First, a word about the trail map to help you locate the route. There is a body of lakes at the top of the map, close to the the word Kootenay. Drop down from the lakes and you will see the number 93 and beside that is Paint Pots, the start of the hike. Follow Ochre Creek to its junction with Helmet Creek (4), then follow Helmet Creek to Helmet Falls (6), which is the 1st and 2nd night' camp site. Day 2 was a hike up the Goodsir Pass (north west on the map) to overlook Sharp Mountain and beyond to the Yoho National Park and mountain range before returning to camp. For Day 3 follow the trail to Tumbliing Creek (10) where we camped. For Day 4 continue on to Numa Creek (11), where our tent was pitched on a little headland at a point where three rivers or creeks came together and were serenaded all night long by the singing waters. From Numa Creek for Day 5, continue through the Numa Pass to Floe Lake (12). The last day was a major descent following Floe Creek to the roadhead by the Vermillion River. From the start point to the pick up point by road is only about thirteen kilometres, but on the trail we will have walked over fifty K, with an elevation gain of nearly 10,000 feet, most of which we had to lose on the final day.
Usually when hiking, Joanna Elizabeeth and I are self-sufficient and reliant on our own resources. However, when we go in to unknown and potentially dangerous countryside we usually opt to go in an organised group and to work with a guide. On this trip we have used Yamnuska Mountain Adventures based in Canmore. The night before we set off we went to their offices for an equipment check and to meet the other hikers. One or two surprises, including a weather warning for the end of the week when we can expect blizzards on the mountain top and below freezing temperatures. We left looking forward to the promised "what to do if you meet a grizzly bear' tutorial the next day, including 'how to use a bear spray'!
Up early the next morning and breakfast at the hotel before being picked up for the start of our adventure. We returned to the company offices where we picked up the last of our gear, filled water bottles and then set off to return to British Columbia and the trailhead at Paint Pots in the Kootenay National Park.
At the trailhead, Lisa, our guide, talked us through what to do if we have an encounter with a bear. It was quite funny and not a little embarrassing as we practised our bear huddles (if its a quiet bear act submissive, head down, shoulders rounded, look at the ground and back away; if its an angry bear, act aggressively, make yourself big and noisy and get the bloody bear spray out because your in trouble). If you were to amlgamate the actions of the bear tutorial and the steps (dig in that toe in, kick in with that heel) taken when walking on the ice and deep snow on the hill (going up and / or down), add it to music and you would have a nice little dance, 1970's-style. Let's call it the 'lisa bear shuffle'. After we had stopped laughing, I'm not sure we were reassured when Lisa informed us that a bear is more likely to 'bitchslap' you, than eat you!
At the trailhead, Lisa, our guide, talked us through what to do if we have an encounter with a bear. It was quite funny and not a little embarrassing as we practised our bear huddles (if its a quiet bear act submissive, head down, shoulders rounded, look at the ground and back away; if its an angry bear, act aggressively, make yourself big and noisy and get the bloody bear spray out because your in trouble). If you were to amlgamate the actions of the bear tutorial and the steps (dig in that toe in, kick in with that heel) taken when walking on the ice and deep snow on the hill (going up and / or down), add it to music and you would have a nice little dance, 1970's-style. Let's call it the 'lisa bear shuffle'. After we had stopped laughing, I'm not sure we were reassured when Lisa informed us that a bear is more likely to 'bitchslap' you, than eat you!
Almost from the very beginning of the hike the views were stunning. There is a majesty about the Rockies that I cannot remember ever seeing elsewhere. While I gazed with a sense of wonder at the Grand Canyon when we backpacked there, the Rockies just have a wonderful solidity about them that almost overwhelms you.
Crossing the Vermillion River at the beginning of the trail, we set off in to the high country. Early on, we were closed in by the thick forests on either side but occasionally the landscape opened up, usually when crossing river or creek, to offer tantalising glimpses of the mountain peaks. At the river crossing we marvelled at the clarity, colour and coldness of the glacial waters running directly off the mountains. Approaching a clearing we were delighted to find a male and female Spruce or Ruffed Grouse on the pathway (difficult to tell the two kinds of grouse apart). Mainly found in spruce, fir and pine forests, the grouse relies on camouflage to avoid predators, a practice, it appears, that it did not share with some of our backpackers.
Crossing the Vermillion River at the beginning of the trail, we set off in to the high country. Early on, we were closed in by the thick forests on either side but occasionally the landscape opened up, usually when crossing river or creek, to offer tantalising glimpses of the mountain peaks. At the river crossing we marvelled at the clarity, colour and coldness of the glacial waters running directly off the mountains. Approaching a clearing we were delighted to find a male and female Spruce or Ruffed Grouse on the pathway (difficult to tell the two kinds of grouse apart). Mainly found in spruce, fir and pine forests, the grouse relies on camouflage to avoid predators, a practice, it appears, that it did not share with some of our backpackers.
