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Wednesday 2018-08-08 – Day 4 – Snowbird Pass
Today was our BIG day hike day. We were heading up to Snowbird Pass. This would be about 22 km round trip, and with a big elevation gain.
- Walking along the valley, then turn right and follow the Robson River to the foot of the glacier.
- Climb up onto and follow the moraine to the the hanging valley.
- Wander up the alpine meadow to Snowbird Pass.
- Be amazed at the Columbia Icefield.
- Retrace our steps back to Berg Lake.
Thursday 2018-08-09 – Day 5 – Glacier and Toboggan Falls
Today was to be an easier day, letting us recover from the 22 km of Snowbird Pass the day before. We planned to do the short walk along the lake, and then turn and do the steep climb up to Hargreaves.
The climb up was steep and hot. And the views from the top of the hill made it all worthwhile. Warren talked Bill, Andrew and Keiran in to do more. We left the rest of the gang on top of the hill and proceeded up a steep ridge. The ridge was high and narrow and crumbly. You definitely had to pay attention. After an hour or so, we decided to switch to the safer option of going up the little valley along the outside. It didn’t look like we were going to find a place to descend for awhile. The valley was full of boulders and patches of snow. Easy going, but not a simple path.
We made several trips back up to the top of the ridge to see if there was a route down. Eventually, Keiran and I decided that we could make it with only minimal risk. Keiran went first. I continued up a bit, and chose a different section, mostly to avoid sending rocks down on top of Keiran. Both of us made it just fine, without undue excitement. Bill and Andrew selected an easy route another kilometer up the ridge.
We all met up on the solid rock plane, and walked over to Hargreaves Glacier. There is something magic about just touching the ice. And seeing the cracks and crevices. The eerie blue light shines up through the crevices and streams and waterfalls. The caves and rocks are stunning. We walked to the base of the glacier, climbed back up to the top of the ridge and headed for our campsite, via Toboggan Falls. Trail quesadillas awaited us. The whole ganged then did the short hike back up to Toboggan Falls to play in the pools and streams.
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