Hard Rain's Gonna Fall in Robson

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After a pleasant, but somewhat wet, night, Sara and I packed up and headed to the trailhead. The tarp seemed weatherproof enough to handle any storm we might encounter and our legs seemed recovered enough to do the same for any trail. As we passed the Visitor Center our views of the peak were still obscured by clouds, but the sun at least made an effort to shine on us as we parked the car. The trail was not hard to find, as we joined fifty or so other cars in the parked lot, and made our first crossing of many over the silt-laden Robson River. Just short of paved, the trail’s condition didn’t seem to be much of an issue for the first four kilometers, but apparently the river, due to the warm temperatures and melting glaciers, is running much higher, and had flooded the bank in a few locations. We worked around these while walking through the lower portions of the trail, enjoying the scents of the rainforest, especially the Western Cedar. As we reached Kinney Lake, we got our first mountain views, took a few pictures and had the first of many breaks.

After Kinney Lake the going was a bit tougher, as the first climb took us to the next campground, Whitehorn, where we planned to eat lunch. Unfortunately, several groups already occupied the shelter we planned to eat at, so we took our lunch down to the river. A few of the groups had brought along their kids, including a family with six children. We would see a lot more of all of them, but we had a long way to go for the day. The next section of hiking took us up above the valley, passing several beautiful waterfalls of the Robson River as well as tens more falling from the surrounding cliffs. Perhaps not wholly living up to its name, Valley of a Thousand Falls, but I could see a rainstorm getting it get close.

After a couple thousand feet of elevation gain, we finally reached Emperor Falls and the upper valley, our destination. Berg Lake, our campground, overlooks its namesake lake and the glacier that drops into it, occasionally living up to the name and dropping ice into the frigid waters. Sara managed to move through this section quickly, since it appeared that there was a chase group of eight girls headed to our camp. Her competitiveness requires her to get the best campsite, so we hurried ahead. In the end, I went ahead and claimed a site with a nice view of the lake. We setup quickly and took advantage of the campsite’s main feature, an enclosed cooking shelter. After dinner, we spent the night talking and playing cards with a couple from Grand Prairie, Alberta, Matt and Carmen. Shelters like this are always a great place to meet new, if temporary, friends. Adding to our worries of bad weather, they said that several cars in the parking lot had been broken the night before they arrived, making this, potentially, a very expensive hike. Regardless, we had a great night but after a few games the light began to dim, both from sunset and clouds, so we retired to our tent as the rain began to fall.

And boy did it fall. While both of us slept well, all reports from camp indicated a steady rain through the entire night. The background noise must have really helped our sleep, as we both slept right through the alarm and into the midmorning. The thirteen miles of hiking probably played a role, but we were still ready to get going with our day hike, and the extra time gave the clouds a chance to break. At least a portion of the valley was sunny during the remainder of the day, though the peak of Mount Robson remained cloaked the entire day. Since Snowbird Pass was best done on a good day, and the forecast predicted better weather for the following day, we decided to do the Hargreaves/Mumm Basin Loop. This loop took us high above the valley, back into Jasper National Park, followed the ridge back to the west, and dropped us back into the valley after views of the Hargreaves Lake and Glacier. The vistas and panoramas continued the entire day and were well worth the effort. I must have been doing something right with the camera, as Sara had difficulty finding pictures she could delete! Usually, that’s not the case.

By the time we arrived back at the hut, we were ready for dinner. The family from the previous day had worked their way up to our camp, so we spent some time talking with them about hiking with kids. Sara and I were really impressed that they were able to get all their kids ready for hiking, with even the four-year old walking about half the thirteen mile distance. Gives us hope for when we have little ones of our own (but not that many)! We spent the night on the porch talking with the family and a hiker from Holland, before hiking up to our campsite for the night, Rearguard, one kilometer away.