The first major point of interest on the trail is the unusual, orange-coloured ochre beds that you pass as you cross from the river to the banks of Ochre Creek. The First Nation peoples of the region (The Ktunaxa People) gathered the ochre for use as body paint, often used for ceremonial purposes. It was also mined as an additive in commercial paint production. The strong colour of the earth contrasts sharply with the pristiine clear waters that flow nearby and the obvious question is why does the ochre not taint the colour of the water. The answer, it appears, is that the flow rate of Vermillion River, possibly allied with the filtering capacity of nearby limestone pavements, sufficiently dilute the colour.
The colour itself is produced by a group of mineral springs nearby that have a high metal content (Fe2 SO4 Iron sulfate or ferric sulfate), that colours the surface. There are also high levels of other metals present, incuding both lead and zinc. In this area, known as the Kicking Horse Rim, there are pyrite-rich ore deposits and natural weathering of the ore would account for the colouring. The suggestion was made recently that Paint Pots offers a natural spring comparison for the planet Mars that could help in understanding some of the chemical processes that have taken place on the 'Red Planet'.
The colour itself is produced by a group of mineral springs nearby that have a high metal content (Fe2 SO4 Iron sulfate or ferric sulfate), that colours the surface. There are also high levels of other metals present, incuding both lead and zinc. In this area, known as the Kicking Horse Rim, there are pyrite-rich ore deposits and natural weathering of the ore would account for the colouring. The suggestion was made recently that Paint Pots offers a natural spring comparison for the planet Mars that could help in understanding some of the chemical processes that have taken place on the 'Red Planet'.
It was not too long before we started to tackle some gentle gradients and as we gained height we started to have a much better understanding of the lay of the land. There are roughly three zones in the park the lowest or montane level, the sub-alpine middle ground and the top layer or alpine. Both the montane and the sub-alpine are forested. The thing that strikes here is the amount of wood that is lying around. Felled trees and fallen trees are everywhere. On numerous occasions over the days we had to go under, climb over or go round felled or fallen trees.
This is primarily a natural forest (that is, not a planted forest, although there are areas of 'commercial' crop) that is constantly rejuvenating itself, the ground level covered in new tree growth particularly where the forest has been cleared by fire or avalanche. In this photograph you can see an avalanche path clearly on the distant hillside. Obvious because the strip is devoid of tree.
Of course, the thicker the cover of the trees, the more likely it is that a fire will spread more easily. Naturally occurring fires are a major problem in the forests, primarily from lightening strikes, but they are also a necessity. In the lower levels of the forest which is populated by lodgepole pine, for example, a heat spource is required to open the seed nuts of the tree and so enable rejuvenation. Fire also helps to thin out areas of forest that have grown too thick thus preventing the development of other species habitats or, destroying already existing ones. Such fires can burn for weeks on end and are a constant threat to many of the townships nearby. As we were to find out later in the week, areas devastated by fire have a peculiar beauty about them as they thrive with new life, highlighted against the blackened remains of the old.
This is primarily a natural forest (that is, not a planted forest, although there are areas of 'commercial' crop) that is constantly rejuvenating itself, the ground level covered in new tree growth particularly where the forest has been cleared by fire or avalanche. In this photograph you can see an avalanche path clearly on the distant hillside. Obvious because the strip is devoid of tree.
Of course, the thicker the cover of the trees, the more likely it is that a fire will spread more easily. Naturally occurring fires are a major problem in the forests, primarily from lightening strikes, but they are also a necessity. In the lower levels of the forest which is populated by lodgepole pine, for example, a heat spource is required to open the seed nuts of the tree and so enable rejuvenation. Fire also helps to thin out areas of forest that have grown too thick thus preventing the development of other species habitats or, destroying already existing ones. Such fires can burn for weeks on end and are a constant threat to many of the townships nearby. As we were to find out later in the week, areas devastated by fire have a peculiar beauty about them as they thrive with new life, highlighted against the blackened remains of the old.
As you walk through the forests you see major areas of upright dead trees that you would presume to have died by fire. However, fire is not the only cause of the demise of trees. In recent years areas of British Columbia in general and Kootenay National Park specifically, have been devastated by the mountain pine beetle which has left huge stands of pine tree dead and useless for anything other than sawdust or shavings. The pine beetle attacks the trees by boring in to the layer between the bark and the wood. Eggs are laid in the bark and the larvae when they emerge feed on the bark. The beetles also leave a blue coloured substance (a type of fungi) behind that colonises and contributes to the tree's destruction.
Major enemies of the beetle is extreme cold and fire but, with changing weather patterns in Canada as elsewhere, the beetles and or their larvae have been surviving warmer winters in greater numbers. Stop gap measures such as controlled burning of trees has helped in some circumstances but that too has its own risks. Meanwhile, hectares of dead and dying trees can be seen on the hillsides in British Columbia and as yet they do not know what to do with them. Meanwhile, they have to live with the risk of major fires in amongst the dead wood. If the tree has died by fire there are no needles left on the branches; if it has been pine beetle that killed it the needles are still there.
