{"id":1535,"date":"2015-08-26T08:10:25","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T14:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=1535"},"modified":"2019-03-16T11:03:17","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T17:03:17","slug":"emerald-lake-yoho-lake-high-point-of-iceline-trail-yoho-national-park-canada-7-24-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=1535","title":{"rendered":"Emerald Lake, Yoho Lake & High Point of Iceline Trail, Yoho National Park, Canada (7-24-13)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lupe entered British Columbia for the first time on the morning of 7-24-13, Day 15 of her 2013 Dingo Vacation to the Beartooths\/Canadian Rockies.\u00a0 Two or three km S of the small community of Field, SPHP turned right (W) off Trans-Canada Hwy 1 on Emerald Lake Road.\u00a0 A little over\u00a0a km off Hwy 1, Lupe and SPHP stopped to view the Natural Bridge over the Kicking Horse River.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Natural Bridge over the Kicking Horse River is a little over a km off Trans-Canada Hwy No. 1 along Emerald Lake Road just 2 or 3 km S of the small community of Field, British Columbia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The frothy, foaming, glacial silt-laden Kicking Horse River just downstream of the Natural Bridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Kicking Horse River\u00a0had a powerful flood of\u00a0glacial-silt laden water pouring under the\u00a0Natural Bridge.\u00a0 It was an impressive scene, but far too dangerous for Dingoes to stay and play.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP drove on the rest of the way to Emerald Lake, about 8 km from Hwy 1, arriving at the SW shore of the beautiful deep green lake around 8:30 AM.<\/p>\n

SPHP’s original\u00a0intention was\u00a0for Lupe to take the 5.2 km trail around Emerald Lake.\u00a0\u00a0Just NE of the parking lot\u00a0was a bridge for vehicles\u00a0over a narrow arm of Emerald Lake.\u00a0 The bridge led to Emerald Lake Lodge.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP crossed the bridge, went past the lodge and all of its cabins or condos, and picked up the trail around the lake.\u00a0 The trail led around the big SE bay of the lake and then turned N following the E shore.\u00a0 SPHP purposely chose\u00a0to go around Emerald Lake counterclockwise\u00a0in order to stay in the shade of the mountains as long as possible.<\/p>\n

\"Emerald<\/a>
Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park, British Columbia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Emerald<\/a>The forest and undergrowth along the trail\u00a0was thick and lush.\u00a0 The trail was often a little distance from the lake shore,\u00a0so all the vegetation frequently hid the lake from view.\u00a0 It was still early enough so Lupe met only a few people\u00a0on the trail\u00a0along the E shore of Emerald Lake.<\/p>\n

At the N end of the lake, the terrain changed.\u00a0 The trail crossed a stream and left the dense forest behind.\u00a0 On the other side of the stream, the entire area along the N shore was rocky and nearly flat.\u00a0 There were only scattered trees and bushes.\u00a0 The entire area NNE of Emerald Lake was a giant alluvial fan of dirt and rocks deposited by braided streams originating from unseen glaciers in the mountains to the N or NW.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The trail emerged from the dense forest after crossing this stream flowing down to Emerald Lake from the NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mt.<\/a>
Mt. Burgess<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (8,491 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> (L)\u00a0from the N shore of Emerald Lake. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe was near the NW end of Emerald Lake and about 2\/3 of the way around\u00a0it when she\u00a0came to a side trail heading NNE\u00a0to Yoho Pass and Yoho Lake.\u00a0 From Yoho Lake, SPHP knew Lupe could go on to Takakkaw Falls.\u00a0 It was tempting.\u00a0 After some hesitation and actually heading a short distance on past the trail to Yoho Pass,\u00a0SPHP turned around.\u00a0 Lupe was going to\u00a0go back and\u00a0take the trail to Yoho Lake!<\/p>\n

Lupe\u00a0met a few people on the trail to Yoho Lake, but not too many.\u00a0 At first, the trail went through\u00a0scrub forest over a maze of glacier melt streams running down\u00a0the alluvial fan from NW to SE.\u00a0 The trail itself headed NNE toward a steep headwall.\u00a0 When Lupe reached the end of the alluvial fan, the real climb up to Yoho Pass began.\u00a0 Once the trail started up, it\u00a0climbed steeply and relentlessly.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0passed\u00a0close by a big\u00a0waterfall that had been visible from\u00a0a distance, and discovered an even more dramatic waterfall above it plunging down from\u00a0a great height.<\/p>\n

The climb up\u00a0to Yoho\u00a0Pass\u00a0seemed long, hot and steep.\u00a0\u00a0Biting flies plagued Lupe and SPHP.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe was happy when very high up\u00a0she came to some very small streams crossing the trail to drink from.\u00a0 SPHP was happy when the trail reached the forest and there was finally some shade.\u00a0 Eventually the trail\u00a0started leveling\u00a0out as it got closer to Yoho Pass.<\/p>\n

