Y2Y 2001 Update #3

August 3 - A rainy night and still falling this morning. We bid farewell to Kevin about 9:00, sorry to see him go. Soon packed up and left ourselves, re-fording the Red Deer and hiking back to Warner Lake. The overgrown alders soak us to the bone but by the time we get up to the lake the sun is poking through the clouds. We leave the signs and trails of humans and begin climbing the ridge to the north. A game trail helps us through the dense underbrush and we eventually get above treeline. Our views are stunning. The clouds performing a constant changing dance, with storms at various places around us. We make a high camp and soak it all in, ready for the next rain.

August 4 -  Prepared for the rain, but not the blow that comes with it. Last night an intense rainfall pounded down with big gusts of wind. I actually put my raincoat on expecting the tent to give way. John later told me he was holding on to the inside of the fly in his tent. Amazing storm, with another one this morning, so we get our usual late start.

Up and over the high ridge we had some good walking, but then more rain and a long bushwhack through the forest. We both get very wet and cold. Making camp at Tuck Lake felt good that night.

August 5 - Some sun this morning perked us up as we followed a game trail around the lake and up to wooded Wapiti Pass. Then some tough bushwhacking down to Framstead Creek. Lunch on a gravel bar was a highlight. After lunch we had some more difficult going. Rain found us late in the day and just as we left the protection of the trees, up comes a fierce wind. Frozen and wet we camped in a bushy, but protected, nook with mountains rising nearly straight up on either side of the narrow valley.

August 6 - Both of us slept late, enjoying our dry clothes and dreading the windy, wet day. Again, some patches of blue sky began to appear and we headed up the valley into the alpine zone. We marveled at the glaciers above us, the waterfalls tumbling down the mountainsides and the majesty of the peaks above. Coming over a low pass we were wowed by the sight of the Limestone lakes we would visit. These are huge lakes, deep and blue, all ringed in by steep-sided mountains.

The wildflowers, entire slopes of them, were fields of rainbows. As pretty as this was (we are now in Monkman Provincial Park) it was also difficult to travel. Sidehills are steep and brushy, bear trails providing most of the route. We struggle around the first of 2 lakes and camp on the south shore of the third lake where the going is easier. No rain at dinner allows us to enjoy the evening and alpine glow sweeping down the peaks.

August 7 - Relatively easy day with the bushwhacking, but I had a hard time. Low energy and everything seemed hard. We had a good climb up and over a beautiful alpine plateau and the woods walking really wasn't bad. Found many sinkholes and lots of bear sign. The basin we had planned to camp in was dry so we were forced to ascend higher. Finally camped in a very exposed pocket basin. The rain didn't bring heavy winds that night. Went to sleep with the clouds dragging on the ground.

August 8 - Glory Day! We've been in the fog all night so I'm startled to see sunlight on the tent. Outside the skies are clear overhead and to the north. Clouds in the valley below circle the front of Ice Mountain and still fill the southern horizon, but miles away. We are in the clear, though!! At last! I rouse John next door and we both marvel at the clear skies. We grab our cameras and head for various viewpoints cheering the sun. At one point I stand on a high knoll and John is on another lower one across the basin. He is silhouetted against the vast wilderness we've spent so many days coming through. I think of the terrain, how hard it has been how wonderfully wild and pristine, and all the adventures we have faced. I'm filled with joy and overcome with the magnitude of it all. Tears begin to fall and I sob with delight at the release. We pack up and climb into the world of rock and ice, topping out at a pass that feels like the top of the world. We're looking north at a series of high, rolling alpine basins and plateaus, lakes and tarns, green flowing slopes and raw rock and snowfields. It looks like a hikers dream come true!

We slide down a snowfield and begin the traverse through this alpine wonderland. Stopping often, it's more of a "wander" than a walk. The wildflowers, the views; this place fills our hearts and each step is one of pure joy. We are coming down into one of the wider basins when I spot our first Grizzly Bear of the trip. We've been seeing their fresh tracks, scat, and trails nearly everyday of the trip but now we get a real view. This is perfect. It's far across the basin unaware of our presence. It's a big male. Very big. It towers over some of the kromholz that it strides through. Time to stop for lunch. While munching away at our bread and peanut butter we watch the progress of the bear as he grazes further into our intended route. We can go higher or we can skirt far lower which would be out of our way. The decision was to go lower as we hoist the packs, but the bear suddenly changes direction and starts descending. Happily, we resume the high route and the bear disappears below.

Later I'm climbing a glaciated knoll and glimpse a black wolf. It appears seconds later in full view and we watch it lope easily up the mountain, stopping to look back at us every 100 yards or so. This day just keeps getting better. To see those 2 symbols of wild North America in the same day is an honor. These are the first ones John has seen. We're like school kids bubbling with excitement. Later we camp high, next to a little brook. I watch the sun set far below the western peaks. First sun set of the entire trip!

August 9 - My therma rest popped last night and my kidneys ached. (I have PKD) so I didn't sleep well. We are blessed with another clear day and climb up a steep ridge on a game trail. Yesterday we saw giant Monkman Lake from above. Today we want to descend a few thousand feet to the trail from the lake to Monkman Park headquarters. We'll walk the trail to our re-supply tomorrow. My kidneys still ache so I'm moving slow, but in the forest we enter, fast travel isn't possible anyway. Our descent starts well, but we get into very dense willows and woods on some extremely steep slopes. Feeling beat up when we finally hit the trail, we rush to the lake where a quick dip and lunch totally revives us. A seven-mile hike on the trail takes us to a wooded campsite for the night. We look forward to seeing other people at the ranger station tomorrow.

August 10 - Walking on a "human" trail instead of game trails is quite pleasant and we thoroughly enjoy the easy miles down to the Murray river, crossing on a suspension bridge and the walk along the Murray to the Monkman campground. It's deserted. We walk through the vacant place and it feels like a ghost town. Kevin had told us at Red Deer Creek that the road was washed out. We assume it still is, but hope someone still hangs on at the ranger station and our food is there. The station gate s closed. Walking around the gate we see no one around. It's locked up. I spot a large garbage bag in the open woodshed. Our food box is inside! We cheer!!! There is also a letter from Leslie. And a note from Rob Bressette telling us the road is still out and that they left a window open in the bunkhouse. We're free to use it, just lock up before we go. We wash clothes and organize our food. Monkman Park, from Limestone lakes, the high plateaus, the ranger station will always hold a dear place in our memories.

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