It's been almost a year since we last found ourselves north of the border, in the land of lakes and glaciers. Then, our final night necessitated a painful retreat as thunder and lightning exploded overhead and gale force winds whipped down off the glacial ridge. We were high in the Kootenays, beyond the deteriorating old bridge at Farnham, hoping the tent would remain attached to the Tacoma.
Now, we're headed back. We'll work our way along the same road system, to similar elevations, and to the base of some familiar - and some new - glaciers. This time, we'll add a new activity to the mix, hiking high into the Bugaboos and to the Lake of the Hanging Glacier. We'll visit silver mines long forgotten on roads rarely travelled.
And once again, we'll be up in the middle of the night, wondering why the Koots have it out for us.
Skookumchuck and the Doctor's Lonely Cabin | Kootenays 1 - It's been almost a year since we last found ourselves north of the border, in the land of lakes and glaciers. Then, our final night necessitated a painful retreat as thunder and lightning exploded overhead and gale force winds whipped down off the glacial ridge. We were high in the Kootenays, beyond the deteriorating old bridge at Farnham, hoping the tent would remain attached to the Tacoma. Now, we're headed back. We'll work our way along the same road system, to similar elevations, and to the base of some familiar - and some new - glaciers. This time, we'll add…
Surprisingly Steep - Up to the Conrad Kain Hut | Kootenays 2 - Having woken up at what @mrs.turbodb continued to remind me was 5:15am Real (Pacific) Time - and admittedly early given our long day of driving to reach British Columbia's Kootenays the previous evening - we completed our exploration of Doctor Creek FSR and rolled into Radium Hot Springs only a few minutes after 10:15am. Having enjoyed an ice cream at Screamers the last time we were through, this was high on our list of places to revisit, even if it meant a slightly later start to the hike we'd planned for the bulk of the day. Plus, ice cream is full…
There's No Bridge at Farnham | Kootenays 3 - We arrived back at the Tacoma completely thrashed after hiking the Conrad Kain Hut in the Bugaboo Mountains. Still, we'd made it down the mountain in good time, giving ourselves a few hours to dash - madly - to the spot we hoped to camp for the night. Farnham. The last time we'd visited Farnham had been full of emotion. We'd made it over the sketchy bridge - adrenaline pumping - and up the narrow shelf road. We'd driven nearly to the edge of the glacier, and - gleefully - tasted a bit of the ancient ice. And - in…
Up, Again. Lake of the Hanging Glacier | Kootenays 4 - We'd gotten up with the sun at the Farnham Emergency Hut and it wasn't yet 7:00am when we departed our 7,300-foot camp site for temporarily lower elevations. It was there - at 4,800 feet - that we'd disembark from our American Hiking Machine (the Tacoma) in favor of our own two legs, regaining all of the elevation we'd lost - and more - as we fought our way through the 10-mile trek to The Lake of the Hanging Glacier. A perfect day on Horsethief Creek. After hiking the Conrad Kain Hut during the afternoon heat of the previous day, temperatures…
Along the Redline | Kootenays 5 - Unlike the previous day when we'd returned from our hike at 6:00pm, we were back in the parking lot for The Lake of the Hanging Glacier a little after 2:00pm. That gave us plenty of time for a quick scrub-down with washcloths before climbing into the Tacoma for what would turn out to be the highlight of our entire trip! After a sunny morning, clouds were rolling in, but the sun still fought its way through to highlight Mt. Scarlett O'Hara from time to time. Our destination wasn't far away - less than ten miles, or however many kilometers that…
Foggy and Wet Over Hailstorm Pass | Kootenays 6 - We had many miles - all on pavement - to cover after descending Redline FSR in British Columbia's Purcell Mountains. You see, it seems that in eastern BC, the highways run almost exclusively north-to-south, with only occasional drifts to the east or west. Since parallel roads never cross, it's only the rare instances where one highway drifts east as another drifts west that one can work their way horizontally across the province. Of course, it's not all bad. It's the spectacular mountains - often topped with glaciers - that prevent the easier east-west movement. Always a treat to wind our…