Mount Robson Adventure Part 2
A marmot is watching us.
Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017 Continued
The trail climbed ever higher through green meadows and over rocky ridges, until finally we came upon steep slopes of scree. Along the way, an inquisitive marmot watched us. Then the pass was very close, and there would be no turning back.
After the scree came a narrow band of snow, and then we were over the pass and looking down on the valley on the far side. This valley was entirely filled by the Reef Ice Field. On the far side of the ice field, low mountains marked the edge of the valley. The view from the pass was strongly reminiscent of the Arctic.
We lingered on the pass for a while, and shared the majestic views with a British couple. Then, after some photographs, we turned and started our descent with a strong sense of accomplishment. However, we still had a long way to go before we would be back at our campsite on Berg Lake.
The walking was, as usual, much easier and faster on the way down. Along the way, we amused ourselves by trying out some large chairs which someone had built from the flat rocky slabs of stone along the trail. Although hard, they were quite comfortable and remarkably stable.
It was a long way down over the rocky scree and the green meadows to the towering lateral moraine of the Robson Glacier. Still impressive, the glacier kept our attention as we descended along the moraine to the lake at the glacier toe.
Soon we had passed the lake and were back alongside the river. The Robson River seemed larger and faster than it had been that morning. It had been a sunny and warm day, and perhaps that had accelerated the melting of the glacier.
The last several kilometers to our campsite seemed long, but we made it back. It had been the hike of a lifetime in the best of weather. It was a day not to be forgotten.
The weather was still beautiful, although Mount Robson was once again shrouded in clouds.
Eventually our trail took us down off the moraine and towards the lake at the glacier toe.
Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017
Today we had to move camp. We could only get 2 nights at Berg Lake, so we completed our four nights on the mountain with two nights at Rearguard. Our new campground was only a kilometer down the valley, so after a nice breakfast on the porch of the Berg Lake shelter, we broke camp and were on our way up the trail.
We found a nice campsite high up on the slope at Rearguard, and set up our tent. Then we went down the trail with a daypack and started up the Mumm Basin trail. This trail left right from the Robson Pass campground, and at first we had difficulty finding it. Once on it, though, we ascended steadily to a rocky promontory with great views, and then went higher to a rocky viewpoint where we had a much needed lunch. The trail had been brutally steep as it went up through the forest, and was quite exhausting.
After lunch we had a fine traverse over flowered meadows, rocky areas, and over three fine pristine streams. Along the way there were great views of the Robson and Berg glaciers, and of Berg Lake. It rained for a few minutes and I put on my rain jacket. Then, just as suddenly, it stopped and I had to take it off again. The weather alternated between broken clouds, and sunshine. At times, a very cool wind blew through the basin.
Eventually we descended through a forest and joined the Toboggan Creek Trail. On our way, we met a large marmot who was keeping an eye on the world from the top of a huge boulder.
We descended back towards the Berg Lake Campground along the Toboggan Creek Trail. Here we once again marvelled at this amazing stream. At times it formed deeply-carved channels through the bedrock, at other times it formed more classical waterfalls, and still at other times it careened down long rocky slopes reminiscent of a toboggan slide.
Once we reached the Berg Campground, we had another kilometer to go back to our new campsite at Rearguard. We were still a little tired from our long hike to Snowbird Pass the day before, so we called it quits for the day, did a few camp chores, and had dinner. Then it was time for some well-earned rest.