Day 3 of Lupe’s Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation.
The trailhead for Mount Bourgeau (9,616 ft.) was empty when Lupe arrived (7:09 AM, 41°F). That didn’t last long. Another vehicle pulled in within 2 minutes, and 5 or 6 more pulled in within 10 minutes. Lupe was anxious to get started. SPHP agreed. SPHP helped Lupe up the metal grate stairway, opened the gate, and let Lupe down in the forest on the other side.
There wouldn’t be much to see except forest for quite a long way. The trail wouldn’t get out in the open until Lupe was close to Bourgeau Lake, more than 2,000 feet higher than the trailhead. On the way, Lupe would get occasional glimpses of nearby mountains, pass by a creek and a waterfall, but that would be about it.
Lupe and SPHP hurried along the trail to stay ahead of the crowd that would soon be coming. The trail gained elevation at a relentless, but moderate pace. SPHP grew concerned about the weather. The sky was clouding up. Fortunately, after a while it gradually cleared again enough to alleviate any real worries.
If successful, this would be Lupe’s 2nd trip up Mount Bourgeau. She had climbed it more than two years ago on 7-22-14 during her 2014 Dingo Vacation. That time SPHP had forgotten the camera, a mistake not realized until Lupe was already far from the G6, too far to go back for it.
If that hadn’t happened, Lupe would probably have been exploring a new trail to a different mountain today. However, the views from Mount Bourgeau had been too grand not to have some photos of Lupe up there. So now, 2 years later, Lupe was back! And this time, SPHP made 100% certain to bring the camera.
Lupe pressed on. Despite the unchanging appearance of the forest, she was making progress. First, traffic noise from Trans-Canada Hwy No. 1 faded away. Then she could hear a rushing creek far below to the N. She eventually crossed a nice wooden bridge over another creek.
When Lupe reached the big waterfall cascading down a headwall, SPHP knew the trail was about to get steeper. The good news was that Lupe didn’t have much farther to go to reach Bourgeau Lake.
There was no bridge across the creek below the falls. However, rocks were grouped up in wire cages, forming platforms that stood well above the water level. Crossing the creek was no problem at all. Once past the falls, the trail steepened. Long switchbacks kept the rate of climb from becoming too difficult. Lupe had plenty of time to sniff around off trail during SPHP’s air and water breaks.
Lupe had already covered the vast majority of the distance from the trailhead to Bourgeau Lake. As soon as she was up over the headwall, the trail would level out, the views would open up, and Lupe would see the cliffs of the NW face of Mount Bourgeau, below which Bourgeau Lake is hidden in a small section of forest.
Lupe and SPHP reached the level trail above the headwall. The forest gave way to more open territory where the views were every bit as wonderful as SPHP remembered. From now on, Lupe would see increasingly spectacular country all the rest of the way up to the summit of Mount Bourgeau.
It wasn’t much farther to Bourgeau Lake, tucked away in a corner at the base of towering cliffs to the S and W. A small forested area kept the lake hidden from view until Lupe was almost upon it. The main trail doesn’t go quite all the way to the lake. Upon re-entering the forest, Lupe and SPHP took a minor side trail leading to the NE shore of Bourgeau Lake.
At Bourgeau Lake, Lupe had already gone well over half the distance along the trail to the top of Mount Bourgeau, but more than half of the elevation gain required was still ahead. Lupe stayed at Bourgeau Lake only a short while. Lupe and SPHP returned to the main trail to continue the trek.
The trail wound SW through the forest a little to the NW of Bourgeau Lake, which was no longer in view. Before long, the trail turned NW and started climbing again. Lupe left the forest behind as she gained elevation. The trail now climbed steeply traversing a long slope of loose rock toward the top of a 2nd headwall. Well to the left of the trail, a creek tumbled noisily down a series of small waterfalls.
By the time Lupe reached the top of the 2nd headwall, the trail had turned W. A small lake could be seen ahead. Beyond the lake, the trail continued up yet another smaller rise.
Lupe followed the trail past the N shore of the small lake, and then up the next rise beyond it. Although there were a few stunted trees and bushes around, Lupe was effectively at or above tree line.
From the top of the rise beyond the small lake, Lupe could see a big grassy area containing a pond fed by small streams. High rock walls sheltered this area on the N, W and SW. However, the trail did not continue W toward the pond. Instead, it turned S, gradually steepening as it went up a long slope. Lupe’s 2nd major objective, Harvey Pass, was at the top of the slope.
Lupe and SPHP followed the trail on up to Harvey Pass. Another pond was nestled in a low spot up at the pass.
