Kootenay Park – Part 2
Even though it was very cold, we had bright sunshine during breakfast at Helmet/Ochre campground. We still had the entire campground to ourselves.
Kootenay Park Adventure: Helmet Falls to Floe Lake
Tuesday July 25th, 2016
We arose before 6 AM to a very cool morning. I had left our backpacks hanging from a tripod of hiking poles, and I noticed that my pack had frost on it. I put on virtually every stitch that I had brought with me, and we went to have breakfast.
As we broke camp, I noted to my dismay that our tent fly was soaking wet, even though it had not rained overnight. It would be heavy in my pack. Just before we were ready to leave, a young couple from Vancouver came by. They had left the trailhead at the Paint Pots early at 7 AM, as they wanted to reach the ford at Helmet Creek before the water got too high from the snowmelt during the heat of the day. Once again we were reminded that we had a potentially difficult river ford ahead of us.
When hiking, I prefer dry feet. I had considered bringing a pair of rubber “water shoes” with me for the ford, as one needs stable foot wear when crossing swift flowing rivers with a heavy pack. As these shoes weighed over one pound and I would have to carry them for five days after the ford without using them further, I decided it was not worth it, and had accepted that I would be walking in wet hiking boots after the ford for a day or two. I had brought along some neoprene socks to wear during the ford, at the expense of just over 100 grams in my pack, and I schemed about various ways to keep my feet dry, but none of the schemes seemed practical. But more about that later.
We went up the trail, crossed over Helmet Creek to its right bank over a still intact bridge, and began the arduous climb up the switchbacks through the forest. Eventually our river ford would get us back to the left bank. It was near here that we had encountered a large bear near the trail the year before. This time there were no bears to be seen. Our only obstacles to our progress, aside from the steepness of the trail, were the many deadfalls. For some of these I had to go on my hands and knees to crawl under them.
We gained altitude rapidly on the switchbacks, and then the trail levelled out somewhat. Eventually we began to get glimpses of Helmet Creek far below, and then our trail followed its right bank for a time.
There were multiple avalanche slopes across the creek, many of which had obviously poured snow into the creekbed over the winter and spring. We were amazed at the amount of snow that was still lying beside the creek given that it was now nearing the end of July. In one place, Helmet Creek ran through a snow tunnel where the snow accumulations had been especially massive.
We were getting close to the site of the damaged suspension bridge, and were casting our eyes about to see if there was any chance of crossing the creek while keeping our feet dry.
Just before we reached the bridge, we met a group of hikers who were coming in the opposite direction from us. I asked how they had crossed the river, and to my astonishment they reported that they had in fact gone over the bridge. Although damaged and closed, they had still found it to be serviceable. On hearing this, my hopes of keeping my feet dry rose dramatically, and we pressed on to the bridge.
What we saw when we reached it was a sight for sore eyes. The bridge still spanned the river, although it hung somewhat lower than usual. The bridge across Helmet Creek at this point is a magnificent suspension bridge, with small towers at either end. It is supported by huge cables at each end which are attached to concrete foundations. Exactly what had happened to the bridge to damage it was not clear. The site for the bridge had been well-chosen. Mature forest covered the river banks on both sides at this point, and it was not an avalanche area. However, the cables that anchored the bridge on the right bank appeared to have been torn out of their foundations, perhaps by something large coming down the river, or by heavy snow accumulation on the bridge. These cables were now temporarily wrapped around several very large trees on the bank. Obviously this bridge was secure and was not about to be washed down the river.
However, the approaches to the bridge on each side of the river were blocked by massive amounts of red tape, indicating that the bridge was closed.
One could walk quite easily to the side of the creek lower down, and here the bridge hung only about three feet above the shore. The temptation was too much, and we climbed onto it and crossed easily, exiting the bridge just across the water on the other side where once again if hung low over the shore. It looked like I would be carrying my very dry neoprene socks for five more days for nothing. We were very grateful, however, to be across Helmet creek with our feet still dry.
This was the view from the breakfast area, as the sun shone on Helmet Falls.
Our lunch beside Helmet Creek still included tomatoes fresh from our garden and cucumbers from our neighbour’s garden.
We had lunch beside the rushing water of Helmet Creek just upstream from the bridge. It was the same spot where we had had lunch the year before, when the bridge was still open.
From our lunch spot it was clear sailing to the Helmet Falls campground. There were a few deadfalls to get over or under, and a large avalanche debris slope to cross. It had been cleared to some extent by the park employees, so it was not a major obstacle. The avalanches this spring must have been much larger than they usually are, for this avalanche had taken out large trees along the edge of the avalanche slope. The snow had obviously been piled deep enough that it was not yet all melted, and the trail simply went over the packed snow and debris.
We had arrived at the campground quite early, and had our choice of campsites. We chose once again the same camp site we had occupied one year before. It was the most private campsite in the campground, and near a creek. We set up camp, and then walked into the large beautiful cirque beyond the campground to view Helmet Falls. The falls were once again an amazing site, although in the shadows so good photography was not possible. There were many other smaller waterfalls coming down the mountainside from the glaciers beyond the cliffs, and all in all it reminded me of Milford Sound in New Zealand after a major rainstorm. But here there was no rain, and all the water was fed by snowmelt and the glaciers which were high above and out of sight.
We walked to the top of a rocky knoll near the end of the cirque, and relaxed and enjoyed the view. On the way back, we filtered water for the evening and the next day at a spot where the main trail to Tumbling Campground crossed a small stream, but more about this water later. On our way back to our tent we had dinner at the eating area. Here we met the young couple from Vancouver again, and learned that they had followed the rules more than we had. They had passed by the closed bridge on Helmet Creek, and crossed the creek on a fallen log upstream. Like us they had been lucky and kept their feet dry.
Unlike our previous night at Helmet / Ochre campground, Helmet Falls campground was busy. Nevertheless, after dinner we had a well-earned good night’s rest. We had come approximately 14.7 kilometres from the Paint Pots, and about 8.4 kilometres that day from the Helmet / Ochre Junction campground.