With Joanna Elizabeth, we are slowly making our way across Canada to the startline for a week's camping and backpacking in the Canadian Rockies. After a few days in Toronto we flew to our current location in Vancouver. We have a few days here before moving to Vancouver Island to visit with relatives. Back to Vancouver before catching the overnight train to Jaspar where we have three days. A bus ride to Canmore takes us to the step off point of our hike.
The adventure will be in the Kootenay National Park, which is located in the Southern Rockies. Starting at Paint Pots where the red ochre clay was used by the First Peoples for body painting, the route ascends through fir and spruce forest to the spectacular Helmets Falls. At 325metres, the falls are one of the highest in the whole of the Rockers. After camping by the falls, we walk the next day through sunshine meadows to Goodsir Pass before climbing up to the mountain ridge, an elevation gain of 430 metres.
Having dropped back down to the valley the next day, we follow the base of Limestone Peak across huge alpine meadows. There is a side trip to Wolverine Pass to see out over Beaverfoot Valley and the mountain tops of the Bugaboos, before backtracking and continuing on to the head of Tumbling Creek. In all the day has an elevation gain of 975 metres. The next day we climb up to Tumbling Pass hoping to have views of the Tumbling Glacier, before another session of ridge walking before a long downhill section to our wild campsite on Mum's Creek.
The last day of climbing takes us up the mountain via Numa Pass on a walk to Floe Lake. At over 2,000 metres the pass is reported to offer stunning views over mountains, valleys and forests with Floe Lake glinting in the distance. Our last wild camping night is on the shores of the lake. Returning to civilisation the next day, we have a ten kilometre descent through regenerating forest (the forest was lost to fire a few years ago) before a walk out to the highest pick-up point. Jubbly jubbly. Watch here for photographs!
Having dropped back down to the valley the next day, we follow the base of Limestone Peak across huge alpine meadows. There is a side trip to Wolverine Pass to see out over Beaverfoot Valley and the mountain tops of the Bugaboos, before backtracking and continuing on to the head of Tumbling Creek. In all the day has an elevation gain of 975 metres. The next day we climb up to Tumbling Pass hoping to have views of the Tumbling Glacier, before another session of ridge walking before a long downhill section to our wild campsite on Mum's Creek.
The last day of climbing takes us up the mountain via Numa Pass on a walk to Floe Lake. At over 2,000 metres the pass is reported to offer stunning views over mountains, valleys and forests with Floe Lake glinting in the distance. Our last wild camping night is on the shores of the lake. Returning to civilisation the next day, we have a ten kilometre descent through regenerating forest (the forest was lost to fire a few years ago) before a walk out to the highest pick-up point. Jubbly jubbly. Watch here for photographs!