Nerds in Seattle: Lake O'Hara and Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park

Jenn and I recently went on a week-long hiking trip with my parents. It was excellent. You should do it, too.

Lake O'Hara
Day 1

The first 3 nights were in Lake O'Hara campground in Yoho National Park. Getting reservations for the campground is very challenging. Reservations for a given date are available three months in advance of the date, and sell out almost immediately. Huge thanks to my parents who sat on the phones for hours to get these!

Lake O'Hara Shoreline Trail

O'Hara is a neat place. Most people access it via a bus that drives 11km up a dusty dirt road. This is great! It means a car does all the hard work of getting you to a high elevation, and you just do day hikes with a light pack.

But there's a catch: the only people allowed in are 60 or so people in the 30 campsites ($9/night/person), 80 or so people in the Lake O'Hara Lodge (starting from $352/night/person), 42 people who get single-day bus reservations ($14.70/person; the entire season goes on sale at once and sells out in < 1 minute), or the unlimited number of poor bastards willing to hike in and out in a single day.

Like I said: thanks, mom & dad for getting us campground reservations. :)

Seven Veils Falls

Our first day at O'Hara was relatively short - we took the 10:30 bus in, and were fairly tired from a long travel day the previous day. We did a loop of O'Hara itself, had lunch overlooking the Seven Veils Falls, then poked up briefly into Opabin Plateau.

Day 2

We got a late start on the second day for some reason - probably still shaking off some sleep deprivation from the initial travel day. The day's goal was a loop past Linda Lake, Cathedral Lakes, up to Cathedral Prospect and then back via Morning Glory Lakes.

Probably the first warning sign was when we met another group at the base of the hike up to Cathedral Prospect. We had just arrived, they were on their outbound leg. "Is it worth it?" we asked, to which they responded:

"Meh", Cathedral Prospect-ish

This should give you a sense of how spoiled you get in this area. Although that view is pretty good, we definitely agreed - way too much effort for way too little beauty.

The return leg did take us past the back side of Linda Lake, which was probably the most gorgeous lake of the whole trip. Sadly, I didn't take a photo. Oops!

The campground is next to a beautiful creek, and on our way home, Jenn and I had a genius idea:

Cataract Brook

Soaking in Cataract Brook

The water's like 5 degrees, so it's extra refreshing!

Day 3

This day was supposed to be a rest day, because day 4 would be our first hiking-with-real-backpacks day. But instead we decided to do Wiwaxy Gap to Lake Oesa.

Wiwaxy Gap is what O'Hara calls an "alpine route" -- more elevation, steeper grades, more exposure, but also much better views. This was still pretty laidback: while very experienced hikers will do the "alpine circuit", which is three alpine routes strung together, we were only doing a single one.

Jenn, studiously not falling off the mountain

The cross section of people you meet at O'Hara is a little humbling. While we were enjoying the view at Wiwaxy Gap itself, we made chitchat with another hiker. Unable to get a bus in, he had hiked the 11km in, was going to do two of the alpine routes, and then hike the 11km back to the parking lot where his car (aka: his hotel room) was parked. He was a machine. Also, a willing volunteer photographer! Thanks for taking our photo, random dude!

Jenn, Colin and Dad at Wiwaxy Gap with Lake Oesa in the background

Looking towards Lake O'Hara on traverse to Lake Oesa

There was a nice stretch of the traverse that had slabs of rock that were surprisingly comfortable to recline on.

Jenn sunning herself with Lake Oesa in the background

My view, next to Jenn, looking up

Jenn leaning on the world's biggest whiskey stone with Lake O'Hara in the background

When we got back to camp, we realized someone else was eying our sleeping bags. I don't think they would have been a good fit.

Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park
Day 4

Day 4 was pretty hectic: out of O'Hara on the 9:30 am bus, drive to Canmore for supplies, then proceed to the Mount Shark trail head via the long route due to construction. Consequently, we didn't start hiking until 3pm. I was a little worried about starting so late in the day until I read about a group of hikers whose flights were delayed and hadn't started until 8:30pm. They were OK, so I figured we'd be fine, too.

As it turns out, the reason they were OK is because this stretch is pretty boring. So boring that I have no photos of it. There are a few nice creeks, but for the most part, you're walking on a fire road. After 14 km of boring walking, we arrived at McBride's Camp, had dinner and went to sleep.

Oh: we also decided to rethink our aggressive hiking plans -- we had initially planned to hike 26 km out on day 7, but decided that was madness. So instead, while in Canmore, we made $180/person reservations for a helicopter ride out. This would prove especially serendipitous once I injured my leg on day 5...

Day 5

Our goal for the day was Lake Magog campground. There are two ways to reach it: via Wonder Pass (elevation: 7,850 feet) or via Assiniboine Pass (elevation: 7,100 feet). Clearly, Wonder Pass would have better views, right? I mean, ignoring the extra 750 feet you climb, "Wonder" is right there in the name.

So we did that route.

Jenn, smiling on the outside...

...because she's looking at Marvel Lake

Unfortunately, just as we got to the top of Wonder Pass, I discovered that that weird thing that my left knee sometimes does WAS A THING IT WAS GOING TO DO RIGHT THEN. Thanks, knee. I spent the rest of the trip preparing for either old age (with a borrowed walking stick - thanks, Dad!) or a life of piracy (with my knee basically immobilized in an elastic bandage to the point that I had a peg leg more than a flesh one). On the bright side, now I'm seeing a physio for it!

Nothing that aggressive medication can't fix.

Day 6

For my money, Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park was more breathtaking than O'Hara. We spent day six doing a day hike past Sunburst Lake, up to the Niblet, thence to the Nublet and finally to the Mt Assiniboine Lodge for Riffraff Hour, where the unwashed masses are permitted to attend and buy very expensive beer.

Sunburst Lake, framed by trees

Sunburst Lake

En route to the Nublet with lakes Magog, Sunburst and Cerulean in view

The Nublet is sort of a rocky scramble trail up a few hundred metres. Doing it with a messed up knee was interesting -- I'm sure I looked pretty funny shambling up and down the route. Thank god for drugs and helicopters (or, more accurately: the sure knowledge that no matter how bad my knee hurt the next day, it wouldn't matter).

Once you're on top, you have a 360-degree view of perhaps 7-8 lakes, a few valleys and dozens of mountains. It's amazing.