Reaching Harvey Pass was an important milestone. From the S end of the pass, Lupe got her first expansive view of the territory SW of Mount Bourgeau. Lupe could even see Mount Assiniboine (11,864 ft.), sometimes called the Matterhorn of the Canadian Rockies, although the top of the peak was lost in the clouds.
Near the S end of Harvey Pass, the trail to Mount Bourgeau splits off and angles SE up a grassy slope. As the trail reaches the top of the near ridge, it turns more to the E. From here, much of Lupe’s route on the final leg up to the summit could be seen ahead.
As Lupe and SPHP climbed along the trail from Harvey Pass the rest of the way up Mount Bourgeau, the views got better and better. The trail was often steep, but easy to follow. The general route was always clear, even though parts of the trail were braided. Caution was occasionally required. The trail sometimes passed very close to the edge of the cliffs to the N.
Lupe reached the summit of Mount Bourgeau. A few people who had passed her on the way up, while she was checking out Bourgeau Lake or waiting for SPHP along the trail, were already at the top of the mountain. More people kept arriving every 5 minutes or so. Soon there was quite a crowd near the summit cairn. Fortunately, the overall summit area is quite large. There was plenty of room for everyone.
Several hardy people arrived at the top of Mount Bourgeau wearing shorts. They generally regretted their choice of attire. The temperature was in the low 40’s °F with an often brisk SW breeze.
The views from Mount Bourgeau were spectacular. Scenes of the Canadian Rockies like those from airline magazines were in every direction. While everyone else was milling around near the summit cairn, Lupe and SPHP wandered around looking at the splendid views.
When the area near the summit cairn was briefly vacated by the crowd, Lupe went over to it for her official summit of Mount Bourgeau photo.
There were so many wonderful views from Mount Bourgeau, it was easy to just keep clicking away taking pictures.
Lupe and SPHP took a long break up on Mount Bourgeau. Lupe was ready for Taste of the Wild and water. SPHP had pudding and fruit cups. During the break, SPHP kept hoping for a clear view of Mount Assiniboine, but the summit remained shrouded by clouds.
Lupe checked out the white shed at the top of Mount Bourgeau. When Lupe had been here before on 7-22-14, there had been a couple of marmots living under this shed. The marmots had done a great job keeping Lupe entertained. Sadly, there was no sign of any marmots this time.
Lupe may have been disappointed that the marmots were gone, but she didn’t have time to get bored. Plenty of people were paying attention to Lupe. She was suddenly quite popular. She got petted and loved and talked to by lots of kind strangers. Lupe basked in the attention.
Not all of the friends Lupe made on Mount Bourgeau were human. After Lupe had been at the summit for an hour or so, along came a dog named Marshall. Lupe and Marshall had a good time wrestling. When they got tired of that, they posed for a “canines only” photo at the summit cairn.
Lupe and SPHP remained on Mount Bourgeau for over 1.5 hours. During that time, many people came and went. Gradually the crowd began to thin out, although there were still occasional new arrivals. Eventually, it was time to think about heading back down. Lupe and SPHP took one last tour around the summit area.
Finally, it was time for Lupe to say good-bye to Mount Bourgeau. She would return by the same route she came up. The scenery was just as fabulous the 2nd time around!
On the way down to Harvey Pass, Lupe met two amazing young girls still hiking up with their parents. They were less than 30 minutes away from the top of the mountain, a climb of over 4,900 feet of elevation gain from the trailhead. Jasmine was just 8 years old. Her sister, Angelica, was only 6. They were both still climbing under their own power! Angelica was quite taken with Lupe.
When Lupe reached Harvey Pass again, the weather was beautiful. It was much warmer than up on top of Mount Bourgeau, and with hardly any wind. Best of all, there was finally a clear view of Mount Assiniboine, too! Lupe and SPHP dawdled for half an hour at Harvey Pass, enjoying the day and the glorious surroundings.
Lupe finally said good-bye to Harvey Pass, too. The scenery continued to be wonderful all the way back down past Bourgeau Lake. After that, Lupe entered the forest again, as the trail switchbacked down the first headwall. The rest of the way back was a long, pleasant stroll downhill to the trailhead and the G6 (6:54 PM, 65°F).
A day in the Canadian Rockies at Mount Bourgeau is hard to beat, but Lupe’s Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation was just getting going!
Note: The Mount Bourgeau trailhead is located on the SW (Eastbound) side of Trans-Canada Hwy No. 1. It is perhaps a 10 minute drive W of the town of Banff. For westbound traffic there is a sign for Mount Bourgeau (or Bourgeau Lake?) along Hwy 1 a little past the exit to Sunshine Meadows. The left turn to the TH is 2 km past the sign. (Watch for eastbound traffic after crossing the forested median.) There is no sign at the actual turning point. The TH is very close to Hwy 1, but hidden in the forest.
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