A Blog of Ice and Fire

Having been unable to go to Emerald Lake the other day due to a traffic accident, we decide to stop off on our way up to our next stop. The route takes us back to the east-side of the Rockies, up along the Icefields Parkway to Jasper, then back through the Rockies to Valemount, nestled on the west-side once more. Alex does an amazing job of ferrying us around once more.

Emerald Lake

First stop is the amazing Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park. There’s a lodge that sits right in the forest on one edge, but the rest of the perimeter is all path, and we enjoy the flat walk taking in the views from all angles.

The boys brave a quick dip in the once more ice-cold snow-melt. The rocky terrain under bare feet and wind make for a difficult game of Wilson-ball.

Once more, the traditional red canoes for hire make this beautiful lake even more picture-postcard.

To Valemount

Our route towards Valemount provides some even more stunning views, of many a retreating glacier and glorious lake.

We aim for Hector Lake for lunch, but alas Hector is elusive, and we have to resort to Bow Lake, which has an incredible blue colour compared to the green of Emerald Lake. Once more, the water is crystal clear.

After a quick re-fuel in the small town of Jasper, we make it across and into Valemount. It’s been a long day of driving for Alex whilst James and I largely snoozed in the back. Our next stay is a glorious chalet with views overlooking the mountains out west, surrounded by trees on all sides, giving the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere.

Thankfully, we’re actually only a kilometre or two from town, so the reward for the long drive is some burger van food and testing out some local beers from the next-door brewery. Up in the sky, the sun glows red, hazed out by the smoke of the wildfires further west in BC.

Little Lac Lost

The next morning we are welcomed to the property by the manager, rather unaptly called Bobo! An unassuming Hong-Kongese lady (and not the Santa Clause bearded old man James was expecting), gives us the bad news that we can’t use the sauna or jacuzzi, even with cold water, due to the fire ban and low water levels. We’re told there are ways to get to the river nearby though to cool off if we like. Bobo tells us that there are bears in these parts, and she’s even seen a moose! At my excitement to hearing we may get to see a moose in the wild, she seems shocked, “moose run very, very fast!”. Apparently she was trapped in the house once because of one outside. We can only hope! We say farewell to Bobo and enjoy breakfast looking out at the incredible views. Today’s plan is to check out a lake a bit nearer by this time to give Alex a bit of a break from lengthy drives. Today’s lake is called Little Lost Lake, which has a pretty intense start to the trail of heading straight up.

Thankfully the path flattens out and its just the four of us in the woods once more.

We arrive to Little Lost Lake looking forward to a bit of a cool-off in the water. Upon closer inspection, it seems it may be damsel-fly mating season, as they all scoot around the surface nearby. An even closer look into the water reveals a certain wavy, brown creature, that looks to have a sucker on the end…

Deciding this may not be the lake for a swim after all, we take a pit-stop on the picnic benches, whilst Clive has a bit of a wander around the corner. He returns to tell us that there’s a kayak just around the bend, and unsure whether to believe our luck (or Clive’s jokes), we all retrace his steps and find a neon green kayak with an oar just left on the side. There’s not a single soul around, and we’ve walked a hefty route uphill to get here, so we decide that someone must just leave it here to save them lugging it up here each time they visit. Alex and Clive have a pootle about on the kayak across the lake whilst James and I continue the walk of the perimeter of the lake. It’s not really worth it. So we both have a quick spin on the kayak when we get back, before returning on the trail.

Can It Ever Be Too Hot for a BBQ?

We return back to the chalet and decide today is the day for a BBQ. With the sauna and jacuzzi out of bounds, the BBQ is the only thing we can really use as it’s gas powered, and use it we will. It doesn’t matter that it’s in the high 30s and there’s no shade, Brits can BBQ in the rain and we can BBQ in the sun. Alex and Clive make a valient effort to try and fashion a shade for chef James. Their efforts are somewhat in vain.

Giving in, leaving the one born north of the wall to embrace the sun, the rest of us hide inside as we cook and assemble in the shade and floor fans of the chalet. James bravely but happily swelters in the blazing sun and scorching grill with just Alex’s hat for relief.

