For my kids (and for the most part, my wife), hiking is totally about what’s at the end of the trail. If the payoff is good, they’re generally willing to endure just about anything I choose to put them through. In contrast, I am MUCH more of a the-cool-is-in-the-journey kind of guy. I have the same attitude about virtually everything in my life. Hiking-wise, specific destinations are fine, but if the trail and the country it passes through are terrific I’d be happy enough for it to terminate at a sewage treatment plant. Similarly, I could not possibly care any less how a book ends if it is well written.
I think I’m probably in the minority where this issue is concerned, but I really don’t understand the other side of the fence here at all. I spent the better part of two years reading Stephen King’s seven-volume “The Dark Tower” series. Should a few hundred hours of sheer entertainment bliss be wiped from the record if I don’t happen to “agree” with the ending? (Editor’s Note: I did agree with the ending.) Or to put it in perhaps a more familiar context, should I feel cheated if the final page of “The Deathly Hallows” described Harry, Ron, and Hermione pulling a mask off of Voldemort to reveal Dumbledore, who snarls “yeah ... and I would’ve gotten away with it too if it weren’t for you meddling kids”? Not remotely. My point is that the journey, in both cases, was terrific. Ergo, I think that it would be nonsensical to write it all off if the last minute happened to be lame.
Where am I going with this?
Wednesday was our first day of hiking. On our vacations, I always try to start things off with hikes that are relatively easy. This approach gives everyone a chance to acclimate to altitude differences and get loosened up a little before we tackle things that are a bit more involved during the remaining couple of weeks. Our destination on Wednesday was Moul Falls. I didn’t really know what to expect, as there’s not a great deal of information about the trails in Wells Gray. But the distance was right for opening day (about 4 miles, which can be pushing it for a barely-seven-year-old) and the elevation change wasn’t that substantial and a waterfall destination always works for the kids ... so I figured we were golden. I was correct.
I took Hunter and Hadley on a similar -- but slightly more strenuous -- trek in Glacier a few years ago and they said that this one might even be better. I think they’re probably wrong, but I’m not sure enough to actually argue with them about it. Could be that this one was deemed “cooler” because the approach is from the top of the falls (very unusual as these types of hikes go) and you have to climb down a couple hundred vertical feet to get to the bottom of it. What I can say for sure is that the force of water at this place, for a waterfall that isn’t more than 150 feet tall, is mind-boggling. And while we’re on the topic of mind boggling things, Wells Gray Park itself is as big as the state of Delaware. And it’s “just” a provincial (not national) park. And it has one -- count ‘em, one -- narrow, two-lane, primary access road that meanders along for 25 miles and ends at some random, non-spectacular lake. You wanna see the rest of the 2,000 square miles? Fine. Put on a backpack and knock yourself out. Have I mentioned that I love Canada? If the tax rate wasn’t 113%, I’d move here tomorrow and never look back. But we’ll save that thought for another entry ...
The plan for Thursday was to drive the 200 miles up Highway 5 to Jasper but to stop in Mount Robson Provincial Park (adjacent to Jasper National Park) and get in another hike first. I had scouted out a couple of different possibilities but ultimately decided we’d try to make it to Kinney Lake. Didn’t know if we could get there, as it’s a six-mile roundtrip (see comment above regarding barely-seven-year-old legs) ... but it’s supposed to be a terrific hike, there’s decent payoff in the form of a glacier-fed lake (see comment above regarding the necessity of an appealing destination), and Mount Robson is a constant companion along the route. What is Mount Robson? I’m glad you asked.
Mount Robson, at just shy of 13,000 feet, is the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. “Big deal”, you say, “there are over 20 peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park alone that are above 13,000 feet”. Yeah ... but the town of Estes Park (gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park) sits at 7,500 feet while the bridge at the trailhead below Mount Robson sits at 2,850 feet. So the payoff from base to peak at Robson pretty much leaves the entirety of the Colorado Rockies mumbling incoherently in the corner, rocking back and forth with their eyes squeezed shut and their arms wrapped around their knees. Anyway, the trail was great and Hollis traversed the entire six miles without complaining too much. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the trip goes but at this point I’m pretty impressed with how he’s handling himself.
And with that, I’ll sign off until Saturday or Sunday. Thanks for stopping by. And a special welcome to the dozen or so new adds from the past few days.
Peace,
Mike
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