Glaciers and Goats : Buller Mountain to Sawmill

When we woke up this morning the blue sky, which was filled with fluffy white clouds, was reflected almost perfectly in the still waters of the lake outside our tent.  As we sat at the picnic table enjoying the quiet morning and our warm cups of coffee, we watched as an Osprey came gliding silently in over the trees. It made a low pass over the still waters of the pond, looking for fish, before landing on a dead snag.  It's quiet grace and majestic posture seemed to fit perfectly into the quiet mountain landscape.
After packing everything up we headed out, crossing over the wide gravel road and climbing back up to the trail.  The cool morning air smelled strongly of wood smoke, but thankfully it was mostly clear, and the sun was beginning to add warmth to the morning.

As we headed towards the Rummel Lake Day Use Area, we began in a very dense stand of spruce.  As we'd seen in previous stages, many of the trees were dying, their branches stiff, blackened, and curled downwards towards the trunks.  The sphagnum moss looked like black smudges hanging from the lifeless twigs.  Although the ground was covered in a lush carpet of moss and emerald green seedlings, the dense, close stand had an almost eerie quality.

As we progressed on the High Rockies Trail we passed through several areas that had been affected by forest fires.  The light brown path wove through stands of tall, straight, skinny lodge pole pine tree trunks.  Charred black strips of barks clung to the bleached white trunks, and the branches and canopies had been burned away. In these open sections we could see the Spray Lake Reservoir below us and the mountains on the opposite side of the valley, but it was like looking through prison bars.

A high point of the morning was climbing up to the lookout point near the top of the Rummel Lake Trailhead.  A wooden bench had been placed at the top of a bluff, offering panoramic views of the mountains opposite.  On the back of it a memorial plaque to Tim Harder read 'Welcome to make out point.'  I always love finding quotes or dedications to people whose strong character or sense of humour can be felt by strangers, even long after their death. 

Not only did the lookout point offer gorgeous views of the mountains opposite, but it also offered us our first view of a remnant glacier. I'm not sure what glacier it was, but over the course of the afternoon we had good views of it that felt like 'close-ups', even though we were across a valley from it. 

After the viewpoint there was a short, steep climb down to a river crossing on a lovely wooden footbridge.  The streambed was bone dry and filled with the trunks of huge trees and other debris.  Just as we were beginning to climb back up the narrow, steep, footpath we spotted a tiny Pacific Wren hopping around in the shrubs and slash on the edge of the streambed.

The next section of the Trans Canada Trail took us through an area of pine regeneration.  While the recently burned stands of lodge pole pines can look kind of tragic and devastated, forest fire is an important and natural part of pine forest ecosystems.  As we wove through the stands of lush, healthy young pine saplings we were surrounded by colourful wildflowers and the sounds of birds.  It felt like a renewal of life and energy.

When we came to the Rummel Lake Trailhead we saw several couples starting out on the more difficult hike up the mountainside.  One couple had an enthusiastic black lab dog on a leash.  Another lady was carrying her toddler up the mountain in a backpack, his happy babbling spreading joy to those around him.  There is nothing quite so humbling  as struggling along a trail only to see others happily trekking along with small children in tow.  It reminded us of walking the East Coast Trail in Newfoundland, when we had decided to stop for the day out of shear exhaustion about 8 km from the nearest trailhead, only to watch a pregnant lady jog by in the rain with a cheerful smile and wave.

The next section of trail seemed to weave up and down the mountainside, although we felt like we were climbing more than descending.  We passed through more gorgeous conifer stands, periodically enjoying spectacular mountain views through gaps in the trees.  We particularly enjoyed seeing the large white glaciers tucked into the nooks, crannies, and bowls of the rocky crags opposite.

At several points we climbed down to footbridges that crossed mountain streams,  their rocky beds singing with the sounds of tumbling water.  We also enjoyed the smaller things, taking the time to notice a growing number of fall mushrooms, and being surprised to see a small gnome perched atop a stump in the midst of a forest stand.

We also enjoyed the strong reds, golden yellows, and dark greens of the ground cover in the open areas.  Under the clear blue sky, against a backdrop of light grey rock, the colours of fall were really beginning to shine.

Just before we came to the Chester Day Use Area we found ourselves walking on a flat, wide section of trail that very much resembled an old logging road.  This impression grew stronger as we neared the day use area, causing us to think that the Sawmill Day Use Area, which is the next rest stop along the High Rockies Trail, might have gotten its name from a nearby forestry operation.