Yoho Pass was beautiful.\u00a0\u00a0There weren’t any views due to the thick, shady\u00a0forest, but there were lots of wildflowers around.\u00a0 From the\u00a0pass, the trail descended gently for\u00a00.7 km\u00a0to Yoho Lake.\u00a0 Lots of people were at Yoho Lake.\u00a0 There is a campground at the lake, and a\u00a0park ranger was busy giving a large group a guided nature tour.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe reaches Yoho Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Yoho<\/a>Lupe and\u00a0SPHP avoided all the people by following\u00a0a trail SE\u00a0a little way along the shore of Yoho Lake away from the campground.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0sat down by the shore to enjoy the view and take a break and enjoy a snack.\u00a0\u00a0Biting flies were annoying, but at least\u00a0there weren’t any mosquitoes.<\/p>\n

The flies were a major distraction.\u00a0 SPHP was trying to deal with them when suddenly there was a huge splash.\u00a0 SPHP turned to see that 4 ducks – 2 adults and 2 young ones –\u00a0were swimming\u00a0by.\u00a0 Lupe had charged into the lake, leash and all, after them!\u00a0 SPHP was amazed.\u00a0 Normally Lupe won’t enter water where she can’t touch bottom.\u00a0 She also normally comes when called, but Lupe had duck dinner in mind.\u00a0 SPHP was alarmed.\u00a0 This was going to be hard to explain to the park ranger, if Lupe didn’t get out of Yoho Lake quickly.<\/p>\n

The ducks had no problem dealing with the\u00a0situation.\u00a0 They didn’t even bother to\u00a0swim\u00a0away.\u00a0 Instead the whole duck family\u00a0swam back and forth as a group flotilla\u00a0leading the eager, but slow-swimming\u00a0Carolina Dog\u00a0on a merry chase.\u00a0 The ducks acted more like they were expecting to be fed than become dinner themselves.\u00a0 They wanted to see what SPHP had in the way of snacks.\u00a0 SPHP convinced Lupe to get out of the lake before hypothermia set in.\u00a0 Lupe seemed disappointed that duck wasn’t on the menu, but greatly refreshed from her brisk swim in Yoho Lake.<\/p>\n

\"Wapta<\/a>
Wapta Mountain<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (9,127 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> from Yoho Lake. Photo looks SSE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were a couple of other problems at Yoho Lake.\u00a0 Although SPHP had led Lupe here thinking it would be fun to go on to Takakkaw Falls, that meant losing a ton of elevation heading down into Yoho Valley.\u00a0 The more SPHP thought about it, the less SPHP wanted to lose that hard won elevation gained coming up to Yoho Pass, especially since it would all have to be regained again in just a few hours on the return trip.\u00a0 Furthermore, virtually all of the people arriving at Yoho Lake seemed to be coming up from the trail leading down to Yoho Valley and Takakkaw Falls.\u00a0 Large groups were coming from that direction.<\/p>\n

SPHP’s aversions to crowds and losing elevation made\u00a0SPHP consider whether or not\u00a0Lupe should just head back to Emerald Lake, or go on to Takkakaw Falls.\u00a0 Fortunately, a 3rd option presented itself.\u00a0 A much less used trail, the Highline Trail heads N from Yoho Lake to the Iceline Trail high up on the W slopes of Yoho Valley.\u00a0 The Highline Trail actually gains elevation on the way to the Iceline Trail, which appealed to SPHP.\u00a0 Better yet, SPHP had read good things about the Iceline Trail.\u00a0 Maybe Takakkaw Falls could be seen across Yoho Valley from the Highline or Iceline trails?<\/p>\n

So Lupe took the Highline Trail heading N.\u00a0 It was a great decision.\u00a0 At first the Highline Trail climbed steeply,\u00a0switchbacking\u00a0around in the forest, but then it leveled out and continued N high up on the ridge forming the W side of Yoho Valley.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe and SPHP heard it\u00a0first\u00a0– the distant roar of water plunging off a mountain.\u00a0 Soon a splendid view of\u00a0Takakkaw Falls<\/a><\/span><\/strong> appeared.<\/p>\n

\"Takakkaw<\/a>
Takakkaw Falls from the Highline Trail, Yoho National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP\u00a0met no one at all on the Highline Trail.\u00a0\u00a0Before reaching the Iceline Trail, the Highline Trail broke out of the forest into\u00a0the open.\u00a0 The views were amazing.\u00a0 \u00a0When Lupe got to the Iceline Trail, the views got even better!\u00a0 The Iceline Trail resumed climbing and took Lupe way up above tree line into a stunning world of rock, water, ice,\u00a0towering peaks and sky. \u00a0Lupe started meeting small groups of people again as soon as she hit the Iceline Trail.\u00a0 It was immediately apparent why they were all here.<\/p>\n

