TANGLE

 

 

I didn’t really plan to hike on Tuesday.  I figured I’d be sore and tired from climbing Mount Athabasca and that I’d need a rest day.  I was sore that morning, but it felt like the kind of soreness that would go away with some easy walking. 

 

We loitered around the campground that morning.  New neighbors moved into the site next to us, and I began to feel alarmed.  That site changed hands every day, and each time the tent got bigger.  This one took up the entire tent pad.  It looked like it had been stolen from Barnum and Bailey. 

 

Christy’s knee was pretty swollen.  We weren’t surprised, considering what she’d put it through the previous day.  She didn’t want it to ruin the rest of the trip, so she decided to drive in to the hospital in Banff and have it drained.  She called ahead from a pay phone, and they told her just to come to the ER. 

 

Christy didn’t see any reason for me to come with her, since the procedure is very routine.  So, I decided to go hiking.  One of my favorite easy hikes from our previous trip to the Canadian Rockies had been to Wilcox Pass.  Wilcox Pass was directly behind us, above the campground.  Although my goal for this trip was to do entirely new hikes, this one was too convenient to pass up.  Plus, on our previous visit, we had hiked to the pass directly from the Icefields Parkway before returning the same way.  This time I had a different plan.  A less-traveled trail starts at the waterfall on Tangle Creek and follows the stream to Wilcox Pass.  I would have Christy drop me off at the falls and hike through the pass and back down to the road.  That trailhead is only about a mile from our campground.  I would just walk back down the road to return to camp.

 

The waterfall on Tangle Creek was a fraction of the raging torrent I’d witnessed on the first day of my trip.  Mostly dry weather had reduced the creek to a modest flow.  The light was bad, too, so I didn’t even bother with photos.  I found the trail on the south side of the creek, and followed it up a graded slope above the highway.  There were some nice views of the Icefields area from here.  Unfortunately it was a very hazy day.  Some of that haze may have been due to smoke from forest fires in British Columbia. 

 

Switchbacks brought me back towards the creek upstream from the falls.  From there I hiked upstream, following the route of the road that preceded the Icefields Parkway.  It has some historical significance, and I even passed the remains of a log cabin at one point.  Most of the hiking was easy, though the final climb on steep switchbacks was a bit grueling on tired legs.  I stopped for lunch near the top of the climb, once I cleared tree line.  From there I had a nice view back down the valley, towards an impressive array of peaks in the distance. 

 

After lunch I resumed the hike, climbing towards the pass.  Wilcox Pass is actually a long wet meadow.  When I reached the north end of it I was feeling pretty good.  The hike I’d planned is pretty short, and I knew Christy wouldn’t be back any time soon.  I decided to add a little exploration to the hike.

 

The map shows Wilcox Lake off to the east of Wilcox Pass.  I decided to check it out.  I left the trail and headed cross country, passing through meadows and rocky areas.  Although the terrain was fairly flat and open, this required some navigational skill.  The lake is in a cirque below Nigel Peak.  Direct access to it from the west is blocked by a steep ridge.  I needed to skirt around the north end of the ridge to access the cirque and the lake. 

 

This hiking was fun!  Each time I crested a minor ridge I reoriented myself to the terrain ahead.  The actual hiking was pretty easy though, and I made pretty good time.  Eventually I left the meadows behind, and found myself in a sea of rock.  I skirted the ridge just like I planned, and eventually reached a rock outcrop above the lake.  It was a lovely view, and well worth the extra effort.  I’d seen 3 groups of hikers on the trail earlier, but had this area all to myself.

 

I retreated by the same route, at least until I got around the north end of the ridge.  Then I headed southwest, directly towards the pass.  After a steep descent, I found myself back in the meadow.  The view ahead of Mount Athabasca and the glaciers was inspiring despite the haze.  I strolled along, working my way around small streams and alpine tarns.  Bighorn Sheep are frequently seen at the pass, but there weren’t any around on this afternoon.  I continued through the pass, following a ridge high above the highway.  As I hiked I had trouble taking my eyes off of Mount Athabasca, where I’d been a day earlier.

 

I eventually dropped below tree line, and a steady descent on a heavily-traveled trail brought me to the Icefields Parkway at the entrance to the Wilcox Campground.  The walk back along the road was tedious due to heavy traffic, but at least it was quick.  I returned to camp and lounged in the hammock.  Christy arrived 30 minutes later.  Her trip to the ER in Banff had been a success.  She was taken care of almost immediately, and the knee was drained successfully.  She had to pay for the procedure up front, but that was not a big deal, since insurance always covers part of the cost.  Of course the insurance company denied our claim for no apparent reason, but what do you expect from a bunch of thieves?  At least we didn’t find that out until several months later.

 

That evening we enjoyed a campfire with our steaks and the bottle of wine.  The wine was a bit of a challenge because we’d failed to bring a corkscrew.  I solved that problem by assessing our neighbors.  After a couple of minutes I decided that the folks across the road from us were our best bet.  This judgment was based mainly on their car, and the fact that their tent wasn’t stolen from the Cirque de Soleil.  We borrowed their corkscrew, and we continued our celebration of a great vacation.

 

After dinner, a brilliant moon rose above Mount Athabasca.  I attempted a few photos before heading to bed.  I didn’t fall asleep in the hammock this time, and it was a good thing.  A huge thunderstorm rolled through around 4am, but we were warm and dry in our tent.




Continue reading about our trip as Christy and I dayhike to Bow Glacier Falls. We also visited Panther Falls, Peyto Lake, and several other lakes.




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