GDT Day 9 – Aug 12

It’s time to get out of this campground! So I got up early and started preparing. It hadn’t started raining yet during the night but was coming in; so the faster I got the tent packed up, the drier it would be. Multiple people (depending on where their phones were registered) received weather emergency warnings about rainfall and thunderstorms, and the local forecast warned that Wednesday afternoon to Friday morning would be extremely wet and cold with thunderstorms. 

I quickly got the tent packed up and then moved all my stuff onto the covered porch by the laundry. I could sit there, have coffee and slowly get everything packed. The soaking wet groundsheet actually dried off well in the heated laundry room!

Jared was hanging out there as well (chairs and outlet, vs tight tent in rain) and we chatted lots about the trail, gear etc (he’s heading home to Kelowna with a ride on Thursday). I was able to leave some items with Keith and Gwen, to be picked up in Cranbrook. They didn’t know yet when they would head back so I said I’d text if I needed a ride. 

Then Danita and Kevin, plus grandkids Allie and Mason, picked me up to get to the trail to Window Mountain Lake. 

We had an enjoyable chatty time, making our way up the rough road. Kevin knows the area well through work and had lots of interesting facts to share. In good weather there are plenty of wonderful hikes with amazing views to do!

It was mostly misting during the drive, with some rain. The forecast and rainfall warning until Friday were not ambiguous about this! I didn’t ignore this warning but decided I could try and see how the trail, lake and environment looked.

It was sad to see my new friends leave as we hiked the steep ascent towards Window Mountain Lake. Still misting, the trail was mostly dusty and rocky. 

We passed three day hikers and arrived at the lake. I walked to the furthest camp area to check it out and chatted with some other hikers who had come southbound for a few days and are also doing trail maintenance soon. They hadn’t left the lake due to the wet conditions but planned to move on tomorrow.

While I got some water, the rain got harder. Main priority was to get the tent up while somewhat dry and all my stuff inside. We succeeded, even though everything outside (on us, tent, some gear) was wet now. The dog was happily jumping around the campsite (and smelled like fish after 😷 ) and then we sat in the tent, assessing. 

Ksanka was cold so I put her coat and a space blanket on her. I started to put on all my dry clothes, taking the wet off but was still cold even covered with the quilt. Leaving the truck it had said 6C so I guessed the temp up there to be about 4C. 

This being 2pm, 8 hours away from sleeping through a freezing night, cold and wet already … I took a few minutes to really think this through. 

I still had time to walk out, likely find a ride on the road due to the race support happening at least further down. The weather warnings predicted this to last until Friday morning (this being Wednesday afternoon). I knew I wouldn’t attempt the pass and saddle in the storm but even the regular (always steep) trails would be very difficult to navigate. Thunderstorms were predicted too and I already heard some thunder. 

So I decided to bail out. Worst case scenario I could walk the about 19km into town on the bad road but at least it’s downhill and I could get to civilization. Danita and Kevin had offered to pick me up if needed so that was a lifeline I could access (satellite texting them). 

I did see at least two racers pass and wondered how they would fare. They have support stations but still a lot of difficult (now slippery) terrain to cover. 

So I packed up dripping soaked gear, even rinsing the mud that had splashed up with more water, it really didn’t matter anymore. The dog was happy to move and so we made it carefully through the very steep section and soon exited to the first side road (“road” might be optimistic, it’s more an ATV access path). Since we had been dropped off there had already formed huge lakes on the road. I walked for probably 1.5 hrs on the side and then main roads with no cars coming. I wanted to get to Atlas Pass on the road and would then reassess. 

Just then a side-by-side from Calgary Search and Rescue came up and stopped. They were completely full with staff and at least one racer they were taking back but offered to call Danita and Kevin when they got to their staging area. I was thankful … but just as they pulled away, a truck came up the road, they talked to them and Glen stopped by our side. They had asked him if he would give us a ride back to town and he was happy to do so, just had to go back to the last checkpoint and pick up some race items from the dismantled checkpoint. So we drove back all I just walked, picked up stuff and headed down. I satellite texted Danita quickly to make sure they ignored any calls from Calgary SAR.

So Glen and I had a bumpy ride down, with lots of standing water on the road already and mud at the staging area where we dropped items. He was good company and Ksanka settled into the back after some confused stares. 

With tent and other gear being wet, spending another night at the campground sounded miserable. So I asked Glen about motels and we decided to call two about their pet policies when back in reception (Glen knew exactly at which corner we could connect!).

But Danita was faster 😍 She told me later she texted back so quickly to avoid that I was making other arrangements, as they had already decided that I needed to come to their house if I was coming back (which they hoped). 

Glen was happy to drop me there, it was on his way. And that’s how I went from wet, muddy, cold tent to warm, dry house, dinner and tea and cookies.

Ksanka is exploring and giving the love she’s receiving right back. She finally settled on her dog bed after checking out everything. My tent is drying in Kevin’s carpentry shop. My clothes are spread out. The warnings are still the same:

Immensely grateful to Danita and Kevin’s care and concern, and warm hospitality. 

Happy (very wet) trails!