I think I’m going to try glamping next … you know, go when it’s warm and sunny, set up the tent, do day hikes, no big distances, no packing up, lots of coffee 🙂 Because today was a challenge!
Promptly at 5:30am, close to my planned start of the day, a major storm rolled in. And I mean major (the staff at Assiniboine Lodge apparently said they’d never seen is this intense!). Heavy thunder and lightning, first dry and then with rain. It sounded like a shower at first and then got heavy; the trees were shedding lots of needles onto the tent. No way I was getting outside the tent in this! I actually cuddled up with Ksanka to keep her calm (she didn’t seem too concerned though) and we waited it out.
There went my carefully planned early start! Eventually we packed up the wet tent and got on the way around 8:30am. The nice highway trail was now full of big puddles we had to step around, which wasn’t always easy (they filled the whole width of the trail; that was quite the rain!).
We ran into a nice German couple and chatted but with a long day planned we couldn’t linger too long with everybody (and yes, most want to say hi to the dog or the dog to them!).
After a few km the trail turned towards Marvel Lake, getting narrower with lots of roots and still lots of puddles. At first, it was pretty level to a campground near the lake, but eventually it started climbing and also had lots of brush that we dutifully wiped off with my pants 😳
The trail stays close to the lake for a while, then climbs up to a junction where we met a couple of guys who had come from Magog Lake. The sign stated 8km to the pass.
Those kilometers were not easy as the trail started winding its way up, but luckily the skies had cleared and we had sunshine and beautiful views towards the lake.
There’s a very steep section for about 1.5 km that really got us sweating. Then you end up in a nice meadow that rises gently to the actual pass with lots of great views of Marvel Lake and the surrounding mountains.
At the pass, we took our first sit down break with the backpack off. From there, you had a nice view of the whole Assiniboine core. gorgeous mountains all around and still nice weather with a little bit of wind at the top.
There wasn’t much water on the uphill, but we had brought enough and now started our descent towards the lodge. Lots of day hikers around!
It was about another 3km from the pass to the lodge where we were going to ask the ranger for some information.
When we got there, however, we found out that there isn’t really a ranger so we ended up talking with two girls who were working in the kitchen and got some distances looked up and sorted out.
It’s such a beautiful place; I would say an average lodge building but with the best view anywhere, so it would be nice to stay there sometime! I almost asked them if I could have a little sip of the coffee that was sitting there for the guests … you know, feet up on the chairs outside with a hot drink! The view of the “Matterhorn of the Rockies” is truly spectacular from that location!
So we had a decision to make after getting some clarification on distances: Continue on the planned route and try to make it to Porcupine camp (31km day) or go to Mitchell Meadows and from there to the highway. The distances are challenging on the GDT, and even though some sections of the trail are hikeable at a good pace, many sections are slower and take careful foot placement. The climb over Wonder Pass had taken a bit longer than expected, and we left the lodge at 2pm.
After taking in the views for a few more minutes, we left towards Og Lake and from there to Porcupine, hoping to smoothly cover the 16 km to the planned camp (we had already done 15km to the lodge). I could not imagine making it to Howard Douglas Camp from the lodge because it involves another steep climb over Citadel Pass and a few more kilometers further than going to Porcupine.
We had a nice meandering downhill and flat section with a beautiful open meadow to Og Lake, where we chatted with some guys – one of them was Big Springs guy who had packed up shortly after the storm was over that morning. The camp itself is not something I would pick … exposed in the alpine, no trees, no shelter (see later!). It did not look inviting to me at all (yet was fuller than most other camps I’ve seen). I stopped to get some water at the lake, Big Springs guy moved on.
The picture below is somewhat misleading (looking back through trees) … it’s wide open around camp.
Then the weather happened! For comparison, the clouds were looking dark-ish at 3:20pm in the picture above looking back at Assiniboine. By 3:57pm in the below picture, we had endured intense thunder, lightning and a hail storm of epic proportions! I wasn’t even able to really take pictures, trying to protect humans and dog and gear! It was loud, and really hurt even my back with multiple layers on and under a tree.
