yoho hike advice
Jul 25th, 2007, 08:15 AM
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yoho hike advice
Greetings all,
Our trip is almost here and I am concerned about crowds on the trails. I have the list of half day hikes posted on the Yoho NP site. They all look good to me, so I'm wondering if we are only to take one 1/2 day hike , between 5-10 km which should it be? I keep reading that it is so very crowded in July that we won't be able to enjoy because of all the people. Are any of these hikes off the beaten track, so as to get away from the crowds?
Our trip is almost here and I am concerned about crowds on the trails. I have the list of half day hikes posted on the Yoho NP site. They all look good to me, so I'm wondering if we are only to take one 1/2 day hike , between 5-10 km which should it be? I keep reading that it is so very crowded in July that we won't be able to enjoy because of all the people. Are any of these hikes off the beaten track, so as to get away from the crowds?
Jul 25th, 2007, 12:23 PM
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You do see other people on the hiking trails in Yoho National Park, but the trails are not what I would call crowded.
The trails around Lake Louise (e.g., Plain of Six Glaciers and Lake Agnes) are crowded. However, one can avoid the crowds if one hits the trail early in the morning.
Anyway, back to Yoho National Park, I recommend hiking to Wapta Falls.
If you're looking for another hike, I would add Point Lace Falls and Angel's Staircase.
Of course that assumes that you in any case will visit the two "must see" attractions in Yoho NP, namely, Emerald Lake and Takakkaw Falls.
The trails around Lake Louise (e.g., Plain of Six Glaciers and Lake Agnes) are crowded. However, one can avoid the crowds if one hits the trail early in the morning.
Anyway, back to Yoho National Park, I recommend hiking to Wapta Falls.
If you're looking for another hike, I would add Point Lace Falls and Angel's Staircase.
Of course that assumes that you in any case will visit the two "must see" attractions in Yoho NP, namely, Emerald Lake and Takakkaw Falls.
Jul 25th, 2007, 04:48 PM
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If you take the Iceline trail, I would not worry about the crowds, unless you go on a sunny Sunday in the summer.
Takkakaw Falls of course draws the bus crowd. Emerald Lake draws bigger bus crowds, but if you head toward one of the mountain destinations like Emerald Basin or Hamilton Lake or Burgess Pass, the weak hikers will have wimped out long ago.
Takkakaw Falls of course draws the bus crowd. Emerald Lake draws bigger bus crowds, but if you head toward one of the mountain destinations like Emerald Basin or Hamilton Lake or Burgess Pass, the weak hikers will have wimped out long ago.
Jul 25th, 2007, 06:57 PM
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Thanks to both of you, I'm sure we will find some great, peaceful hiking. I can't wait!
Debbie
ps if you want to suggest a restaurant at which to celebrate my husbands 50th birthday, I'm all ears (or in this case eyes).
Thanks for all you do for this forum; it is appreciated
Debbie
ps if you want to suggest a restaurant at which to celebrate my husbands 50th birthday, I'm all ears (or in this case eyes).
Thanks for all you do for this forum; it is appreciated
Jul 25th, 2007, 09:00 PM
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Where you will be staying at that time?
If you are around Lake Louise, the Post Hotel in the past has had a good menu and quality food.
Emerald Lake Lodge is another place, but I have no recent experience there.
In Banff there are quite a few good places, but my experience there is not recent.
My hiking comments were with respect to Emerald Lake.
Let me suggest that you get your hands on a copy of the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide by Brian Patton and Bart Robinson. I have the 7th edition of the guide and have used it on the trail, so I think it is reliable and accurate. It will describe more hikes in the Rockies than most people can take in two lifetimes.
If you are around Lake Louise, the Post Hotel in the past has had a good menu and quality food.
Emerald Lake Lodge is another place, but I have no recent experience there.
In Banff there are quite a few good places, but my experience there is not recent.
My hiking comments were with respect to Emerald Lake.
Let me suggest that you get your hands on a copy of the Canadian Rockies Trail Guide by Brian Patton and Bart Robinson. I have the 7th edition of the guide and have used it on the trail, so I think it is reliable and accurate. It will describe more hikes in the Rockies than most people can take in two lifetimes.
Jul 26th, 2007, 11:53 AM
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In the 5 to 10 K range, after some self-debate, I think my choice in Yoho would be part of the Iceline Trail.
It starts near Whiskey Jack Hostel and ascends the west side of the Yoho Valley and continues on to the Stanley Mitchell hut high up in the Little Yoho Valley.
