Red Rock Canyon, Waterton National Park...on the way to the Tamarack Trail.
Hope everyone is having a great summer.
Just came back from Waterton Lakes National Park where I hiked the breathtaking Tamarack Trail with my friend Khalid.
 |
| The Snowshoe Trail Head. By the way, the entire trail was asphalt surfaced. Just kidding. The objective on the first day was to hike 8.5 km along Bauerman Creek to Snowshoe campground. |
 |
| The first day was an easy, relaxing walk in the forest. The relatively flat trail was actually an old forestry fire road. Twin tracks! So, we were able to spend most of the time engaged in lively discussion over world affairs...how cultured... |
A lot of people find forest hikes boring. I really don't understand why. Lots of beautiful flora and fauna around to keep us photographers happy. Especially these pretty pink flowers. If you're really lucky you might have a random encounter with a bear!! Wouldn't that be grand?
 |
| Rather bizarre looking fluffy plants... photo courtesy of Khalid |
 |
| Sacrificing life and limb...(Photo courtesy of Khalid) |
 |
| ...for a pic of these puff ball-like fungi!! |
 |
| Pretty butterfly/moth...(Photo courtesy of Khalid) |
Pretty yellow flower...
 |
| Occasionally, there were pretty waterfalls along the way... |
 |
| ...and glimpses of spectacular crags. |
After a 4.5 hour stroll, we reached the Snowshoe campground.
The Nuts and Bolts of the Tamarack Trail...
Source: Parks Canada
The Tamarack Trail is actually a combination of three trails: Twin Lakes/Kootenay Pass to the north and Rowe Lakes to the south.
We decided to walk the "loop" counterclockwise: beginning at Red Rock Canyon (refer to A on the above map), camping at the Snowshoe (B) and Lone Lake (C), and finishing at the Rowe Lakes parking lot beside the Akamina Highway.
6 comments:
I beg to differ about your excitement over an encounter with a bear. D: I actually found it quite terrifying.
Unless, of course, the bear is stuffed and soft and cuddly. Different story there. XD
cao, you're right that it is terrifying. you see my excitement is based on my experience over many many years hiking in the rockies and not seeing any bears (other than 3 them from my car). period. zippo bears. i've only seen signs of bears. kakka on the trail. that's it.
i'm sure i'll change my mind (about the excitement) if and when i ever see a bear and it charges at me but it be nice to see a bear (running away from me or from a far). btw, we were ringing bear bells the whole time we were out there...i guess that doesn't help! lol.
man, i am crazy, eh?
tell me about your bear encounter...
thanx for dropping by and having a read btw.
It was actually on the Floe Lake trail. I had accidentally forgotten my bell at home, so I was depending on my voice to warn any bears. I guess I wasn't being loud enough because I found one near the beginning of those switchbacks. I think we stared at each other for about five minutes until I kept going.
I was terrified that he'd be on the trail on my way down, when there was less light.
And you've seriously not come across any? I find that odd.
That's pretty scary. Not sure if I would have continued on. I find it kind of odd that I haven't encountered any bears myself. I figure either 1) I'm lucky, 2) scaring them off with voice or bell before I see them, or 3) I'm just not seeing them... I'm always on the look out for them, especially on avalanche slopes. It's a matter of time I see one...
Thanx for sharing your experience with bears.
Thanks for this blog. Now I know that the Tamarack Trail is actually a combination of three trails: Twin Lakes/Kootenay Pass to the north and Rowe Lakes to the south. My friend had talk about it few days ago.
WOW! That sound terrifying! I saw a video on youtube where a man was hunt hunt by a bear I just don't know what kind of bear it was and I guess this is not the kind because you sounded like it is a friendly bear.
Post a Comment