The Takakkaw Falls parking lot is at the end of Yoho Valley Road about 14 km from Trans-Canada Hwy 1. Yoho Valley Road is accessed from Trans-Canada Hwy 1 a few miles NE of the little community of Field along the Kicking Horse River. Yoho Valley Road is paved, but has a couple of exceptionally sharp hairpin curves. Taking long vehicles (motorhomes, trailers) up this road is inadvisable.
The morning after Lupe’s big day going from Emerald Lake all the way up to the high point of the Iceline Trail in Yoho National Park, SPHP didn’t have any concrete plans for the day. SPHP thought maybe Lupe could go check out the Lake O’Hara area. Neither Lupe nor SPHP had ever been there before, and Lake O’Hara has a fabulous reputation. There were plenty of trails to explore in the area, too.
After breakfast at a picnic area along the Bow Parkway, Lupe and SPHP headed back into British Columbia on Trans-Canada Hwy No. 1. When Lupe and SPHP left Hwy 1 and got on the road to Lake O’Hara, it ended almost immediately at a couple of large parking lots filled with cars. A sign said access to was restricted to a shuttle bus ride (none in sight and bound to be expensive) or walking 13+ km (all uphill) to where the shuttle bus drop off point was. Lupe may have had it in her, but after the previous long day, SPHP did not want to hike uphill that far just to get to a starting point.
Instead, Lupe and SPHP went to Takakkaw Falls. On the previous day, Lupe and SPHP had spectacular distant views of the falls from the Highline and Iceline trails.
This time, Lupe was going to get up close and view the mighty Takakkaw Falls from below. It was a short walk from the parking lot to a very nice footbridge over the Yoho River. An easy trail led to the base of the falls.
According to Wikipedia, the highest point of Takakkaw Falls is 302 meters or 991 feet above its base, although there is really only 260 meters or 850 feet of true free-fall. Now matter how one looks at it, Takakkaw Falls is an impressive waterfall, especially on a hot summer day when the Daly Glacier (an arm of the Waputik Icefield) that feeds it is melting fast.
Lupe and SPHP took the trail up to just below the base of the falls. The cool mist felt great. The G6 had said it was 79 degrees F already back at the parking lot. The clear sunny day was going to be a scorcher by Canadian Rockies standards.
Refreshed by the cool mist, SPHP temporarily felt inspired to take Lupe up the Yoho River valley. Perhaps Lupe could go up to the Yoho Glacier or climb back up to the fabulous Iceline Trail again by another route? There were plenty of trails to explore, but they involved a lot of elevation gain.
Although Lupe and SPHP started up the Yoho River valley, it was not to be. Away from the cooling spray of Takakkaw Falls, SPHP soon started to wilt under the hot sun. Lupe had the energy and enthusiasm to go on, but despite the glorious scenery SPHP did not. SPHP’s sore feet and hot perspiring body clamored for an easier day. Maybe it was time to move on and go see something different; something that wasn’t going to involve so much up.
So Lupe and SPHP turned around shortly after starting on the trail up the Yoho River valley. Returning to the G6, SPHP drove drove back to Lake Louise Village. There SPHP gassed up the G6 to full before heading N on the Icefields Parkway, Hwy 93. Lupe and SPHP enjoyed a pleasant air conditioned drive up to Bow Lake. SPHP knew there was a beautiful trail with only modest elevation gain from the lake to Bow Glacier Falls.
A trail without a lot of elevation gain to another cool waterfall sounded like just the ticket. SPHP did have the energy to do that. Which is why Lupe’s next post will be about her successful journey to see Bow Glacier Falls.
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Iceline Trail High Point, Yoho National Park, Canada (7-26-14)
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