I would go up high enough on the Iceline to be above the brink of Takkakaw Falls which is on the opposite side. You will be above tree line at that point and the view is unobstructed.
If you have a zoom lens on your camera you should be able to take some beautiful photographs. Even without a zoom, you can get some good ones.
You can reverse the hike any time you want and return.
After you have seen Takkakaw from a distance, go over and get up close to the plunge basin after your return. That way you will be on familiar terms with one of the most beautiful alpine waterfalls I have seen anywhere in the Alps or in North America.
The drawback to the Iceline is that the initial ascent is a little steep, but I was 68 when I did it. That was the day we got caught in a sleet storm that came blowing in from the north with a fair degree of ferocity.
If rain is falling the day you want to go hiking, I suggest braving the mobs and go to Johnston Canyon.
Of course my suggestion assumes you have adequate rain gear. I always have my Goretex shell and rain pants with me because I learned long ago that mountains make their own weather.
The day we got caught in the sleet storm has always stuck in my mind because we hiked up the start of the Iceline intermingled with people from a tour group. They were supposed to walk from Whiskey Jack Hostel to Yoho Lake and on to Emerald Lake where they would meet their tour bus. That hike is long enough that it is a non trivial distance.
The members of the tour group party were the most ill prepared hikers I think I have ever seen. No one I saw had rain protection of any kind; some did not really have adequate clothing. If there was a tour leader who had gone on head with a pack full of ponchos, he was well out of sight because we never saw such a person.
The footgear of this hiking group was appalling. It ranged from smooth soled tennis shoes to huge, king-klunker boots. One guy for some reason had a huge knife strapped to his leg. What he intended to stab was beyond me. I am sure that knife came in handy when the sleet started.
The only thing that might have offered some protection was that this group turned south into the trees whereas we turned north onto the glacial landscape of the Emerald Glacier.
I never saw any of the group again, so I have no idea how they fared, but as poorly equipped as they were, hypothermia was a distinct threat.
The point of all this is: The Rockies are beautiful at times, but the weather even in the summer can turn threatening.
Don't go off without the equipment you need for the conditions.
It starts near Whiskey Jack Hostel and ascends the west side of the Yoho Valley and continues on to the Stanley Mitchell hut high up in the Little Yoho Valley.
I would go up high enough on the Iceline to be above the brink of Takkakaw Falls which is on the opposite side. You will be above tree line at that point and the view is unobstructed.
If you have a zoom lens on your camera you should be able to take some beautiful photographs. Even without a zoom, you can get some good ones.
You can reverse the hike any time you want and return.
After you have seen Takkakaw from a distance, go over and get up close to the plunge basin after your return. That way you will be on familiar terms with one of the most beautiful alpine waterfalls I have seen anywhere in the Alps or in North America.
The drawback to the Iceline is that the initial ascent is a little steep, but I was 68 when I did it. That was the day we got caught in a sleet storm that came blowing in from the north with a fair degree of ferocity.
If rain is falling the day you want to go hiking, I suggest braving the mobs and go to Johnston Canyon.
Of course my suggestion assumes you have adequate rain gear. I always have my Goretex shell and rain pants with me because I learned long ago that mountains make their own weather.
The day we got caught in the sleet storm has always stuck in my mind because we hiked up the start of the Iceline intermingled with people from a tour group. They were supposed to walk from Whiskey Jack Hostel to Yoho Lake and on to Emerald Lake where they would meet their tour bus. That hike is long enough that it is a non trivial distance.
The members of the tour group party were the most ill prepared hikers I think I have ever seen. No one I saw had rain protection of any kind; some did not really have adequate clothing. If there was a tour leader who had gone on head with a pack full of ponchos, he was well out of sight because we never saw such a person.
The footgear of this hiking group was appalling. It ranged from smooth soled tennis shoes to huge, king-klunker boots. One guy for some reason had a huge knife strapped to his leg. What he intended to stab was beyond me. I am sure that knife came in handy when the sleet started.
The only thing that might have offered some protection was that this group turned south into the trees whereas we turned north onto the glacial landscape of the Emerald Glacier.
I never saw any of the group again, so I have no idea how they fared, but as poorly equipped as they were, hypothermia was a distinct threat.
The point of all this is: The Rockies are beautiful at times, but the weather even in the summer can turn threatening.
Don't go off without the equipment you need for the conditions.
