Glacier National Park, B.C.
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Great Glacier Trail Glacier National Park, B.C. |
July 20, 2018
Oh, boy! Another new national park to explore. I have read great things about this place.
Approaching the hiking venue
Unlike Revelstoke which I visited yesterday, this area has a plethora of hiking options; but I cannot do them all in the single day that has been allocated to this park.
I have opted for Trail #9 ⇔
My trail is the approach to the Illecillewaet Glacier, which has become known simply as the Great Glacier. The biggest of 131 named glaciers in the park, its name is Okanagan for "swift water".
Illecillewaet River
The hike starts on a portion of a rail trail, which is what remains of the great Canadian Pacific Railroad in this area.
It seems that a hundred years ago, this was "The Place".
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Glacier House today
In fact, Glacier House is the acknowledged birthplace of mountaineering in North America. In its first two decades of operation, professional and amateur climbers from all over the world tested their skills on the nearby peaks.
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The C.P.R also hired several Swiss guides to assist less mountain-savvy
tourists in the high country.
Starting into the forest
Illecillewaet River
So far, the trail is so well-constructed that it is a joy to traverse.
This feel-good environment is reminiscent of my New Zealand tramps
Whoa! What's that up ahead?
It looks like a monster cataract up there
This is exciting.
The New Zealand trails weren't this friendly, however
There it is again
Dwarf Dogwood
Leatherleaf Saxifrage
Heidi surely is around here somewhere
Lewis's Monkeyflower
Eventually, the trail degenerates as it steepens
Then the view opens up. Oh, my!
Illecillewaet Glacier Falls
More work to do
Where I just came from
Two lesser glaciers over there
It wasn't that long ago that this entire area in view was covered by the Illecillewaet Glacier. In fact, its snout was but a short walk from the back of Glacier House.
End of the official trail
Scrambling over to that slab for a better view gets me this:
Words fail me
This is the most visually stunning scene I have encountered in many years. Of course, one must actually be here to fully appreciate it.
Carmine is as high as I am
After munching a bit of gorp and sunning myself on a slab for a few minutes, I decide to depart.
Starting down
Presently I fall and bump both knees on some rock. Bummer.
It wasn't the creek that got me, but a tree root
The going is pretty crappy in here
Naturally, some parting shots are in order:
This is why I came to Canada
It is difficult to concentrate on one's footing at a time like this
The sky has unexpectedly darkened just in the last ten minutes. Suddenly, a downpour begins. This is not bad in itself, but I am compelled to stash the camera inside my raingear. I am unable to take another photograph until near the end of the walk, and I don't like that at all.
Back on the rail trail
Back at Illecillewaet Creek
§: What a marvelous outing! A mostly delightful trail combined
with outstanding views is hard to beat. Only the rainstorm put a damper
(sic) on it.
I always have a backup camera. In past times, it was a small waterproof model,
because that's what I had. More recently, I have switched to an even smaller unit
that happens to have a 30× zoom that always could come in handy.
I need to be more careful of equipment selection in the future, however. If ever there is a chance of bad weather, I need to swap in the waterproof backup unit, which always is available in my car. That way I never would be left 'high and dry' in the rain.
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Google Earth view
Back at the car, I discover that my exit has been blocked by an unfortunate incident:
A detour is available by driving the wrong way through a campground
After that downpour, the hot sun at my motel in Golden enables my hiking paraphernalia to dry out.
