Stunning Vistas : Lusk Pass to Quaite Valley

This morning dawned clear and cold, and when we poked our heads out of the tent, pink streaks were already appearing in the sky behind the forested slopes of the mountains.  All was quiet in the valley as we made coffee and packed up, and we were pleased to find that the tall grasses were much drier than when we went to sleep last night. 

We followed a lovely forested footpath that traced alongside a clear mountain stream.  Its banks were mossy, green, and lush and above us tall pines and spruce rose in columns.  Long strands of moss hung from their branches like hair.  The morning sun was just beginning to turn the tips of the conifers golden as we set out, and through their dense foliage we caught glimpses of tall mountain peaks rising up above us.

 

About 1.1 km after leaving the trail head where we camped last night we arrived at a huge open grassy meadow.  In the middle of the large clearing was a fire pit stocked with wood, two picnic tables, and several places to tie up horses.  Tucked in among the trees around the edges of the grassy meadow were several campsites with smaller fire pits and stumps for sitting on. This was the Lusk Pass campground, and it certainly offered gorgeous mountain scenery, making us wish we'd pushed on to it last night.  The one drawback seemed to be a lack of access to water nearby.  

At the far side of the campground we found a small piece of pink flagging tape tied to a tree with T.C.T. written on it in black pen.  It was a very helpful, if somewhat temporary marker to guide us.  There were other signs that the following section of trail was being cared for as well.  Many large trees had recently been knocked across the trail, presumably by a storm, and a lot of work has been done to create a clear and open path.  We were very grateful for the easy going made possible by all the hard work! 

The Lusk Pass ended up being a forested trail with a few small climbs, and one very large and steep descent.  The slope consisted of large, loose rocks which made for slow and somewhat treacherous going, but luckily we made it through without incident.  Our concentration was mostly on where we were putting our feet, but this was just as well, since the dense forested slopes rising up on both sides of us limited our view. Although we couldn't see the mountains above us, we could still sense their presence from the way sound travelled and the air moved.

Suddenly we rounded a curve and ahead of us we could see the clear, rocky slopes of the mountains rising up towards the clear blue sky.  The descent ended and we stepped out into a clear-cut.  Although the devastation in our immediate vicinity was considerable, the views it afforded were truly awesome! 

We took our time crossing the open space, pausing to look up at the line of mountains ahead - each with its own shape, texture, and personality.  Above the treeline the exposed rock looked very different on each peak, making us wish we knew more about geology and how to read the history of a landscape. 

The Rocky Mountains were formed around 80 million years ago, when a number of different tectonic plates slid underneath the North American plate. The shallow angle of subduction created a broad belt of mountains running north-south for about 4,800 km from northern Alberta and British Columbia to New Mexico.  The jagged peaks created in this process have been worn down by glaciers, weather, and time, but the layers of rock from deep within the earth are still visible in the exposed tops. 

While we marvelled at the awesome mountains around us, the logged area in which we stood was full of pink, purple, and yellow wildflowers. Many blossoms hosted one or two honey bees.  We also spotted several different kinds of colourful butterflies flitting among the flowers, and above us small flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos bounced and jumped between the slash piles and standing dead trees. 

The walking path disappeared, but it was replaced with a readily visible trail of cleared earth.  Among the huge tire tracks and ruts there was also a trail of horse hoof prints and bicycle tire tracks, reassuring us that we were still headed in the right direction as we crossed the ripped up, open clear-cut.  There was even a small bench at the side of the trail in the middle of the logged clearing!

At the far side of the clear-cut we came to another forestry block that had been logged less recently and was beginning to regenerate.  The rows of tightly packed shoulder high green seedlings seemed to bring hope back to the sun soaked landscape. 

We picked up the trail again and followed the grassy track out to a gravel and dirt road. By this time it was late morning, the sun was warm, and there was a gentle breeze.  We decided to take a break at the junction and lay out as much of our wet gear and clothing as we could to dry.  About half an hour later our mission was accomplished and we were ready to continue on.

