Hiking from Ya Ha Tinda to Banff 5-7 Sep 2021

One ice climbing trip during the winter took us out to the Ya Ha Tinda ranch. We were pretty impressed with this area, apparently in the 'dry ranges' but was bountiful with ice climbs. But we were also incredibly intrigued by being in limbo of foothills and rocky peaks. 

While walking out from climbing Hidden Falls in February, a beautiful contrast between the clouded peaks and the glowing dry grass was accented by a magnificent golden sunset from behind. 

We were further intrigued after finding the Cascade Valley trail on the Banff South map, as well as an expansive trail network around the east Banff boundary. The route we decided on was 80km total, starting from the Bighorn falls trailhead parking lot, and ending at the Upper Bankhead parking in Banff. It's worth noting we only had 3 days to complete this route, which I knew from the start was going be a challenge sometimes. 

After a mishap the evening before, and a few delays on the morning of departure, we had dropped a car at Upper Bankhead and were starting to hike by 1:30pm. Bit later than expected, but travel was cruisy on the flat valley bottom, following the Red Deer river. 

Red Deer River and just the beginning of Warden Rock on the right.

From the Bighorn parking, don't head up the open road towards the Ranch, instead take the road that's gated. Then I can almost guarantee you won't get lost at all on the trail, because it follows the old fire road. 

We had a peek at the camp at Wardens Rock, which is totally worth it for the humorous signs posted all the way down the driveway. Soon after, we crossed the boundary into Banff National Park, 12.3km from the starting point. 

Horse camp. Thanks for the reminder!

Eventually we came to a sign that indicated the junction for the turnoff going back towards Red Deer, or continuing on over the Red Deer River (a splendid bridge) towards Banff. This was km 22 from Bighorn parking.

Crossing the bridge over the red deer river. I think the mountain in the back is Mount Tyrell. 

Then after crossing the river, there was immediately another unsigned intersection. After debating for a minute we took the seemingly more traveled way that turned right, rather than straight/somewhat left. A surreal experience unfolded as we were breaching a short hill: I could tell we were approaching a meadow because the afternoon sun was just beaming down in our faces, making everything glow golden. Just before the meadow revealed itself, I said hopefully, "Imagine it's filled with a huge herd of bison!" And just as our eyes were adjusting to the field of sunshine, not 200m away was the real Banff bison herd. I was losing my mind!!!! How cool!!!! 

Bison!!!!! Little brown blobs in this picture. Two looked into our souls as they relieved themselves. Kind of unnerving. A power move for sure.

After fangirling for a while, we noticed that Scotch Camp was just on the far side of the field, waving a large Canadian flag for travelers, with a sea of bison as gatekeepers. So we skirted around to the left of them, still close enough to make them run though, and entered back into the woods to find a camp site. 

Because there's no campsites it's a free-for-all. We settled on a small opening about 100m off the trail we'd take tomorrow. A small creek was flowing another 100m further into trees past the camp. Tall grass is like another camp mat under your own. Heavenly. It was so soft that we all lay in the grass after dinner and stretched, while the brightest sky filled with stars mesmerized us from above. Our friend Ollie felt so at peace he had a pre-bedtime nap.

A screenshot from FATMAP. Red tent is roughly where we camped - very close to the creek. CVT = Cascade Valley Trail. We came from the mid right side of the picture. 

Marty explored Scotch camp the next morning and discovered a toilet (!!) and what would've been a pretty nice place to camp. Now we know! 

We started at 9:30. There is a steady climb to start the day off until we were steadily cruising along the side of Mount White. 

Siding Mt White. Vibrant fireweed. Stunning views of the Prow Mountain massif. 

At the Snowbird summit (km 29.2), which I assume is the highest point of the trail (?), there is a faded sign for a 'Snowflake Lake ->'. Marty trudged around the open meadow for 15 minutes or so, and found what he described as not a lake but a pond. Turned out it wasn't the lake - it seems to be nestled in the cirque, a little out of the way. 

Snowbird Summit. Snowflake lake is due SW from this point. 

Continuing along the side of the mountain for a long haul, rewarded with a wolf sighting (!!), until a tight turn brought us down to the bank of the Panther river (km 40). This was 16.5km into the second day. Crossing this river was not nearly as mainstream as the Red Deer, because there's no bridge. Unfortunately. We walked up and back along the bank to make sure there wasn't one hiding. Marty's long legs made an impossible jump that I couldn't make, so I surrendered while I was ahead and waded through with my boots slung over my shoulder. 

Sandals were very helpful for this unplanned wade. Knee deep at most.

Walk a bit on the old road, where it drops off into the Dormer River and the lovely warden cabin is waiting on the other side. We stopped here for a nice long lunch break. 

