2017 VOC Rocky Mountain Hiking Campout August

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1 2017 VOC Rocky Mountain Hiking Campout August OK, here s the details about the 2017 campout that you have all been waiting for! The campout will start and finish in Yoho, beginning with the Iceline trail in Yoho and proceeding from there to do a few hikes on the Icefields parkway between Banff and Jasper followed by a couple near Jasper itself and concluding with the 20 August Niles Meadow hike back in Yoho again. Hikers can, of course, pick and choose which hikes they wish to do; the bookending of the campout in Yoho was done to facilitate travel to and from Vernon and allow for people who may not want to participate in the entire campout. To very succinctly list hike locations: 13/14 and 20 August are in the vicinity of Yoho, 15/6 areon the Icefields Parkway, 16/17/18 near Jasper, 19 on the Parkway again and 20 August back in Yoho. See attached Hike Location pdf for approximate trailhead locations. Hikers will have to change where they sleep unless they choose to drive over an hour to some trailheads. Wynn and Maria plan to stay in Field (Yoho) the nights of 13/14 and 19 August, and the days in between in Jasper, but people may wish to camp halfway up the Icefields parkway for a couple of the hikes that are located near the Athabasca Glacier. (We chose to locate ourselves in Jasper since we will be hotelling vice camping and the hotel options on the Icefields Parkway there are quite limited.) Maria and Wynn s cell is I recommend that anyone coming on the campout give us their cell number before we leave to facilitate coordination/prevent discombobulation. Wynn will compile a list of hikers/numbers and share our contact info amongst all of us before we leave Vernon. Below is the day to day plan with hike details and directions to the trailheads. Since hikers have the option to stay where they want, anyone wanting to attend a given hike just needs to show up at the trailhead ON TIME. I ve endeavoured to schedule harder hikes alternated with easier ones to give our aging bones some relief one of the hike leaders is even taking us to a hot spring in Jasper after days of hiking!

2 Saturday, 12 August Driving day to the vicinity of Yoho. Sunday, 13 August. Iceline trail in Yoho. Trailhead is at the WhiskeyJack hostel just before you arrive at Takkakaw Falls. Note that you can t park there, you have to park at the Tak Falls lot and then walk a couple of hundred metres back on the road to the hostel. This is one of the great trails in Yoho and a very popular one which ascends above the treeline partway up one side of the valley and offers stupendous views across it (including of Tak Falls) and of the mountains on that same side. We ll pass by the lovely, log, Stanley Mitchell Alpine Club hut and descend to the forested valley trail for the return. Hiking Distance: 21 kms Elevation Gain: 690 metres Leader: Wynn Polnicky Don t Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies reference: Trip 13 Monday, 14 August Helen Lake/Cirque Peak. Trailhead is on the Icefields Parkway 33.2 kms north of the Hwy 1/Icefields Parkway interchange, directly across from the Crowfoot Glacier viewpoint. (Anyone who recalls fording the Bow River a few years ago will remember the paved Crowfoot Glacier viewpoint). This is a fabulous hike that offers great scenery even to those who don t make it to the peak. Hiking Distance: 12/14/16 kms to the lake/ridge above the lake/cirque Peak Elevation Gain: 422/550/1043 metres Leader: Ron McDougall

3 DWYTITCR Trip 8 Tuesday, 15 August Parker Ridge. Departure time from trailhead: 09:00 Trailhead is 41 kms north of the Saskatchewan River Crossing at the junctions of highway 93 and 11 (or 4.2 kms south of Banff-Jasper boundary at Sunwapta Pass). Parking lot is on the west (south) side of the parkway, near the Hilda Creek Hostel. This is a short, easy, hike (with a stiff but brief ascent) that provides spectacular views of the Saskatchewan Glacier, views which are unavailable from the parkway. Views are by far the best in the morning, hence the relatively early departure for such a short hike. Hiking Distance: 4 kms (to the glacier view) or 11 kms with an add on further up the ridge Elevation gain: 272 metres to the glacier view, or 593 metres with the add on Leader: Wynn Polnicky DWYTITCR Trip 11 Wednesday, 16 August Upper Brazeau Canyon/Cataract Pass. Trailhead is 37 kms north of the Saskatchewan River Crossing or 8 kms south of the Banff-Jasper boundary at Sunwapta Pass. Parking is on a dirt access road below the NE side of the Parkway. On this hike we start in Banff National park and cross into Jasper via Nigel Pass. We ll then follow a trail (not maintained by Parks Canada) crossing some boulder fields to overlook Cataract Lake. Hiking Distance: 26 kms Elevation Gain: 640 metres

