July 22, 2005
Day 66: Day Off at Mount Robson
It was super chilly this morning. The backcountry campsite at Kinney Lake has a covered picnic shelter. A family from Alberta was on the way down from hiking to Berg Lake. The kids and I stomped around to get warm - futilely hoping to see the sun come over the top of the mountain. I got ready to hike up the trail to Berg Lake.
Just as I got to the glacial outwash above the lake, the sun topped the mountain wall, bathing everything in a brilliant golden light. The dozen braids of the river sparkled. Just incredible!
After a tough little climb, I reached the suspension bridge at Whitehorn and the Valley of a Thousand Falls.
Glaciers high above the valley stuck their tongues out over sheer cliffs and ribbons of icy water traced perfect vertical descents.
Along the river itself, massive waterfalls stairstepped upwards - White Falls, Falls of the Pool, and finally, the awesome Emperor Falls.
A wisp of stratocumulus in the morning became a leaden grey sky by mid-day. My concern mounted since I was 7 or 8 miles from Kinney Lake. From the river above Emperor Falls I could see the north face of Mount Robson - triangular, snowy, with Mist and Berg glaciers in the cirque. Reluctantly, I decided to forego Berg Lake given the rapidly changing weather of the past few days.
The hike down was so much easier. I took the time to enjoy the panoramas that I missed on my way up. Some people hate to hike or bike an up-and-back route, but the world you see is completely different. I ended up by going off trail and hiking through the braids of the river where I ran into Anne from the cafe.
Back at the campground I chatted with a group of Belgians, played cards with Rich and his son, Adam, and congratulated a Czech couple who had hiked all the way to Berg and back in one day. That's 42 kms. The rain held off until sundown. I guess I could have made it to Berg Lake after all. But when it did start to rain, it really did. It rained and rained all night long.
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