We had seen some darker clouds in the mountains earlier, but this major storm came on so quickly. From one minute to the next, it was thundering loudly with lightning and the hail started to come down. We tried to find a suitable tree to take shelter, but it wasn’t enough to keep the hail off of us and I just tried to drape myself over Ksanka and the backpack to avoid the worst.
We hunkered down for maybe 15 minutes, getting wet and cold and seeing the hail accumulating around us. A few people passed by which the dog alerted me to and they looked into the trees surprised! I just called out to them and said we were sheltering.
After maybe 20 minutes of that we decided to put some plastic on our heads and over the pack as the rain now didn’t really matter anymore – all was wet anyway. So we started moving down the trail again, now in rain and over the accumulated hail. It looked like winter (much more than in the picture above).
We did run into a few more people, some miserable, some not really minding all the thunder that was happening all around us. It sounded like there were two thunderstorms on either side of the valley (something I would have loved to watch from a little cabin!). We literally walked on snow from all the hail that had accumulated. And of course, lots of puddles so between the slippery roots there was water, and we had to be very careful finding secure footing.
However, Ksanka had turned on fifth gear after we had left the shelter and was pulling hard. Not sure towards what … Sorry, I was very focused during that time and didn’t take pictures; it was also tricky to stop, get the camera out, wipe it dry, manage with wet hands etc. So this was a “head down and get through it” kind of section!
To be fair, those 9 km from Og to Porcupine seemed long. The trail went up and down with some very steep downhills. Challenging with the determined dog (yes she needs more training)! The hail had made us very wet and cold but with fast walking, we were just warm enough. I just couldn’t wait to get to camp.
The camp actually sits quite low off the main trail so if you don’t need to camp here, you can avoid this drop. If you do need to camp here, the climb up and over Citadel Pass the next morning is a big one!
We arrived here in camp at 7:30 pm and it’s a very busy camp! Quite a few multiple-site groups, maybe 15-18 people altogether. It’s not a big camp but there is extra space under the trees (not tent pads) that are nice and flat. Only one very small eating area and only 4 bear boxes for all of this so we shared of course.
Big Springs guy had made it and we chatted a bit. Another nice couple, out for a campground stroll, stopped by and we chatted a bit longer. To be fair, I was soaked and cold so really just wanted to get going on getting dry, getting water, setting up the wet tent, eating something and somehow warming up.
Of course Ksanka got her food, I just had snacks as I just didn’t want to try heating up water, letting food soak, going to the eating area etc. It was getting dark very quickly.
So we locked our food and put on dry clothes. Can’t say it worked right away because even with all my dry clothes on, including my puffy, I was still feeling cold during most of the night (not freezing or shivering but the core was still cold). I remember waking at 4:30am and still wanting to close up the quilt and all zippers … something I rarely do since it’s usually too warm. Yep, those hours during and after the hail took their toll!
I think I’ve had my quota of thunderstorms now; of course that can always happen in the mountains but some reliably sunny days would be nice too! So tomorrow requires a decision, and with 35km to cover to the next camp (which is the one we have reserved) if we stay high, I just don’t think we can make it.
It’s a big climb to start (1780 to 2390m), and then a long distance to cover (by now I know it’s never really an easy trail). The trail stays high, drops down to Sunshine, then over to Ball Pass Junction. At this point I don’t feel like stressing for another day just to get to camp; it would be nice to have more time to enjoy the views more (when available!). And who knows about the weather, smoke, trail conditions etc.
So instead we will take the trail to Surprise Creek where we have camped before (14km according to the sign here, losing elevation), and then 10km to the highway from there (I’ve hiked that stretch before). From the highway it’s an easy hitch to the car, a few parking lots further along the highway. During the wet day yesterday I thought I wanted to enjoy the high ridge another time, with more leisure, less distance, in good weather and just doing 2 camps or so starting at Sunshine. I know it’s spectacular and we will see it!
Happy trails!