July 25, 2019, Nub and Chuck's Ridge
Distance: approximately 15 km
Elevation gain: approximately 700 m
On Thursday, July 25, we woke to cloudy skies. While some sunshine peaked through intermittently, it looked like it was going to be a cooler, likely rain shower kind of day. After a quick breakfast of fruit, oatmeal and granola, Nic, Fred and I packed up our bags for a day of hiking. Sam, not a huge fan of hiking, opted to stay cozy and warm in his sleeping bag and catch a few hours more sleep. He would meet up with us later in the day for some cake and lemonade, and some rocking skipping down at the lake.
Given the weather, a decision was made to hike Nub Peak. We wanted to save the best weather day, which was Friday, for the Towers. Just as we left the cabin, we were greeted by gophers and moles in the grass right outside our hut. It is so important to stay on the walkways as much as possible not only to preserve the fragile vegetation, but to protect even the smallest creatures from our impact. The moles were so tiny I am amazed we noticed them at all. After a quick stop at the lodge for pictures of Lake Magog and Mount Assiniboine (whose peak was in the clouds), we headed up the Nub.
Once we reached the Nublet, we experienced extremely cold winds. Of course, at this point we were easily distracted by the stunning views all around us. Many pictures were taken! Even though the peak of Assiniboine would only make a brief appearance occasionally, it was still gorgeous. The sun popped out enough to provide more colour intensity to the lakes. After trekking up to the next viewpoint and taking a bunch more pictures, we decided the wind was too strong and cold to make for an enjoyable climb to the third viewpoint (peak) and so we opted to climb down a bit and take the trail to Elizabeth Lake, in the hopes we would summit Chuck’s Ridge.
Once we reached Elizabeth Lake, we could see a trail leading up a drainage gully, but the signage indicated to stay on the trail for Chuck’s Ridge. Hmmm. We opted to stay on the trail and ended up gaining, losing and then gaining elevation on a trail that seemed to pass the ridge. Retracing our steps to where we had a line of sight to the ridge, we decided to scramble up. Unfortunately, just under the summit there was some tricky scrambling beyond my abilities and so I headed back down. Nic continued for a bit but eventually he turned around too. We all agreed the drainage gully would have been the route to take. We then hiked what the park indicated is Chuck’s Ridge bringing us to a wonderful viewpoint of Mount Watson, Mount Sam, Mount Octopus, Indian Peak and Mount Nestor.
After a bite to eat, we made out way back to Elizabeth Lake and then opted to take the trail that walks past Cerulean and Sunburst Lakes. Once past Sunburst Lake, Nic decided to head back to the hut and grab Sam for teatime and Fred and I went through the campground and then headed down to Lake Magog to walk the shoreline back to front of the lake.
The four of us enjoyed the lodge’s cake and lemonade before heading back down to Lake Magog to skip some rocks. All too soon it was time to head back to our hut. After tossing a football around, having dinner and visiting with the other hikers, we settled in for the night.