We feast on amazing salads and perfectly grilled food. Needing a serious cooling off, we brave the river at the end of the property, hoping we can create some kind of rock pool a la Yosemite. The water is freezing cold once more, but it does a good job of countering the still blazing heat from the sun.

Despite everyone’s best efforts once more, the water here is just so powerful it easily finds its path through any gap in our defenses. We need the kids from Yosemite to come and do their magic.

Lake Kinney and Mount Robson

Our last day in Valemount is checking out Lake Kinney that sits below the highest mountain in the Rockies, Mount Robson.

There’s a roaring river alongside us for the whole trail, as we see many a dead tree pile-up where the river narrows, and huge boulders that somehow withstand the incessant water flow crashing against it. We even see a rock that somehow has small holes running through it!

Soon enough, Mount Robson appears above the trees, and we’ve made it to Lake Kinney. It’s water nowhere near as green as Emerald, or blue as Louise, but a light grey/green, thick with minerals (and hopefully not leaches!).

We find an accessible spot to the lake shore, and admire the stunning view before us, reflected back in the almost still water. This is probably our last chance to swim in a glacial lake, so we brave our way in in varying approaches and speeds. Clive gliding in like a dolphin born in the freezing water, I squeeling and shrieking before counting James and I down to dip in, and James refusing my countdown and almost having to be pushed in. Alex is on camera duty and takes some fantastic shots of the experience.

The lake has a pretty strong current where we are as it flows into the powerful river we’ve walked past, so this is definitely more of a quick dip kind of lake. We warm up and head on back to the car.

Emergency

Tonight we’re treating ourselves to dinner at the only restaurant in town. Our server Andrew is a character who clearly loves his job, and does it brilliantly in convincing James to try a traditional “paralizer” cocktail which is a mix of a white and black russian. It tastes better than it sounds. As we’re about to pay up and leave, Andrew tells us that the road to Jasper is shut due to a wildfire. Thinking not a huge amount of it, we head back to the chalet to look a bit more into it.

Once back, we get online and receive a message from Bobo informing us of the full situation. Bobo seems panicked as her husband is in Jasper and is evacuating. We have no clue what to really do in this situation. We trawl the internet to try and figure out what this means to us. Clive and Alex are meant to be driving the hire car back to Jasper tomorrow morning, and then getting on the train east over to Winnepeg. We’re meant to be staying one more night in Valemount before getting the train west to Vancouver. There’s been wildfires ablaze through British Colombia since we arrived, but the train kept running, so maybe it will this time too? Surprisingly or not, the rail company nor car rentals have an FAQ of “what happens if the town I’m meant to drop my car to/board my train from is evacuated?”. We gather that the one and only road that connects east and west in this region is shut in the eastbound direction, to allow all evacuating vehicles to get out of town ASAP, and allow emergency services to get into town ASAP. How long it takes to evacuate a town, we have no idea. Maybe it’ll reopen in the morning once this all blows over? Will it all blow over?

Alex makes a call to the rental company who says that they can keep the car for two more days, and drive it 2,265km away from the original rental location to Winnipeg, for free. He won’t put it in writing though. Sus. Unsure if the train will run, if the road will reopen, if the fire will get under control, if the incoming storm will ignite a fire near us, if the fire near Jasper can travel to us, we have no choice but to sit and wait. Bobo informs us she has packed an emergency bag, and that her husband is now on his way on a 12 hour detour around the top of the rockies to make it back to her. Yeesh! We’re unsure if all these people will be forced to drive through the night, or sleep in their cars.

Thankfully we have a lot of booze to get through, and so we start cracking on with drinking it down, playing Papelitos that regularly puts us in stitches. Soon enough though, the sky outside starts lighting up, and we can’t pretend anymore that the wrong lightning crash couldn’t bring the emergency closer to home. We pack our bags, and then sit out on the deck watching the sky light up, and up, and up. Mostly sheet lightning, the odd fork crashes down to the ground over the vast view in front of us. We hold our breaths each time and check for updates on the situation. Unfortunately, the storms here seem to bring more lightning than rain, and this storm won’t be doing any natural extinguishing. We feel for all the people who may be hiking without a clue what’s going on, for the people at a standstill on the highway trying to escape to get to where we are, seemingly safe and sound, and the fire crews trying to halt its progress. We turn in as the storm heads to Jasper, and we hope it doesn’t cause more issues than everyone already has.

