I just got back from 2 days at Joffre Lakes and boy are my legs tired.

Seriously: my legs are killing me from the hike. Harder than anywhere else I’ve been.

I chose, as I so often do, to lug my entire Canon rig up to the lake. Boy was it ever worth it. More to come, but here’s a start.

The Stonecrop Glacier seen from Joffre Lake

My hike was rainy, and after camping at an interim location I arrived at Upper Joffre Lake the next morning to a stunning, but fogged in, view.

The hike up to Upper Joffre Lake shouldn’t be underestimated: although its only 5.5km in total, it’s quite rugged. It took me 2 solid hours of hiking just to reach the Middle Lake (4km) where I camped about 10 feet away from a sign that says no camping allowed. Plan on a minimum 3 hours to reach the upper lake, in part due to the ruggedness of the trail: while it is maintained, it’s not as clear and easy to walk as the trail to Garibaldi Lake. Fields of boulders present navigational hazards, and in the rain can be quite slippery. I carried not one, but two trekking poles and was thankful for them both.

The first picture is my favourite - taken with a 20mm lens standing just inches away from the flow of water - but this provides a wide view from the campground. Two glaciers are distinctly visible from the campground - the Stonecrop and the Matier.

While wandering aimlessly towards the Tszil Glacier, I heard a sound I didn’t recognize. After looking into the sky 3 times - it seemed most like the call of a raptor of some sort - I finally looked around on the ground and spotted a Marmot sitting on some rocks. Marmot’s are fairly rare at the lake.

The hike up towards the Tszil glacier is a rugged, boulder strewn field with water running through it in virtually every direction. The amazing thing was the sound - this much water running under this much rock bears an amazing acoustic resemblance to a plane passing overhead. I probably looked up at least half a dozen times before I finally stopped.

A lone duck in the lake kept me company for most of my stay, content to rule its own kingdom. The occassional winged visitor dropped by, but I didn’t recognize most of them.

With the mist hanging in the air, the rainforest was alive - as it should be.

For some reason I was surprised when I stumbled across 4 Bumble Bees. It makes perfect sense of course - something has to pollinate the flowers up here - but I just haven’t seen that many at altitude.

Posted by skooter at 10:46 PM This entry is filed under Camera.