I went on an overnight backpack up one of the steep trails in Strathcona Provincial Park. The trail starts from the road at Buttle Lake and heads all the way up to the ridge top. I was carrying 30 lbs on my back and was walking at a slower pace compared to hiking with a day pack. I wasn’t as agile and it was a bit of a struggle scrambling over fallen trees but I managed to make it to the small lake in the forest in 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Scrambling over some deadfall
With a day pack I can make it there in 1 hour. From the lake, the trail continues up into the open forest where it becomes rather indistinct in places but I had previously flagged parts of the trail during my first visit on July 17th. I had to contend with more fallen debris across the trail and had to take my pack off and crawl under the tree then drag my pack under.
The confusing trail in the forest
One thing I was grateful was the lack of mosquitoes around here. There was the odd one but I didn’t have to use insect repellant. I also did not see any bear droppings but there were deer prints.
The steep trail kept going up with little relief. I dreaded reaching the rockslide area as this section has steep switchbacks and the rocks are loose and fine so it is difficult to make forward progress without slipping backwards a bit with every step.
The rockslide where the footing is loose
Once I cleared the top of the slide, I can see the cliff tops and I knew I was almost at the campsite before the ridge top. This was an informal camp just off the main trail with no path; just a clear area with enough space for a tent. Someone had built a fire pit here. There was another space for a tent not far from the first site.
One of the tenting spaces
On my last visit here I actually found these sites by exploring around as there is no trail which leads to these sites. The views are nice as it over looks part of Buttle Lake and the mountains.
My tent with views overlooking Buttle Lake below
Since the camp site is located along the cliff tops you just have to be careful especially when going to urinate at night.
The sun was hot and I had made it up in 3 hours. There wasn’t much to do except set up my tent and collect some water. The ground was flat enough and a bit rocky but suitable for a tent especially a free standing tent like mine which isn’t reliant on pegs but if it is windy the tent could blow over. There were too much rocks in the ground to drive a peg in.
My camp is located on the cliff (center of photo). You can see my stuff there
The bad part about camping here was the lack of water nearby. The water was located up the trail and the snow starts from here so I had to traverse up and across snow banks until I reached a small creek. Once the snow is gone I’m sure this creek would dry up and camping here would not be ideal. I had to make two trips that day to have enough water to last till tomorrow and it is tiring going back and forth to collect water so I filled up three containers providing ½ gallon of filtered water.
Not far from my camp there is a clear area along the bluffs with open views north up Buttle Lake.
Mist and clouds over Buttle Lake
My food bag is bear proof and I had enclosed my food in odorless bags but I wanted to put it out of reach of animals so I tied the bag to a tree and dangled it over the cliff.
Preparing to dangle my food bag over the cliff
I cooked supper away from my tent and headed up to the creek but it was a cramped space between a tree and a large snow bank and the ground was sloping. I was getting chilled beside the snow and after I ate I was glad to get back to my camp which was directly facing the hot sun. It seemed like the combination of being chilled and exerting myself physically which made me tired and not feeling too well. I had a bout of diarrhea and felt a bit chilled even though it was hot out. I thought it might be the new protein powder which gave me loose bowels so I wasn’t sure. I had planned to stay out for sunset but wasn’t feeling too good so I lay in my sleeping bag. I saw the horizon turn pink but was not motivated to photograph so I missed a good sunset. Throughout the night, I was sweating and felt slightly nauseous. If I didn’t improve by tomorrow, I would head down the trail. The night was cool but not cold and the sky was clear with many stars.
I got up before 5:30 and felt good so I set up for a sunrise shot.
Sunrise at 6:05 am
Sunrise was okay but not the best. I felt good enough to continue up to the ridge so by 6:30 am I was off. Some of the snow had melted revealing parts of the trail here and there but it was slow going up the steep snow banks. My hiking poles helped me with traction and I had to kick steps in the firm snow. Some trees had orange markers to show the way up but I had flagged some parts where there were no markers.
The ridge top didn’t look far away but I wasn’t sure if it was the actual top since I didn’t know what lay over the ridge. Once I broke out into the open, I saw Buttle Lake below in shadow and the sun shining on the mountains across the lake.