4 Leader: Dave Petitclerc DWYTITCR Trip 10 Thursday, 17 August Bald Hills. Departure time from trailhead: 09:00 Trailhead is on the Maligne Lake Road, the turn off for which is 5 kms east of Jasper townsite. Proceed up the Maligne Lake Road another 44.3 kms to the eponymous lake, continuing past the lodge to the parking lot at the road s end. Trailhead itself is at the signed, gated, dirt road. Trail proceeds to a ridge (with no trees, hence the name) with great views of Maligne Lake and the Queen Elizabeth Range on its opposite side. Hiking Distance: 12.7 kms Elevation Gain: 610 metres DWYTITCR Trip 36 Those wishing a somewhat easier hike can opt for Opal Hills, leaving from the same trailhead but with less stunning views. It is only 8kms and 450 metres. If you do this one you would be on your own, but presumably we d all car pool to the trailhead(s) together. Social/dinner in Jasper this evening? Friday, 18 August Sulphur Skyline, aka Sulphur Mountain Hot Springs. Bet you wondered when we were going to get here! Departure time from trailhead: 09:30 Trailhead: Drive 44.3 kms NE on Hwy 16 from the Hwy 16/Icefields Parkway junction (at the southwest edge of the Jasper townsite). Turn SE on to Miette Hot Springs Road. Drive 17 kms to the road s end parking lot. Steep climb for great views of the Fiddle River Valley, with the hot springs at the end (bottom) being a reward.

5 Hiking Distance: 8 kms Elev Gain: 636 metres DWYTITCR Trip 58 Saturday, 19 August Wilcox Pass Departure time from trailhead: 09:00 Trailhead 2.8 kms SE of the Icefields Centre (1.9 kms NW of Sunwapta Pass). Turn NE (left if coming from Jasper) toward the Wilcox Creek campground; parking will be on the left. We will be prepositioning cars a few kms up the parkway since this is a one-way hike. This trail offers magnificent views (in the morning!) of the Columbia Icefield on the opposite (western) side of the parkway which are only hinted at from the elevation of the asphalt. Wynn has been here several times, and there have always been bighorn rams hanging about. Hiking Distance: 12 Kms Elev Gain: 335 metres DWYTITCR Trip 20 Sunday, 20 August Niles Meadow Trailhead is 11.5 kms east of Field (or 5.5 kms west of the Alberta/BC border. Parking lot is just west of the Great Divide Lodge across from Wapta Lake i.e. on the north side of Hwy 1. This is a hike Wynn led in 2013 (his first campout) with only three followers the previous day we d gone over Sentinel Pass and through Paradise Valley so most hikers were worn out. Hopefully this time around there will be more participants!

6 Hike is moderate to Sherbrooke Lake, after which there was a washout (in 2013) above a canyon where care will be required to be safe. Beyond Sherbrooke Lake the trail is no longer maintained by parks Canada, but is still well enough travelled that it is easy to follow. Hikers arrive at a large cirque, then proceed up one side to Mile Meadow proper for some great views. Those with enough ambition can hike up another 100 vertical metres or so to stand with one leg on each side of the Great Divide. Hiking Distance: 6/19.6 kms (Sherbrooke Lake/Niles Meadow) Elev Gain: 197/717 metres Leader: Wynn Polnicky DWYTITCR Trip 12 On conclusion of this hike, the options exist to drive back to Vernon or spend another night somewhere. Maria and Wynn will be heading straight back to save the $$ for another night in a hotel.