about every other long and short distance trail on the Island, I've managed to overlook doing the most famous hike in the region, and probably the country - the West Coast Trail in Pacific Rim National Park. I have a history of this sort of ridiculousness (during my only visit to France, I spent 5 days in Paris and didn't go see the Eiffel Tower). I don't know why I do these sorts of things, but it does provide me with a handy excuse to return in the future. For now, let's just say had I done the West Coast Trail I expect it would have appeared somewhere amongst the top 5 entries on this list.

More to Come...

That sums up my Vancouver Island top 10…for now. Though we'll soon be leaving the west coast, I very much hope to return one day. If you have any suggestions for trips I should add to my to-do list, I'd love to hear them!

Check out more posts about our hikes on Vancouver Island.

Wordless Wednesday: Tide Pools at Botanical Beach

My Favourite Places on Vancouver Island: The Forbidden Plateau,Strathcona Provincial Park

Trail marker on Mount Albert Edward,
Forbidden Plateau, Strathcona Provincial Park

 
Trip details:

• Route: Paradise Meadows Trailhead to Circlet Lake to Mount Albert Edward summit and return
• Distance: Trailhead to Circlet Lake, 10.5km, Circlet Lake to summit, 6km (total 33km round trip)
• Maps and park details: Strathcona Park on BC Parks website
• Location: Strathcona Park, Mount Albert Edward on Google Maps
• Trail difficulty: Easy to moderate
• Our total trip cost:$110 for 2 nights camping and 3 days of hiking
  
  • 2 nights camping ($5 per night, per person), $20
  • Food, $40
  • Gas, $50

Though I wouldn't call a round trip from Paradise Meadows to the summit of Mount Albert Edward an easy hike, it's definitely one I'd recommend to people who have a bit of hiking under their belts and are looking to cut their teeth on a slightly more substantial trip. As summits and backpacking over nighters go, the easy to moderate hike up to the campsite is relatively short - about four hours - and once you're there you can set up basecamp and hike with a lighter pack on the moderately difficult climb to the summit. Depending on the weather, the hike up the mountain can be dangerous in spots and requires a healthy fitness level, but we encountered a few children on the hike this past weekend as well as some very fit light hikers who were completing the entire circuit in one day.

We set out from Victoria after work on Friday and arrived at the trailhead parking lot 3 and half hours later. Facilities at the parking lot are sparse but there is a pit toilet and an information centre open during the day. We camped at the parking lot that night and hit the trail just before 9am the following day.

The hike to Circlet Lake from the trailhead begins with an easy stroll along wide boardwalks past many pretty lakes and flowering meadows. 3km down the trail we reached Lake Helen Mackenzie, where we stopped for a quick break before continuing on to Kwai Lake. From this point on the trail gets a bit more difficult and less well maintained with a few moderate gains in elevation and patches of snow (even in early August).

We arrived at Circlet Lake just before 1pm and were happy to snag the last remaining site by the water. After a quick dip (it was a bit too cold to enjoy a swim) we set up camp and enjoyed an afternoon relaxing by the lake and taking in the views. Our more ambitious neighbours spent the rest of the day checking out the ridge across from the lake which they reported was a great hike though it required a bit of bushwhacking.

The next day we started out on the trail at 9am to summit Mount Albert Edward. The first part of the hike is the most difficult and includes a steep climb up to the first plateau where we were rewarded with a nice view of Moat Lake. With all the snow, we lost the trail a couple of times but it wasn't too hard to spot the rock pile markers as it was a clear day. We did hear reports that navigating the trail can be very difficult in foggy conditions.

After the first plateau there's another short and slightly less steep climb towards the ice fields. If the weather is clear bring your sunscreen because you're going to bake like a potato. Having underestimated the amount of sunscreen required for the trip we both suffered from nasty sunburns by the end of the day. Wear lots - I mean, gallons. A word from the wise, though warm temperatures might temp you to wear a tank top, I'd also recommend loose fitting, light coloured clothing that covers your back and shoulders. One other note, a man we encountered in the campsite the night before had suffered mild heat stroke on the mountain the day before so take it easy if you need to and make sure you drink lots of water on the way up. There are plenty of ponds along the way where you can fill up your water bottle.

The final approach up to the summit is loose gravel and a bit steep. Watch your step! We reached the top shortly after 1pm and spent about an hour resting and marveling at the views before beginning our descent which took another 4 hours. We arrived back at our basecamp around 6pm. Some of the other groups we encountered at the summit spent the afternoon summiting Mount Jutland or Castlecrag returning to the campground just before sunset between 9 and 10pm.

If you're up for a moderately challenging hike with some priceless high altitude views, you'll likely find a trip on the Forbidden Plateau to be just the ticket. We had an unforgettable time and I can't wait to go back. Gobsmacked, I tell you!

Check out my Forbidden Pleateau Flickr set.