Lupe and SPHP had a great time on the easy trail to Glacier Lake and beyond. Amazingly, although it was the height of tourist season in Banff National Park, Lupe met absolutely no one else the entire day until very close to the end of the return trip. Perhaps a sign at the trailhead explains why Lupe and SPHP enjoyed a day of such unexpected solitude. The sign said that since Glacier Lake is at a fairly low elevation, the trail to Glacier Lake is among the first to be snow free early in the year. Consequently, it is a popular trail in late spring and less so later in the summer.
The turnoff for the Glacier Lake trailhead is located a short distance (less than a kilometer) NW of Saskatchewan Crossing on the W side of Icefields Parkway Hwy 93. (Saskatchewan Crossing is in northern Banff National Park at the intersection of Icefields Parkway Hwy 93 and Hwy 11 which heads E to Rocky Mountain House.) The trailhead is at a large gravel parking area still quite close to Hwy 93 at the end of a short gravel road.
Having taken a couple of gorgeous long day hikes (Iceline Trail and Cirque Peak) with Lupe involving a lot of elevation gain on the previous two days, SPHP at least, was ready for something a bit less strenuous. SPHP had noticed on the maps during previous trips to Canada a large lake called Glacier Lake in northern Banff National Park. The trail to Glacier Lake did not involve much elevation gain, so SPHP decided maybe this would be a great opportunity for Lupe to explore the Glacier Lake Trail.
Lupe set out from the trailhead at 8:54 AM. The day promised to be rather hot for the Canadian Rockies. It was already 52 °F out with totally clear blue skies and no breeze at all. Only one other vehicle was parked at the spacious trailhead parking lot. The Glacier Lake Trail started out heading SW through a forest with lots of squirrels, which made Lupe quite happy right away.
The trail was level until approaching the N. Saskatchewan River where it dropped down to the high bank on the E side of the river. At 1.1 km from the trailhead, there was a large excellent footbridge across the N. Saskatchewan. The river was flowing strongly and a beautiful icy blue-gray color. Before crossing the bridge, Lupe explored just a little bit to the N along the 20 foot cliffs above the E bank of the river, just to watch the water roar along over the rapids upstream of the bridge.
After crossing the N. Saskatchewan, the trail climbed back out of the river gorge before resuming a level trek SW through the forest. After another 1.2 km, Lupe reached an open grassy area on a little bluff above the Howse River. From the bluff was a wonderful view to the SW of the Howse River, a big meandering braided stream in a huge flat valley, and Mt. Outram (10,646 ft.) in the distance.
Off to the NW side of the river a low green forested ridge was in sight ahead. Lupe would have to climb over this ridge to get to Glacier Lake. Unfortunately, mosquitoes, which were bothersome all day, were particularly voracious and numerous at the Howse River viewpoint. Lupe stayed only long enough for a quick photo and pressed on.
The trail dropped down from the viewpoint to the N bank of the Howse River, which it followed W across a small meadow before leaving the river and heading back into the forest. Although the trail remained quite close to the floor of the river valley and not far N of the river for a considerable distance, the Howse River stayed hidden by the forest and never came back into view. The trail turned SW again and gradually started to climb.
Eventually Lupe came to a stream where she could cool off and get a drink. The trail climbed steadily at a moderate pace as it followed the stream, crossing it 5 times on small plank bridges. Even after leaving the stream, the trail continued climbing for a while. Finally, Lupe reached the top of the low ridge, which was the highest elevation attained on this day’s entire hike. The top of the ridge was flat for some distance. Surprisingly, the ground was damp, even muddy in places. Lupe barked at the numerous squirrels in the forest with great energy and enthusiasm. She was having a wonderful time.
Having crossed the ridge, the trail started heading down towards Glacier Lake, which was not visible yet through the dense forest. The trail wound around, still heading generally SW and lost all of the elevation Lupe had gained climbing the ridge. (Glacier Lake itself is actually 10 meters below the Glacier Lake trailhead.) Thousands of moths were fluttering around this portion of the forest.
After a while, a sign came into view ahead at a trail intersection. By the time Lupe reached the intersection, Glacier Lake was visible just ahead through the trees. Lupe was now 6.6 km from the Howse River viewpoint. The sign indicated that the trail heading S led to the Glacier Lake campground, which is located at the E end of the lake. Another trail continued WSW along the N shore of the lake. Despite the relative proximity of the campground, which couldn’t have been very far away, Lupe neither saw nor heard anyone.
Lupe, being a very intelligent dingo, headed straight on down to Glacier Lake and got in to cool off. By now it was getting plenty warm out. Moths were flying all around, and there were quite a few that had flown down and become stuck on the surface of the lake. They were fluttering madly about desperately trying to escape. There was no sign of any hungry fish willing to eat them. The fish were probably all mothed out. The lake was calm and smooth, other than the tiny ripples generated by the struggling moths.
Lupe was at the ENE end of Glacier Lake, which filled the entire broad valley ahead. Glacier Lake is roughly 3.5 km long and almost 1 km wide. It was a light milky blue color and somewhat opaque. Looking ahead to the WSW, the lake was bordered by large mountains. Division Mountain lay beyond the far end of the lake, and the SE Lyell Glacier on it drew the eye like a magnet. Lupe rested in the shade of a low tree branch near the shore of Glacier Lake. She snapped at flies and was bothered by mosquitoes.
