Hiking Mount Revelstoke: Lake Miller

August 6, 2018

It breaks my heart, but after 15 straight riding days we’re taking a day off the bikes. We had planned to drive to the ferry and continue riding north along Arrow Lake starting at Shelter Bay, but we’re handed this complication:

It’s even uglier than it looks here, and a lot worse than it looked yesterday.

We read all tha we could find about reactions to wasp stings and how to react to them, and couldn’t decide what to do. She appears to be having a ‘large local reaction’, which presumably will get better on its own over the next two weeks (I had one of these in Greece earlier this year, but it didn’t turn as ugly as this one); but what if we’re wrong? Maybe she’s under attack by flesh eating bacteria?

We finally conclude that the smart thing is to seek medical advice. Unfortunately, this is British Columbia Day, and nothing much is open in Nakusp. We decide to drive to Revelstoke, see if we can find an urgent care center open, and failing that will go to the emergency room. We pile everything in the car and drive to Galena Bay and queue up for the 8:30 ferry. We get there about 8, and while we wait in line there we take advantage of a surprising service: free WiFi, 30 miles from the nearest commercial activity!

Even this early in the day, lines are long. I’m standing here at the very back of the ferry. There might be room for one more compact car, at most. I didn’t think to look back to see if anyone was left behind. No wonder they offer free WiFi!

Looking north up Arrow Lake from the MV Columbia

And the view south. Looks like a lovely day for a bike ride, or a trip to the emergency room.

It’s British Columbia Day in Revelstoke too, so not much is open there either. Both of the urgent care centers are down for the day, so we land in the emergency room of Queen Victoria Hospital. They take good care of Rachael, seeing her immediately and assuring her that she’s done the right thing by coming in. Ugly as her hand looks, the doctor says it will likely clear up on its own in one to two weeks; but a prescription of prednisone should speed things up considerably. Less than an hour after arrival, we leave the hospital and head for the pharmacy.

Biking is out for the day, because Rachael’s hand is too swollen to squeeze the brakes - her index finger is useless, but she can’t curl the middle finger either. It’s unfortunately on her very dominant left hand and bad enough that she can’t do many normal things until the swelling recedes a bit.

So, no biking today; but no rest for the weary either. We spend the day instead on a nine mile hike in Mount Revelstoke National Park, which starts just inches from the city limits. It’s a beautiful, dramatic hike high up on the mountain. Beautiful, and challenging - this is the longest hike I’ve taken in over a year, and my knees aren’t that happy with me by the time we finally make it back to the car.

Image not found :( — At the beginning of our hike to Miller Lake. We’re at about 6000’, starting out from the end of the Meadows in the Sky Parkway.

Same plant as above, closer up:a false hellebore, per Bill Shaneyfelt. Highly toxic, produces birth defects. Used by Native Americans as a poison to tip arrows before going into battle.

Rachael sings and dances the Grizzly Bear Jig, trying to scare off the grizzly we were warned was in the area. She ‘sang’ a very creative improvised number as we walked. I’ve never seen her like this - we think it’s the prednisone talking.

It’s really wonderful up here - spectacular peaks in the distance, meadows of wildflowers at our feet. A really great hike.

Yes, I know we’re not biking. These shirts work the best though for carrying the camera.

One I recognize - the pink monkey flower.

As we approached the lakes, we traversed several impressive rockslides composed of beautifully lichen-crusted granite.

I took a ridiculous number of lichen photos - each rock is like a miniature work of art. This one reminds me of a Brooks saddle, by shape and hardness.

In a comment on the previous post, Bill Shaneyfelt notes that this could be yellow map lichen. The idea that lichens are an identifiable species is completely new to me, but I think he’s right. Here’s another example. Very cool.

No grizzly sighting today, fortunately. I’m sure Rachael’s singling kept them away. We were quite happy to see this marmot close up though.

By the end of the day, it looks like the prednisone is working as advertised. Her blistered index finger is still very raw looking, but the swelling has gone down a bit and she can curl her fingers again. Back on the bikes tomorrow!

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Steve Miller/GrampiesYay for prednisone and the Canadian medical system. Hope the healing continues and Rachael is soon back at full power.
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5 years ago

Bruce LellmanWhat a beautiful hike! And those lichen covered rocks really are like individual works of art. I, too, would have taken loads of photos of them. I want to do this hike someday. Thank you for showing us.
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5 years ago