\"Takakkaw<\/a>
Takakkaw Falls from the Iceline Trail. The Daly Glacier which supplies the water is seen high above the falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"SPHP<\/a>
SPHP wound up with a series of 3 photos of a very happy Lupe hamming it up along the Iceline Trail with Takakkaw Falls in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"P1050073\"<\/a>\"P1050074\"<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ice,<\/a>
Ice, streams, rock and sky along the Iceline Trail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mt.<\/a>
Mt. McArthur<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (9,911 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(L) and Isolated Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (9,262 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(R of center) from the Iceline Trail.\u00a0 Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a while, the Iceline Trail climbed more slowly.\u00a0 It\u00a0went over a series of ridges, each one moderately higher than the last.\u00a0 Streams rushed down each little valley from the small glaciers a short distance above Lupe and SPHP.\u00a0 Finally Lupe came to the highest ridge.\u00a0 She had a view to the NW of Mt. McArthur, Isolated Peak and Whaleback Mountain<\/strong><\/a><\/span> (8,586 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> beyond the deep green valley of the\u00a0Little Yoho River.<\/p>\n

From this highest ridge, a\u00a0spur from the Iceline Trail led a short distance up onto a\u00a0barren rocky hill, the\u00a0highest point along the Iceline Trail.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0took the spur trail and reached the summit.\u00a0 Glaciers could be seen in every direction – the scene was splendid at every point of the compass.\u00a0 A couple of hikers and their dog joined Lupe and SPHP for a little while at the Iceline Trail high point, but left again.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP lingered up there somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour.<\/p>\n

\"Daly<\/a>
Daly Glacier (L) coming down from the Waputik Icefield<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, Mount Daly<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (10,039 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(Center), and Mount Niles<\/span><\/strong><\/a> (9,734 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0(R) from the Iceline Trail.\u00a0 Photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking SE from the Iceline Trail towards the high peaks in the Lake O’Hara area.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mt.<\/a>
Mt. McArthur (C) and Isolated Peak (R) from the Iceline Trail high point with the Little Yoho River valley below.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mt.<\/a>
Mt. McArthur<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at the Iceline Trail high point (summit of the rock hill on the little spur trail). Yoho National Park, Canada 7-24-13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Scene<\/a>
Looking N towards the Yoho Glacier.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/b>By now it was starting to get late in the day.\u00a0 It was a long way back to Emerald Lake. Lupe and\u00a0SPHP had to start back.\u00a0 It was a spectacular, beautiful hike all the way back to the G6.\u00a0 The weather was perfect, the trail was nearly all downhill, and Lupe was having a blast exploring and sniffing.\u00a0 Before\u00a0leaving the high glacier streams,\u00a0SPHP filled the water bottles with glacier water.\u00a0 SPHP drank a bunch of it untreated and never had any\u00a0ill effects from\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

\"Heading<\/a>
Heading back along the Iceline Trail. Emerald Glacier at right. Photo looks SSE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Trolltinder<\/a>
Trolltinder Mountain<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (9,554 ft.<\/strong><\/span> – sharp peak in shadow) and Mt. Balfour<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (10,774 ft.<\/strong><\/span> – highest point) from the Iceline Trail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Iceline<\/a>\"Daly<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Along<\/a>
Along the Iceline Trail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once\u00a0Lupe got back to the Highline Trail, the only people\u00a0she met all the way back to Emerald Lake were a few near Yoho Lake.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe completed her circumnavigation of Emerald Lake by\u00a0taking the trail along the W shore\u00a0back to the G6.\u00a0 The sun was still shining on the tops of the highest peaks when\u00a0Lupe and\u00a0SPHP\u00a0arrived\u00a0at 9:38 PM.\u00a0 Lupe’s 5.2 km trek around Emerald Lake had turned into a 13 hour day.\u00a0 And what a glorious day it was!<\/p>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Iceline Trail High Point, Yoho National Park, Canada (7-26-14)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2013 Beartooths & Canadian Rockies Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lupe entered British Columbia for the first time on the morning of 7-24-13, Day 15 of her 2013 Dingo Vacation to the Beartooths\/Canadian Rockies.\u00a0 Two or three km S of the small community of Field, SPHP turned right (W) off Trans-Canada Hwy 1 on Emerald Lake Road.\u00a0 A little over\u00a0a km off Hwy 1, Lupe … Continue reading Emerald Lake, Yoho Lake & High Point of Iceline Trail, Yoho National Park, Canada (7-24-13)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[105,30,31,106,239,234,237,104,240,235,58,236],"class_list":["post-1535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2013-beartoothscanadian-rockies","tag-american-dingo","tag-canada","tag-canadian-rockies","tag-carolina-dog","tag-daly-glacier","tag-emerald-lake","tag-iceline-trail","tag-lupe","tag-takakkaw-falls","tag-yoho-lake","tag-yoho-national-park","tag-yoho-pass"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/P1050086.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1535"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20789,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535\/revisions\/20789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}