Finally, a rain free night! The alarm went off at 6 am, and we slowly shook off our sleeping bags, packed our gear, and hit the trail. But something was wrong. After a half hour of hiking, I could tell that the light fluffy clouds were quickly being replaced by more ominous storm clouds, and could soon see sheets of rain obscuring the views to the west. Like most weather in North America, that means that you can expect to have your immediate vision obstructed in short order, and this was no exception. The rain began slowly and at least the views were nice, as we reached the Robson Glacier, a massive wall of ice off the north side of the peak. As we climbed, the climb became broken, with several overhanging ledges, leaving a dry place to eat lunch. Sara and I were both hoping that the rain might pass over, but an hour later, with several climbers joining us in hiding, we realized it was futile. We were cursing both the weather forecast and a friend we made during the Assiniboine trip, who wished us a cloudy, stormy day. Apparently, he had a similar experience, and said the pictures were amazing. Unfortunately, with visibility dropping to as little as one or two hundred feet, we were not to have the same luck photographically. Two choices presented themselves: return to the warmth of the shelter at Berg Lake or continue on and hope for views and slightly less misery at the top. Since we did not feel like we were in danger, any loyal reader can guess our decision. Onward and upward! As we continued, we ran into several other groups turning around and a few others that would stop every couple hundred meters to discuss whether to continue. They eventually turned around, but not us. We finally reached the top, having been passed by the father of the large family hiking solo and a twosome from our campsite. Three others made the pass, though far more turned around than finished. The views of the Coleman Glacier and Reef Icefield were impressive, as the clouds cleared just long enough for us to see the several kilometers of ice before us. On the way down, we ran into our friend from Assiniboine who wished the bad weather on us, just as it seemed to be clearing for him. Lucky. At least he had some good news, as he knew to look for our car, and said it had survived Saturday night. We were both greatly relieved. All the rain had served to swell the river beyond in banks, but with both of us walking with wet feet, dodging the new streams was not only futile but also pointless. Was the hike worth being soaked to the bone? At the time Sara said no, but commiserating with our fellow successful hikers, we both agreed it would be a fond memory. We spent as long as possible by the wood burning stove, hopelessly trying to dry our shoes and socks, and engrossed in conversion with our family from Gilbert, Arizona, a group from Vancouver, and a couple from Montreal, before retiring to our now familiar home of a tent.

The next day began like many of the recent days, cloudy and threatening, with Berg Lake, less than one hundred feet away, hidden in fog. The long hike back to the car called for an early rise, so at 5 am we began packing up. Sara went to the shelter to cook oatmeal for breakfast, but got more than she bargained for when the eldest of the family we were hiking with miss-timed the lighting of his stove. A white gas stove has to be hot to vaporize the liquid and burn cleanly, so a small amount is burnt to heat up the stove. Once heating, the gas is opened. Opened too late, the flame will be gone and any added gas will vaporize without ignition, with potentially explosive consequences. Too early, and you get what happened here. The flames leapt out of the stove surrounding and onto the table, landing on his fuel canister and melting the plastic. Sara didn’t notice this, but a couple of climbers nearby were quick enough to blow out the flame before any serious damage. The stove, however, was useless, so Sara offered ours to help out. The timing wasn’t great, as by the time she got back to camp, the rain was picking up and the tent along with much of our stuff added a few pounds of water to my pack, as I was trying to lighten Sara’s load for the downhill. After an hour and half, we finally hit the trail.

At least we had some good fortune: the rain finally stopped! While the temperatures were much cooler than previous days, dipping below 40°F, without the rain the hiking became rather pleasant. The main peak still hid from us, but the Valley of a Thousand Falls benefited greatly from the rain, and we visited Emperor Falls for one of our few stops on the way down. The increased flow of the Robson River made for an impressive start to the day. The hike down was a bit easier than we remembered, and we soon completed the trip down to Whitehorn shelter. The family from Berg Lake had caught up to us and, with the combination of a dwindling food reservoir and the mangled stove, had decided to hike all the way out. Not only that, but the kids seemed excited about it! Hope our kids are half that enthusiastic. After a brief meeting with the family at the Kinney shelter, we decided to pick up the pace and soon finished the trail, passing the multitude of day hikers plying the lower stretches.

We were back on the road, and headed straight for the closest campground in Jasper National Park, for a shower and to dry out our gear. We both had decided on pizza for the night, and the town of Jasper provided a great pizza place as well as a shopping market. After a short Peregrine Falcon sighting in the town square, we headed back to camp, set up our sleeping quarters, finished off a journal entry (you’re reading it!), and went to bed.

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