Apparently this is called Windy Point warden cabin. Pretty sweet location, and interestingly not windy at all. Toilet is out back. 

The other guys started on the trail again while Marty and I checked out Panther Falls, one of two in BNP. Access it by going steeply uphill for 5 mins on the Cascade North Fork trail, and bush-bash on very faint trails around right, while still atop the small hill, to the top of the falls. Alternatively, take a right just before going up North Fork, and that will bring you to the base of the tumbling falls. 

We quickly caught up with the others and after more walking, Wigmore Lake came into view, which is roughly 5km past the warden cabin. A beaver dam has choked the lake outlet, so the old road is completely water bound which forces hikers to go up and around through thick bushes on slippery dirt. It's on and off the whole distance of the lake. 

First pic is the trail. Note the unpleasant side that you have to bush bash up and through. Second is approaching the lake and the beaver dam.

At around 7pm we crossed Cuthead Creek (km 49.9), which was the minimum distance goal for today, to ensure tomorrow wouldn't be grossly large. We were all hurting. But the more we did today the less tomorrow! So we pushed on for maybe 3 more km, where, interestingly, the trail leaves the old road briefly due to being a diversion creek now. But we accidently stayed on the road, a nice flat open area that would make a good tent-pitching location. The next day, not 400m more meters away, we'd discover the historical site of 'Cuthead College' that theoretically would've made a great campsite, but I'm not sure the ethics on that. But since we weren't on the trail, this part of the road would do nicely for the night. Got a lot colder this night. 

Not the most glamorous location, but she'll do.  

Because it was going be a lot of driving on the final day, we got an early start, about 7:30am. And we were moving fast. Marty measured it on his InReach and we were going 7km/h at our fastest. Not maintainable for the rest of the trail but we got to Stoney Creek (km 65) at 11am, just 15km left. 

New bridge over Stoney Creek. There is a big chunk of concrete that used to be the old bridge, until the 2013 flood ripped it out like a weed. 

A brutal 15km it was. The hard, dirt, rocky road was not gentle on the joints, and by the bridge that crosses the Cascade River, the last 6km from there couldn't go fast enough. It didn't help to know the trail quite well from cross country skiing it, and going twice the pace of walking. It was soon over though, and we were back at the car by 1:40pm. Altogether it took us 6 hours and 10 minutes to do 27km. Pretty buggered! 

First: typical terrain on the final section. I convinced myself walking on the intermittent grassy patches would help my feet feel better. Second: crossing the cascade river, looking east upon the cascade range. Third: yay carpark.

We didn't waste any time and were on the road back to Ya Ha Tinda pretty soon. After getting into our car and farewelling Ollie who'd driven, off we start back home, and after only about 1km, come across Ollie with an absolutely shredded tyre. Luckily we started the day so early! Because we were unable to figure how to release the tire, and with no owner manual, it took a lot longer than a standard tyre change. No matter. Home sweet home before 10pm. Icecream for dinner. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure and couldn't help compare it to the Sawback trail. I guess Lake Louise is a closer drive, but this route was so wild, with the added intrigue of random camping and complete self-reliance (bear hangs, waste disposal, washing, etc.) it was personally more enjoyable and rewarding. Or maybe I'm romanticising the unkempt but wise and trusty old fire road. Albeit, the landscape that the Cascade Valley Trail takes you through is pure and has a virgin forest feel,  not to mention the wildlife viewing potentials are rich and exciting. It was a trip of 2 firsts for me: bison and a wolf. Many of the peaks that channel the trail also have a draw, being not very high and most are bare of trees once past Scotch Camp. I would seriously consider doing a peak bagging/back-packing trip in this area - perhaps explore a different trail of the vast selection out there.

Skoki tour 11-13 April 2021

Skoki area is a back-country gem situated in the mountains out behind the Lake Louise Ski Resort in Alberta. It is both a summer and winter destination, with a graceful little log cabin community - Skoki lodge - that offers cute accommodation in a bountiful landscape. I've never stayed there, but you only hear great things about the place. The area is full of objectives - ski touring, scrambling, hiking, climbing. We went back there towards the end of winter, though it was still very much winter at night, reaching -17C and -14C on the respective nights. 

Skoki Lodge has been in operation since 1931. 

The first day we skied to Merlin Meadows, which is just a 5 minute slide downhill from Skoki lodge. It took roughly 4.5 hours ( 2hrs 45min to Boulder Pass). A late start meant it was nearly 5pm by the time we made it to the meadows. 

Deception Pass with a majestic cloud illumination to the west. 