The next day I awake early to see the view the clearest it has ever been. The smokey haze that hung over the mountains beyond from all the westerly wildfires has gone. Maybe everything is okay?

But then I check my phone and see Bobo’s update that everything is still shut. Actually, things have gotten worse. We both recieve emails that our trains have been cancelled. The next bus out of Valemount isn’t for two more days. The only way for Clive and Alex to continue East is driving a similarly huge detour as Bobo’s husband, but going south-west away from the rockies, before turning back east and heading through to Calgary. They make another call to the car hire trying to explain the situation but of course the service agents reading their script don’t really have this situation to mindlessly read through. Eventually they get them to agree to the terms of last night, it’s a long road ahead! Luckily for us, that road goes through Kamloops, the nearest big town that has a regular bus to Vancouver. We’re able to cancel our accommodation for that evening in Valemount, and hopefully open it up for an evacuee. We book the bus and last minute Vancouver accommodation, and Clive and Alex manage to secure a night with a friend back over near Calgary.

On the road, we receive some well wishes from Bobo telling us to drive safe and let her know when we’re at our respective destinations, alongside her message is a photo of a destroyed BMW, as she elaborates that her husband hit a deer! Just when you think things can’t get any worse, you’re evacuated, you have a 12 hour drive over night ahead of you, and then you hit a deer and total your car in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully no-one was hurt. Although when James asks about the deer, we recieve the unintentionally comical response “deer die!!!”. We can’t help but laugh.

We leave our chalet hoping for the best for everyone, but fire updates show a worsening situation. It will not, it seem, all blow over. The closure of the park is already set until August 6th. We expect the worst is yet to come, and we’ve been unbelievably lucky to be on the other side of the Rockies and able to make our respective ways onwards. Even on our route out, we see a fire burning the trees in the distance, a river thankfully dividing us.

Eventually, we make it to Kamloops, and part ways, as Alex and Clive start the long stint back East, and we await our bus to take us West. For the most part, the road across to Vancouver is dry and desolate, but as the pines start reappearing and our ears start popping, life and safety from fires comes into view. We make it to Vancouver without delay, and head straight to a bar for some poutine, celebrating surviving our first real disaster.

It was certainly a memorable end to a wonderful stint with Alex and Clive. We had such a great time sharing this leg with them both, and it was extra great for me to get to know two more of James’s friends. We were certainly treated and spoilt once more by their brilliant research and planning, amazing meals, endless drives, and hilarious games. I’m so glad it managed to work out.

Update

Sadly, the wildfire did make it to the town of Jasper, and destroyed or damaged between 30-50% of buildings. Firefighters worked on protecting crucial infrastructure such as hospitals and water treatment plants. Seeing just how much water is needed to put out a small campfire, and how much heat it retains even after the flames are gone, we can’t imagine the conditions faced in trying to manage wildfires. Hotels, homes, businesses, cars, and the like were completely destroyed indiscriminately in the path of the fire, others spared by random chance. Thankfully, due to the quick action of authorities and people to eaise the alert and evacuation of some 25,000 people, there were no casualties (of course except the deer).

Alex and Clive make it to Winnepeg where the car hire company has no notice of their troubles and agreement to waves fines and fees. They are given a 7000 CAD (£3000) fine. It seems the customer service desk notes are not accessible to the actual rental locations. Eventually, they manage to convince the office that it would have been impossible to return their car to a location that almost certainly been burned down, and the fine is waved. Phew!

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Adventure – testing our cold resilience in many a glacial lake, exploring leach-damselfly-mosquito-lake by free kayak

Excitement – Baking BBQs, breathtaking scenery, some more bear spotting, including a rather big grizzly

Trauma – tracking the devastation of the wildfire. Deer die!!!