Distance: 8 km return to pass with additional distance if exploring ridge and/or Wilcox meadows
Elevation gain: 520 m to pass with additional elevation if climbing ridge, col or peak
On Saturday, August 3, Fred and I headed into the mountains for yet another day hike. Our original plan was to trek to Helen Lake, and then climb up Cirque Peak but I was super sick with a very bad cold. Fred thought we should have stayed home but there was no way I was going to spend a great weather day in the summer hiking season in Calgary 😉 and so we decided on a longer drive and shorter hike. Because it was the long weekend and the weather forecast was spectacular, we knew an early start was a must.
Up at 4:30 am, we were backing out our driveway by 5:00 am. It never ceases to amaze me that we get up earlier and work far harder on the weekends that we do during the work week 😀. As has become our routine this summer, Fred and I took our time exiting the neighbourhood to count all the bunnies out and about eating and playing before most humans get up and cars really start to move. This morning we saw 23 – all different colours and ages – a great way to start our day 😊!
Surprisingly, there already were a steady stream of cars on the highway heading west. Crazy. The buzz these days is if you aren’t at Moraine Lake by 5:00 am you won’t get a parking spot. Parks has really complicated the situation because they have introduced a shuttle to Moraine Lake from Lake Louise (rather than buses coming up just from the overflow area off the highway) and so if someone wants to get a parking spot at Lake Louise, you need to be there by 7:00 am. But this morning we were heading right on by Lake Louise and travelling north on highway 93 to the Wilcox parking area by the Columbia Icefields. Fred and I haven’t driven past Waterfowl Lakes in over 10 years. Considering we both believe the road from Lake Louise to Jasper is likely one of the best scenic drives in the world, both of us were looking forward to the drive.
Of course, we just had to stop many times for pictures along the way. I love early mornings when cloud hovers over waterways due to the temperature differences between the water and air, and due to the amount of moisture in the air just above the water. Driving past Castle Mountain, the cloud was moody and mysterious coming up from the Bow River, necessitating a turn around on the highway. Once on Highway 93 north, how could I resist stops at Bow Lake, Peyto Lake and Waterfowl Lakes for more photos 😆. I never tire of these iconic places – these lakes and their surrounding mountains are breathtakingly beautiful and look different every time you see them.
Running down to Bow Lake and around the shore far enough to see St. Nicholas Peak, and trotting up to the Peyto Lake viewpoint reminded me that I was pretty sick and so I downed a couple of Advil and popped in a cough drop in the hopes I could keep the symptoms at bay. The drive from Waterfowl Lakes to Wilcox was nothing short of spectacular. The Alexandra River colour was stunning and many of the mountains were “touching the sky” with their peaks encased in ice.
It’s hard to believe how many treks we have not done even though we have been hiking these mountains for over 20 years. Wilcox Pass, Ridge and Mountain was one such trek. Across from the massive Mount Athabasca with a truly incredible glacier, and the Columbia Icefields, Wilcox provides incredible views all around. The parking lot was already filling up and in fact we captured the last “official” spot.
The trail starts with a forest walk on a very established wide trail with a gentle incline, or at least it felt gentle to us. I guess after climbing up to the top of the Tower of Babel, or the scree slope up to Northover Ridge, or … etc., this felt like a gentle incline to us. There is even a set of wooden stairs 😮. Quite quickly you break out of the trees and start to fill up with the gorgeous views of Mount Athabasca and the Columbia Icefields. The alpine flowers were spell-bounding. I don’t think I have ever seen Indian Paintbrush grow as high as what we saw beside the trail – the red ones had to have been over two feet high. We even saw a few alpine flowers that we have never seen before.
The trail continues into a very large alpine meadow area. The meadow was filled with moraines and hummocks – mounds that formed due to glacier erosion. It is hard to describe what it felt like to walk through this alpine meadow. Flowers were all around us. There were interesting geological features that captured our attention. And of course, the views were amazing. Before we knew it, we were at Wilcox Pass. Going further was entering into a “wilderness area” and/or climbing up to Wilcox Ridge. We did both. Surprisingly, I was feeling very strong – given how I felt the following day, my hunch is the Advil was doing a fantastic job of keeping my symptoms at bay.
After exploring the meadow with its mounds and tarns and interesting rocks, we climbed up to the ridge. On our way, we saw a herd of male sheep. All looked incredibly healthy and had gorgeous, big horns. Once on the ridge, we simply gazed in all directions. Words would not do the views justice. Exploring the ridge, we found a trail that lead to Wilcox Peak. While I really wanted to head up, Fred reminded me that I was pretty sick (sicker with this cold than he has seen me with a cold in 30 years) so we opted to walk the ridge and then head back down.
Getting back to the parking lot was quick on this established trail. The only delays were my stops for more pictures. The parking lot was overflowing with cars! We made quick work of dumping our gear and heading out so someone arriving could have a spot.
The drive back to Lake Louise was every bit as stunning as the drive in. We stopped in at the Saskatchewan River Crossing (a first for us) to stock up on orange juice for me (the Advil had worn off) and took some time browsing the various arts and crafts in the store. We couldn’t resist picking up a jack knife for Sam with his name on it.
Even though I could no longer breathe through my nose, and my ears were incredibly painful, and my eyes were red and sore, and I had lost my voice, we opted to take the longer way home driving highway 1A to extend our fantastic day in the mountains. I feel hugely blessed to live so close to such a stunningly beautiful part of the world.