Major enemies of the beetle is extreme cold and fire but, with changing weather patterns in Canada as elsewhere, the beetles and or their larvae have been surviving warmer winters in greater numbers. Stop gap measures such as controlled burning of trees has helped in some circumstances but that too has its own risks. Meanwhile, hectares of dead and dying trees can be seen on the hillsides in British Columbia and as yet they do not know what to do with them. Meanwhile, they have to live with the risk of major fires in amongst the dead wood. If the tree has died by fire there are no needles left on the branches; if it has been pine beetle that killed it the needles are still there.
In the days before we started there had been rain and some snow fall on the hills. Consequently, the ground was soft and muddy in sections. As we walked we scanned the ground for the tracks of some of the animals that live in the forests and on the hills including some of the larger mammals such as grizzly and black bear, wolf, coyote, cougar, marten, elk, moose, mountain goat and ground squirrels. Contrary to what you might expect, many of the animals use the same walking trails as hikers and you can see their footprints in the soft earth.
While we saw lots of different kinds of prints it was only conjecture on our part as to what they were. Suggestions included cougar, bear and wolf. It was interesting that it was the more 'dangerous' of the animals that dominated the mind, no more so than when you needed to go out to the woods to toilet at night. Then you didn't dare go without a torch and your bear spray. On such excursions there was a bear behind every tree, every twig snap was a grizzly coming to catch you with your trousers down. Not surprisingly, such journeys were rushed affairs.
While we saw lots of different kinds of prints it was only conjecture on our part as to what they were. Suggestions included cougar, bear and wolf. It was interesting that it was the more 'dangerous' of the animals that dominated the mind, no more so than when you needed to go out to the woods to toilet at night. Then you didn't dare go without a torch and your bear spray. On such excursions there was a bear behind every tree, every twig snap was a grizzly coming to catch you with your trousers down. Not surprisingly, such journeys were rushed affairs.
As well as trees and mountains, the environment on the Rockwall hike includes a number of river and creek crossings. Occasionally there was no option but to wade through the water but there were also a number of nice bridges, including a couple of impressive swing bridges that were fun and a little bit challenging if more than person was on at the same time. As the hike went on and the temperature dropped and snow and ice became a major feature, the bridges could be downright dangerous and on a couple of occassions we opted to ford the rivers rather than chance crossing them with full packs. On the first day, in good weather and with only fourteen or fifteen kilometres to hike, we still had a sense of fun about us and we frolicked like children in the afternoon sun and enjoyed playing on the bridge.
While still some distance from our campsite, we had our first view of the stunning Helmet Falls cascading down the cliff face for over three hundred and fifty metres. One of the tallest waterfalls in the Rocky Mountains, Helmet drops down in to a natural amphitheatre taking at least three separate leaps of the cliff face. The falls is fed with melt off from at least three glaciers further up in the high country (Sharp Glacier, West Washmawapta Glacier, Washmawapta Glacier) which all merge before tumbling over the cliff edge. The falls, located only 1.5 kilometres away from the camp site would be one of our destinations on a side trip the next day.
The first day was over quickly, our attention so caught up in the majesty of the surroundings that we neven noticed the passing of time or distance. We had lunched on filled wraps sitting on the hillside and snacked on a couple of occasions, but as we neared camp the grumblings of hunger were starting to gnaw in the tummy. While we all set about setting up tents, Lisa our guide, set about preparing a nice hot meal for us. Our food supplies and cooking equipment were carried between us and on the campsite special bear-proof food lockers were provided. We needed to store everything that had an aroma or scent to it as the bears can smell such things from a distance away. This included items such a soap or toothpaste, as well as all the foodstuffs we carried. Lisa had carried in a clever tarp set up that provided shelter from the wind and the rain that set in as we ate dinner.
There was a fine sense of camaraderie that night as sat around eating dinner, sharing experiences of the day and our hopes and ambitions for the days ahead. Once a group of strangers have broken bread together the barriers seem to melt away and it was not long before a sense of irony, cynicism and humour provided light relief. As we settled down to sleep it was to the sound of the rushing river and the sighing wind moving through the tree tops. From today's experiences this could prove to be a fine little adventure for us 'hobbitses'.
There was a fine sense of camaraderie that night as sat around eating dinner, sharing experiences of the day and our hopes and ambitions for the days ahead. Once a group of strangers have broken bread together the barriers seem to melt away and it was not long before a sense of irony, cynicism and humour provided light relief. As we settled down to sleep it was to the sound of the rushing river and the sighing wind moving through the tree tops. From today's experiences this could prove to be a fine little adventure for us 'hobbitses'.