Mt Robson 2004  

Accompanying by this year's WCT veterans TrailFlower & TrailBum (formerly TheChance), are Trillium, MooseHead and Vancouver hiking legend TheHiker. We're not exactly what you'd call 'fresh', after a few days of hiking the high trails in Cathedral Park, but a stop-over at the Clearwater Lodge gives us a night to clean up and reload our supplies.

It was quite a scene, as I paid a "good-night" visit to the rooms of TrailFlower & Trillium and TrailBum & MooseHead, with gear piles around the room, tents on the lawn, and laundry strung up like the prayer flags at Everest base camp.

Mt Robson (3954m/12,972')

'Fair Means' Travel

The day warms quickly as we make our turn eastward, and my windshield is suddenly filled by the spectacle that is Mt Robson. The sky is crystal clear and the peak is in full view, without so much as a streamer cloud to obscure the grandeur..... a rare treat indeed !

A stop at the visitor center for permits and lunch, and we're ready to hike by 1pm. The trail to Berg Lake is well built and heavily traveled, and with an early start it's possible to cover the 20km (12mi) in a single day, but you would need to leave your camera at home. We didn't even make it across the foot bridge to the trailhead, before the first photo op, and there will be many, many more.

Starting from 860m (2800'), our trail follows the course of the Robson River, and resembles coastal forests of our own backyards, here on the wetter, west side of the mountain. Our destination for the day is Whitehorn camp, in the Valley of a Thousand Falls. We spend the entire afternoon taking in the sights, as we wind our way up past Kinney Lk, across the alluvial fan, and up to camp at 1130 (3700'), where we will spend the night nestled beneath the shoulders of Robson's Emperor Ridge, with the steep walls of Whitehorn Mtn to the west.

Arriving at the campground atop Emperor Falls signals time for lunch, and our scenery changes dramatically. With the north face of Mt Robson now in full view, and the top of the Mist Glacier peaking out above the trees, we sit back and soak it all in with the afternoon sun. There goes that canoe again.

Onward we go, along an easy trail through the broadening glacial valley, for the remaining 5km (3mi) to our next camp and home for a couple of days. The views expand with every step and as we approach Berg Lk, at 1615m (5300'). I'm envious of my friends, who are seeing this for the first time. Our timing is perfect and I'm pleased that they're getting the full show !

Having secured some prime spaces for our tents, a late evening conference sorted out plans for our stay at the lake. Anticipating another perfect day, we agreed that Snowbird Pass and Titkana Peak would be tops on the agenda. The next order of business was deciding whether to stay up, or get up in the middle of the night, to catch the peak of the Perseids meteor show. It was a split decision.

TheHiker - Berg Lk Camp

Kain Face & Robson Glacier

White seed heads of  mountain avens carpet our route, which takes us directly to the receding toe of the glacier, and quickly up onto the massive lateral moraine, which parallels Robson's river of ice. Despite being a pretty good path, it's not a place to 'walk & gawk' as we wind our way up, but it's difficult not to stare at yet another new scene, hidden until now by Rearguard Mtn. A quick turn to the east, and we arrive suddenly in a hanging valley of meadows, with a beautiful water course draining the melt from Lynx Mtn. Snowbird Meadows are a haven for the largest Hoary Marmots I've ever seen. They are conspicuous in their absence today.

While lunching in Snowbird Pass, straddling the BC - Alberta border, we gaze southward across the Reef Icefield, at the growing mass of smoke billowing up, from a controlled burn on the Moose River. The rising heat is creating a towering cloud, growing before our eyes. It would be easy to linger here, but it's already after 2pm and we have a peak to climb. Four of us descend to the top of the meadows, and track northward before starting the climb, while TrailBum chooses a higher traverse. He's not convinced that was the best decision, but is waiting for us just the same, as we arrive on the summit.

Titkana Peak is named in Iroquois, for the Ptarmigan which share this area with the marmots,  and stands at 2820m (9250'). The views are superb, offering a full 360° panorama that is truly jaw-dropping. We sign the summit register and check our watches, realizing that TheHiker will be wondering what has happened to us, should we be very late for dinner.

Another pleasant evening, and once again it's TrailFlower, MooseHead and I who stay up, to watch the stars fill the night's sky. It's nearly midnight before the chill sends us to our tents.

Each day seems warmer than the last, and the southern exposure of Mumm Basin, our destination for the day, won't offer much for shade. TheHiker joins the group today, and we start off up the steep trail past Toboggan Falls, to intersect the Mumm Trail at the half way point. Once we reach the main trail, we carry on further up to find the entrance to a cave, exposed in the rock layers above. It's nice and cool inside, so we take our time to explore a bit.

Back on the main trail, we traverse east, as far as the provincial border, hoping the haze will clear. This is normally a fantastic vantage point for photos of Mt Robson and it's surroundings. But, our hopes are dashed, and if anything the smoke appears worse, in the mid-day sun.

Upon returning to camp, the team dives into Berg Lake to cool off...... not the Hodgeman though ! I have tested the waters of glacial lakes before, and I have a simple rule.... "If there's ice in it .... Don't swim there !!" I have a perfectly good bag of water at my tent, which has been warming in the sun all day :-)

The Team - Mumm Basin Cave

Emperor Falls

It doesn't take long to cover the 13km (8mi) descent to Kinney Lake, and we're really not very anxious to leave this wonderful place. We make a late departure and mosey back along the flats, for a lengthy lunch stop at Emperor camp. My plan was to linger long enough, to catch the afternoon light on the waterfalls. But the haze is persistent, and a few clouds add to the challenge of getting some good pictures. None the less, we enjoy another long stop, at the base of Emperor Falls, reveling in the coolness of the spray.

TrailBum is surprised to catch us, as we reach the Valley of a Thousand Falls, but we really have been taking our time. The river level has risen with the very warm weather, and even covers the trail a bit in places. Our chances of crossing the alluvial fan to Kinney Lake, without getting cut off, aren't very good. So, we stick to the main trail, and get situated at the Kinney campground in time for dinner.

After showers at the front-country campground, and a short stop at the visitor center to find something carbonated, we hit the road for home. A much better choice is made for dining in Clearwater, and we quietly devour our meals, as our attention is drawn to the television, and the start of the Olympic Games.

There are few words, or even photos, that can describe the grandeur of Mt Robson. Even while sitting at our lakeside camp, staring at the towering seracs of the Berg Glacier, and the summit peak rising 2380m (7800') from the far shore, the massive scale of this scene will deceive your eyes. I'm sure that this place has left as indelible impression upon the memories of my friends, as it has my own.

Whitehorn Mtn - Kinney Lk