Lupe was now 8.9 km from the trailhead. A sign back at the trailhead had said that a rough trail continued 4.5 km along the N shore of Glacier Lake. It was supposed to be possible to hike beyond the lake and reach the glacial moraines. The valley upstream below Division Mountain and SE Lyell Glacier looked like a great place to explore, so after a brief rest, Lupe headed out along the trail on the N shore of Glacier Lake heading WSW.
Not too far along this trail, Lupe came to a place where her barking at squirrels echoed back very clearly at her from the other side of the lake. She found the echoes quite puzzling, as she could never see this dog that barked every time she did. SPHP seemed unduly amused by the situation, so after a few minutes, Lupe continued on to maintain her dignity. She passed by a couple of old campfire sites along the way. Despite being described back at the trailhead as a rough trail, this trail was actually in pretty good condition all the way to the far end of the lake.
Once Lupe got past Glacier Lake, the trail was no longer pinned back in the forest at the foot of the mountain along the N side of the valley. Instead it went down onto the broad flat valley floor. This was an area that was quite open, but with lots of bushes with little red berries and a few stands of trees scattered around. There were pockets of water here and there, too, where Lupe could cool off. SPHP became more cautious as it seemed like this might be a likely place for bears, although the notion that they might well prefer higher country to avoid the heat this time of year gave some comfort.
Beyond Glacier Lake, the trail was fainter, but still easily followed, which Lupe did until it ended suddenly at an eroded bank of the Glacier River. The Glacier River is the main water source for Glacier Lake. It was a very pretty icy blue color, but deep and swift enough to preclude any thought of fording it. Happily, a short stroll upstream along the N bank of the river soon led to another faint trail.
Lupe followed this new faint trail upstream for some distance, but eventually the Glacier River moved over to the N side of the valley forcing the trail back up into the woods at the base of the mountain. At first this trail seemed to be OK, but quite soon Lupe started coming to more and more deadfall timber on the trail. Lupe didn’t have any real problems with it, but it slowed SPHP down considerably.
Soon the deadfall became so thick that it became difficult to tell where the trail was, or if there was even still a trail to follow. At times the main part of the Glacier River moved a bit off to the S and Lupe could get back down on the valley floor for short distances, but there were little side flows and pockets of water and mucky, marshy ground which made even that route difficult. After trekking along for what seemed like quite a while, but couldn’t have involved much distance, the trail seemed to just completely end in a jumble of deadfall in the forest.
Lupe and SPHP stopped and had a late lunch. Lupe rested very comfortably on some green moss and enjoyed her Taste of the Wild, while SPHP paused to consider the situation. Perhaps 1/2 km farther upstream was a low forested ridge jutting out to the S from the mountain. This ridge forced the Glacier River back to the S side of the valley. It looked like once the low ridge could be reached, it was likely the rest of the trip to the glacial moraines below Division Mountain and the SE Lyell Glacier would be pretty easy. SPHP guessed the glacial moraines were at most only 2 or 3 km beyond the low ridge.
Unfortunately, the afternoon was already wearing on. Pretty soon it would be time to turn back. SPHP decided to allow another 30 minutes to try to find the trail again or some other clear route to that low ridge. Sadly 30 minutes came and went. Lupe and SPHP had not made much headway through the deadfall timber. The forest was nearly impenetrable. The valley floor was blocked alternately by the Glacier River or a slow slog around deep pockets of water and mud.
At this pace, it was going to take a another hour just to get to the low ridge. Clearly it was too late in the day for that. Very reluctantly, and convinced they were not far from magnificent sights ahead, SPHP informed Lupe it was time to turn back. Lupe’s spirits were not dampened at all. She was going to get a second shot at barking at all the squirrels she had seen along the way!
The entire return trip was along the exact same route. At the bridge over the N. Saskatchewan River, Lupe saw the only other hikers she encountered the entire day. A couple from Monterrey, Mexico were standing on the SW end of the bridge. They said they had never been to Canada before. They and their son, who was out of sight exploring the river bank somewhere below the bridge, had flown into Edmonton and they were now touring the Canadian Rockies. The Mexicans were very impressed, both with the spectacular scenery and the annoying mosquitoes.
Lupe arrived back at the Glacier Lake Trailhead at 7:16 PM. It was a still roasting 81 °F out. The sun was still blazing like a demon in a clear blue sky, although it would soon disappear behind the mountains. The G6 was beastly hot after being closed up all day. Lupe and SPHP hopped in and headed N on the beautiful Icefields Parkway Hwy No. 93, cruising along with the windows partially down so our heroic dingo could enjoy the wind in her face while she and SPHP gazed happily at the magnificent Canadian Rockies.
Although the round trip to Glacier Lake and beyond had been quite a long day hike of over 10 hours, it was actually a pretty easy day until the trail beyond the lake had disappeared beneath the deadfall timber. After two long day hikes in a row with substantial elevation gains, this less strenuous hike was a rather welcome relief to SPHP.
The sad part was that the most fantastic scenery near Divide Mountain and the SE Lyell Glacier proved tantalizingly close, yet just out of reach. SPHP is absolutely convinced that this area merits further exploration. It was a shame the last section of trail was such a shambles. At Lupe’s point of farthest advance, she was only 2-3 kilometers beyond Glacier Lake. Just being able to go just a little bit farther would have made a lot of difference.
Lupe suggests any other dingoes hoping to explore the area near Divide Mountain and the SE Lyell Glacier persuade their SPHP’s to get an earlier start. Better yet, obtain a wilderness pass (required for overnight stays) and make a reservation at the campground at Glacier Lake. With base camp so close, success would be ensured despite the deadfall timber. Lupe and SPHP would love to see photos any successful adventurers who get close to the SE Lyell Glacier are willing to share.
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