 

 

The gravel road gently descended as it wove through the peaks around us, providing stunning mountain views.  An easy descent on a wide gravel road seemed almost too good to be true, and in a way it was.  Everything was still a bit wet from yesterday's rain, and the road was soft mud.  In some places we could avoid the worst of it by taking cues from the horse, bike, and boot prints of those who came before us, but in other spots we sank in ankle deep, risking losing our shoes in the muck.  Gross.

Eventually we came to the bottom of the winding descent, rounded another curve, and our perspective shifted, making the mountain ahead of us suddenly seem huge, highly detailed, and three dimensional.  The way the mountains shift and change in the light, and according to our position is something we've really been enjoying these past couple of days.  It is easy to understand how people like Ansel Adams and John Muir could fall in love with a particular mountain and spend a lifetime getting to know it. Or even how the Ancient Greeks could presume that the ‘gods’ had come to a certain region at different times.  The transformation of the landscape in the Rocky Mountains from moment to moment is almost mystical to witness.

Eventually we emerged at the University of Calgary's Bioscience (BGI) Institute, and to our surprise it was full of people! The parking lot was packed with cars, and it looked like there were several classes of university students learning different skills out in the field.  Some were gathered on the lawn outside one of the wooden buildings with large backpacks, and others were learning to survey, working in pairs and dressed in brightly coloured safety vests.  This is the only research station of its kind in the Canadian Rockies and Foothills, and it has been operating for 65 years. 

Just down the road from the research station was the Colonel's Cabin, which has been designated as a place of historical importance in Alberta. This is due to the log cabin's status as one of the last remaining buildings associated with the internment of WWII prisoners of war.  

However, it's history began in 1936 following the creation of the Kananaskis Forest Experimental Station, which was established during the Great Depression to provide single men with work. The National Forestry Department was established in 1934 by the government of Canada under the supervision of the Department of Defence. Somewhat unexpectedly the new program produced many insights into forestry practices which were later applied across Western Canada.  

In 1939 the cabin was taken over once again by the Department of Defence and turned into Kananaskis Internment Camp #130 (or Seebe Camp 130), which was used to hold German civilians and merchant seamen.  In 1941 the site was enlarged and fortified to hold combat personnel between 1942 and 1946. Most of the men held there were from the German Africa Corps, and had been captured by the British Eighth Army In North Africa.  Over 34,000 German POW's were shipped to Canada by Britain, who feared they would create a serious security risk in the event Britain was invaded. Internees at Seebe Camp were employed in various ways, including clearing the valley that now holds the Barrier Lake Reservoir.  There were 26,000 POW's interned in Alberta during WWII, and this cabin is one of the last reminders of this chapter in the province's history.  Sadly the site was closed off when we walked past. 

After making our way through the station we had to cross the very busy Highway 40 (or Kananaskis Trail), and walk a couple hundred meters along its shoulder to Barrier Lake.  We could see the Barrier Dam and the clear, turquoise waters of the reservoir as we approached the entrance to the park. With the backdrop of mountains behind it, Barrier Lake could rival Lake Louise for beauty and scenery. 

As we made our way towards the dam, the entrance road was lined with cars parked solid all the way back out to the highway. The white rocky beach around the lake was full of people enjoying the sunny Sunday afternoon.  There were also people kayaking and SUP boarding on the brightly coloured waters.  

We stopped for a break at one of the picnic tables near the entrance road to the park, before walking out to the dam. We found ourselves walking in crowds of very fashionably dressed people, many of whom gave us looks of pure derision or simply pretended we didn't exist. It was immediately clear that we have entered resort territory, where the wealthy come to recreate. 

After a brief snack we followed the crushed stone dust trail around the edge of the gorgeous blue lake, marvelling at the colour and beauty all around us.  Barrier Lake is located in Bow Valley Provincial Park, at the base of Mount Baldy.  It was created by damming the Kananaskis River, and it was built for power generation. Today the lake is also used for recreation, with a Visitor's Centre located near the eastern end, hiking trails circling its shores, and boating, swimming, and fishing permitted in its waters.

