It is actually sunny when we get up, 45F but sunny. I will take it. We dawdle over breakfast and it warms up a few more degrees before we head out to an easy, short local trail, Meeting of the Waters. Camp is full as is the day use lot and several large groups funnel toward the main trailhead at the end of camp. There are lots of trails in this area though and before long we have our little stretch of woodland to ourselves. It is any easy stroll to a log bridge just below the junction of two rushing, glacier melt streams, the Illecillewaet River and Asulkan Brook. High above us the sun lights up jagged mountaintops, with a fresh dusting of snow, in a brilliant blue sky dotted with fluffy clouds. Nice. It spits rain but we are undaunted and extend our walk along the 1885 trail. We hope for a good view of camp from across the river but no such luck. I take the opportunity to scan high meadows and spot a dot…a bear digging up goodies. He is much to far away for a good picture but with binoculars I am certain it is a bear working across the open field. Just one more excuse for a more high-powered telephoto lens, right Kent?
Break…we relax in camp a couple hours then head out to join a ranger led hike.
The hike is on Balu Pass trail. Oh yes, Balu as in the Bear! The trail passes below Grizzly Peak, Ursus Major, and Ursus Minor through an area of prime bear habitat. It is one of the areas in the national park that require (as in fine $115 if you don’t) hikers to travel in groups of 4 adults, minimum. Large groups tend to be noisy and noisy groups rarely startle bears. That is good…for hikers and bears. We meet a pair of hikers who apparently ignored the grouping rule, they are being escorted down off the trail by an enforcement Warden.
Our Ranger steps pretty lively up the first three switchbacks. Most of us are breathing heavy and we lose a group of about 10 who are expecting more of a stroll than a hike. Still, we are a group of 8 so safely on our way. No great new revelations as to bear habits or behaviors and we don’t actually see any bears but it is still a great walk. These mountains are amazingly steep resulting in impressive avalanche slopes throughout the back country. Bears love the wildflowers and berries that pack these open meadows. We spot hoary marmots basking and playing in a boulder field. We review a bear scratching tree where the Grizzlies rake the bark and leave hair and scent for other bears. Our turn around point is at the base of three impressive waterfalls where snowmelt gracefully spills down the mountainside. The water is about as cold as you might expect…brrr. I would take this walk again. Next time all the way to the end (we went about half way) and next time a little more slowly to check out the wildflowers and give wildlife a bit more time to show itself.