When we came to the trail head for the Chester Day Use Area we suddenly found ourselves walking on a very wide crushed stone dust road.  As we descended very steeply down towards the Day Use Area, we passed a steady stream of hikers and cyclists heading up the mountain.  There must have been about 20 people heading upwards, and when we finally reached the bottom of the hill it was to find a huge paved parking lot with over 40 cars parked in it. Although we hadn't seen anyone on the High Rockies Trail, apparently Chester Lake is a very popular local trail!

We had been hoping to find a picnic table for a break, but I think the day use area may have been across the highway.  We stopped at a bench in the hot sun and ate a granola bar while watching all the chaos and activity.  After several days in the wilderness, all the people and cars coming and going seemed a little overwhelming.

Soon we headed out of the parking lot on an old logging road bordered by extremely tall, mature conifers.  The almost magical feeling trail brought us out to the bottom of a rock slide, where we crossed a clear, shallow stream on a wide wooden footbridge.  As we hiked we saw signs for skiing and snowshoeing trails leading off in several directions, and guessed this is a popular place for winter outdoor recreation as well.

For the next while we followed old logging roads.  Although this made for relatively easy going, there was a lot of switch backing and climbing up and down the slopes, and in places the network of overgrown grassy trails was a little confusing.   It was a pleasant walk through a treed corridor, and we stopped to watch a small group of Boreal Chickadees that was curiously checking us out and very loudly discussing us among themselves. They were soon joined by several Canada Jays and a Dark-eyed Junco.  Then, as quickly as they appeared the small group of birds was gone.

Around 3:30 pm or so we crossed another small stream on a wooden footbridge, and then unexpectedly came out to the Sawmill Day Use Area.  To our surprise and delight it too offered hiker/biker camping!  Although it was still relatively early in the day, we didn't know if the rest areas ahead of us allowed camping or not, so we decided to stop.

We found ourselves in a large open space, surrounded by tall, steep, mountain slopes.  At the centre was a large parking lot, with washrooms, a garbage can, and a stand of bear proof food lockers at one end.  Surrounding the gravel parking lot was an open grassy meadow with a couple picnic tables and a few stands of small conifers.  A stand of taller trees sheltered the rest area from the Smith Dorian Spray Lake Rd. 

As we approached the picnic area a couple of cyclists were just finishing their break and getting up to leave, and a group of three retired ladies were just strapping on enormous backpacks before heading up the mountain, presumably towards Chester Lake.

We stopped at one of the picnic tables in the meadow, uncertain of where exactly the tent sites were.  We searched around the entire area, and looked at the map, and finally decided the intention must be that we simply camp in the meadow. This was less sheltered and a lot less private than the excellent spots at Buller Mountain, but we were happy to take what we could get. 

We made an early dinner sitting in the sunshine at the picnic table.  As we were heating the water, a group of Americans from Washington State drove up and began setting up an elaborate picnic at the table beside us.  Their menu sounded delicious, and the animated discussion of all the options in the seemingly bottomless hamper made us feel very sorry about out our own dinner of sidekicks noodles.  We could see their curiosity about us mounting, and eventually they asked where we were hiking.  When we shared our story they immediately offered us some of their smoked salmon and crackers.  What a lovely offer of trail magic!

As the afternoon turned to evening we noticed that when the sun was shining the valley was hot, but whenever it hid behind a cloud the temperature dropped almost immediately and quite drastically.  This rather dramatic swing in temperatures prompted us to put the tarp up over our tent for extra warmth in what we predicted might be a cold night.

As we sat at the picnic table working on the blog and editing photos we found ourselves surrounded by bird activity in the small conifers behind us.  Yellow-rumped Warblers were foraging for insects among the shrubs, and a group of Cedar Waxwings was also moving through.  They were joined by Dark-eyed Juncos and White-crowned Sparrows.

I had been scanning the slopes and rocky crags around us all day for mountain goats or bighorn sheep with no luck.  To my absolute delight I finally spotted a group of mountain goats high up in a meadow near the top of the steep, rocky, mountain opposite us.  They may have appeared as tiny white specks, and at first I wasn't 100% certain they weren't just stones, but after close observation they definitely had legs and were moving.  Success at last!  Looking around more closely we also noticed a group of nine elk high up in a meadow on another of the mountains surrounding us, as well as two hikers way up at the peak!

As we were admiring the amazing scenery and wildlife, a cyclist pedalled around the corner, looked around, and asked if it was okay is she joined us.  We explained that she was actually allowed to camp here, and that of course she was welcome.  Nicole had cycled up from the US-Mexico border, following the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) and was ending her trip in Jasper.  It was really fun to meet someone else on a long-distance journey, especially a south-north oriented one.  We had a million questions for her, but she'd had a very long day and soon retreated to the relative warmth of her tent.
From the beauty of this morning to the spectacular mountain scenery of tonight, it has been a lovely day on the High Rockies Trail.

 

See you on the trail!

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