We followed the trail 4 km around its forested shores, finally arriving at the Jewel Bay Backcountry Campground.  The campground features seven treed sites along the lakeshore, a bear proof storage locker for food, a communal fire pit, and places to tether horses.   It was absolutely gorgeous, and we very much wished to camp there for the night. 

As we were sitting on the wooden benches around the fire pit, struggling to get cell service in order to get a permit to camp there, another backpacker made his way up from the water. His pack was even larger than ours, and he remarked that we would likely have the campground to ourselves for the night. We said we weren't sure if we could stay, or if we would have to continue on to the Quaite Valley Backcountry Campground.  He recommended staying put, but let us know that the walk to Quaite was along a valley, and that there was access to water there. This was very helpful information indeed. 

Try as we might, we couldn't get cell service to make a reservation to camp.  Given how busy it was, and how close the campground was to the parking lot, we decided that without a permit, we had better continue on.  The afternoon was hot, and we were rather tired by this point, but there didn't seem to be many options. 

The trail heading away from Barrier Lake was beautiful.  It climbed quite quickly, but then followed the edge of a river valley.  At first we were quite concerned, because like many of the river beds we've been crossing recently, this one was bone dry.  It is possible that this was simply because many mountain streams are seasonal, only flowing in spring and early summer when they are fed by melting snow pack.  It is also possible that the hot, dry summers brought on by climate change are affecting water availability. 

It was late in the afternoon as we were heading away from Barrier Lake, and there was a steady stream of day hikers going in the opposite direction.  We had to step off the narrow footpath so often that it felt like we were salmon swimming upstream.

The trail undulated up and down, in some areas quite steeply, but overall we simply walked along the side of the forested river valley.  A highlight was passing a tall waterfall.  It's cool waters beckoned in the hot afternoon, especially after several days without a shower, but we resisted the urge to step underneath it. 

The trail climbed steeply up, and then we crossed over the waterfall on a metal bridge, leaving us walking high above the riverbed below.  It was very beautiful but somewhat unnerving to look down on the rocky valley bottom far below. 

It was around 5 km to the Quaite Valley Campground, and we thoroughly enjoyed the walk through the forested valley on the sunny afternoon.  Trail conditions were so good it was almost unbelievable. 

When we reached the campground we found a grassy clearing surrounded by towering mountains.  Twenty campsites were nestled into the trees, stretched out along the trail.  A group of four cyclists passed us as we arrived at the campsite, and there was already a young couple and a father and son duo set up and eating dinner at the picnic tables at the centre of the meadow.  There was a central fire pit, a large pile of firewood, a pit toilet, and the campsites. 

We stopped at the picnic tables and made dinner, still not having strong enough cell service to get the Alberta Parks webpage to load.  However, we were less than 2 km away from highway 1, and after dinner I walked towards the highway.  Soon I had a strong enough signal to make a reservation and pay for the night.  Success at last! 

We soon had the tent set up on a small platform tucked into a grove of balsam fir and spruce, right at the base of a mountain.  The view out our door was incredible, with forested slopes giving way to exposed rocky peaks high above us.  On the mountain opposite, perched atop what I believe was Biffy Peak, was a tiny cabin and a communications tower. 

As the sun set the wind began to rise, howling as it blew down the valley. It felt good to be protected by the trees and sheltered by the base of the mountain.  It was also nice to have the roar of the highway drowned out by the sounds of nature. 

We watched as the sun sank down, first turning the peaks to gold and leaving the forests below in darkness, and then inexplicably turning the forest below to gold and plunging the peaks into shadow.

Around 11 pm, when it was well and truly dark, two hikers arrived in the campground.  They placed their food in the metal lockers and then proceeded to walk around the sites, shining their headlamps into all the tents as they went.  When we assumed they had chosen a site, which would have been no easy task in the darkness, instead of setting up they walked around the field clapping their hands loudly.  Perhaps this was to scare off bears?  Even though we are in a back-country site, relatively removed from civilization, we remain puzzled by the behaviour of people.  

Today has been another one filled with indescribable beauty.  The scale and magnitude of the landscape defy description, and it feels like an enormous privilege to fall asleep in this beautiful place.

See you on the trail!

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