Buttle Lake below. I am about as high as the mountains across the lake. From the lakeshore to the mountain top is about the height I climbed.
There was a couple of small lakes just thawing out. I saw part of the trail here and some red markers painted on rocks to follow but with all the snow around I lost it.
A small lake still under the grips of last winter
I walked around till I heard a creek then went to filter some water.
Filtering clean water
My legs were a bit tired from the hike up yesterday so I contemplated on what to do. There were still lots of room to explore but that means climbing higher up the mountain. The day was early so I headed out into the forest up a steep snow bank. I didn’t bother flagging the route as I can just follow my foot prints in the snow on the way back but that sometimes doesn’t work if the sun melts the snow as the prints would be less visible. I kept looking back on my way up just to note the physical landscape and any distinguishable landmarks.
I came across an area where the trees were bent over from the weight of the snow. Once the snow melts, the trees would spring back upright. I was in subalpine and there was still 3 to 5 feet of snow in the treed areas where the sun doesn’t hit .
Snow depth is over 5 feet here
Higher up there were more clear areas as the sun had melted a lot of snow in the exposed areas.
I wasn’t sure if I was on the right path but this route seemed like the only logical way up as it skirts around an impenetrable cliff. The route up was a steep snow bank but the snow was just soft enough to kick steps into it and prevent slipping.
Hiking up a steep snow bank. It is steeper than what the photo shows
When I reached the top I felt the warmth of the bright sun. I caught a glimpse of nice mountain peaks as I skirted around the base of a bare rounded mountain.
From where I am, I would head along the snowy ridge to the mountain peaks
A small creek tumbled down from the slope and the flowing water created a tunnel under the snow bank below. Whenever I hear running water underneath snow, I’m always careful as there could be no support and it is easy to step through the weak snow. In this case, I skirted about the snow keeping high on the grass and rocky slope. The views really opened up with nice snowy mountain peaks.
My objective is to head along the snow covered ridge ahead
By accident, I found parts of the trail marked with rock cairns in places. I looked back taking mental notes of where I had come then proceeded to make my way along the snow covered ridge for a closer look at the mountains. I saw some unusual cluster of trees standing tight together. They seemed out of place.
A grove of trees
The rocks up on the ridge are quite unusual. They range from a colorful orange-red to white quartz. The rugged landscape really impressed me. I also liked the patterns on the snow; the way it melts into small depressions but it is hard to capture on film.
Cup patterns in the snow. Looking back from where I came
With all this snow around and no pools of water I was thinking of heading back to the small stream so I can filter water and eat lunch. I began looking around for depressions in the ground which might hold water. I eventually came across a pool of water fed by a big snow bank.
Filtering more water
I filtered ice cold water then found a warm place to eat out of the cold wind. It was nice and pleasant up in the alpine with no one around.
Eating lunch in the great outdoors
I had seen deer prints in the snow and wondered why they are so high up the mountain rather than down in the valley. I saw some dark clouds form on the horizon and this concerned me a bit. After lunch, I hiked further along the ridge for a direct view of the mountains and counted 8 waterfalls tumbling down the lower slopes. The falls were like thin ribbons of water but some were impressive because of the height.
These are the views I came for
The dark clouds had drifted in and looked threatening so I got going. It was a fairly long hike back. I stopped long enough to filter more water I had seen in another pool in the distance. I felt a few sprinkles of water come down but no real downpour.
As I had eluded earlier on, it was hard to find my footsteps as the sun had melted the snow and I knew this would happen but I knew the general direction on how to get back. My only confusion was back at the partial frozen lakes. I had gone too far north and realized it then it was just a matter of backtracking to a point where the trail heads down into the forest. Heading back south, I managed to spot an orange flagging tape I had tied to a branch down in the forest. It stood out amongst the greenery despite being far away. I reached the point where the trail dips downward then it was a short hike back to my camp. Unfortunately, the clouds would never clear up so I packed up and left otherwise I was prepared to stay another night. I hiked the long stretch down to the lake in the forest. I filtered clean water and went up to the open bluffs overlooking the lake and cooked my supper before hiking the rest of the way down.
Cooking dinner
Note: photos of myself were taken with a camera mounted tripod and infra-red remote.
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