 With no tent with us, we tried out sleeping in snow caves. That first night, we dug down (at least still 1m on flat meadow ground!) around the site and piled the snow into the middle, where a 2m tall mound eventually stood. Then we began to tunnel in from low to the ground, up into the deepest part of the mound. Cold air sinks, so theoretically it would seep out the entryway and the hot air would get trapped in the dome. This was very time consuming, uncomfortable and tiring. Trying to carve out the roof, lying on your back on snow, and wet. I'd recommend to always wear waterproof clothes or just one quick-drying layer AND lie on a foam sleeping mat. You get very wet. Also a great idea to poke some holes in the roof with a probe, once the cave is complete, for ventilation.

 Camp layout. Even a table and seats for the breakfast we didn't bring to eat. Amazing amount of snow.

The sleeping was quite comfortable. Snow is a great insulator and very effective at keeping the early morning sun out. So much so that we only woke up close to 10am. Unheard of time while camping! On a less positive note, we forgot oats for breakfast. So after some snacks and trail mix, we headed off towards Merlin Lake, following broken trails that hugged the creek at first then entered the woods just left of a small talus field, in search of a good run. This trail was steep but soon petered off then quickly got really steep. It was evident people had come up and down, but I was silently dreading coming back down. Tight trees, sharp turns and large drop offs. Eventually we popped out on a plateau, smattered with smaller trees. The lake quickly came into view, and wow what a view it was.

Merlin Lake with Mount Richardson, Pika Peak and Wall of Jericho R to L

It was getting significantly warmer as the sun crept higher in the sky. Skiing on snow that was in direct contact, as we skirted the right of the lake looking for a nice line, was making the skins stick pretty bad. We stopped for a short break in the shade, but didn't faff and were climbing again in 5 minutes. Hugged the trees just right of the wide (glacially formed?) rolling hilly section west of Mount Richardson. When it started to flatten out, we turned around and had a pleasant ski through deep pow and fun light trees. Perfect for the extent of my skiing skills right now! 

Hand drawn (ie not perfect) depiction of our paths travelled. Green is going TO Merlin Lake and red is coming FROM the lake. Red is ideal, for both up and down. Blue is where we got a downhill line. 

On the way down, we tried a different way that contoured Merlin's Castle a little more and consequently was a much more agreeable grade. This was a lot of fun. It passes across one slide path. You then drop into a rocky gully which spits you out on the opposite side of the talus field,  to the left of which we previously entered the forest. 

Marty, the best volunteer for my greatest trick, The Separating Man. 

After the great pleasure of collapsing the snow shelter, we stopped briefly at the lodge to chat to some employees, who were having an end of season staff party. They gave us a good tip for the next leg to Baker Lake campground. After getting over Skoki-Fossil Pass (very mellow), look for a sign leading into the woods on the right that reads 'Cougar Boy'. I forget the origin behind the name but it is a very helpful short-cut. The view down the valley and of the Sawback Range is just incredible. It is easy terrain on a well- marked/travelled trail, with minimal up and down, but it was arduous, no doubt. 

Lost in the many beautiful  jagged peaks of the Sawback. It would be lovely to see it in summer too.

I depleted my body a little too much, trying to save snacks for the next morning and water for dinner that night. We arrived late and nearly in the dark to Baker Lake. Instead of making the mound for a snow cave, we just utilised a snow bank and dug into it. Still quite a bit of work, but not nearly as much. Took a break halfway to make dinner, i.e. pour hot water into freeze dried meals. I couldn't even stomach it, I was that drained. It was a prominent reminder to listen to and obey your body's needs. I went back to shovelling for a while, let the few bites settle and after a little distraction, I felt much better. 

Baker Lake, with a ponderous layer of snow and Fossil Mountain ruling the heavens in the fading light of nightfall. 

Snow cave bedroom #2. Less work and a pretty nice view of Brachiopod Peak in the stark morning light. 

Another cozy sleep left us feeling rested and restored for the final leg of our trip. It was a gorgeous bluebird sky and the snow was sparkling in the hot sun. The day began with travelling the length of Baker Lake and climbing up to Ptarmigan Lake. We decided to climb up to Deception Pass again to ski down it. I literally skied shirtless it was that warm. Quite refreshing and exhilarating. Then it was winding back through the trees to the ski resort and out! Pretty amazing and eventful trip. Camping at Merlin meadows is a safe and sensible option to practice winter camping, as if shite hiteth thy fan, there's civilisation just up the hill from you. And it's still winter camping into May, when the days are getting longer and warmer. Not to mention it's a quiet camp in a magnificent location. 

Skiing from a little ways up the Fossil shoulder down Deception Pass

 

Trip course travelled; 

• 13.9km to the lodge from Fish Creek parking
• 1.7km to Merlin Meadow campsite 
• 2.9km from MM to Merlin Lake
• 8.1km between MM and Baker Lake
• 3km from Baker Lake back up to Deception Pass
• 11km Deception Pass back to parking
• TOTAL: 43.5km (maybe 45km with the extra past Merlin Lake)