Today's Hike - Kokanee Glacier Park

Kokanee Glacier Park is a prominent jewel in the crown of Kootenay alpine areas. It draws hikers from near and far and is usually a bit crowded for my taste, but the breathtaking views and the richness of flora and fauna pull me back every few years despite the lack of solitude and silence that I prefer. I was lucky to get this hike in just before the local wildfire situation blew up and the smoke settled in.

The trail from Gibson Lake follows an old mining road for some distance, ascending through a subalpine forest transected by numerous streams cascading down the steep mountainside.

The conditions here suit moisture-loving plants like pink monkeyflower, Columbian monkshood, green bog orchid and many others.

Cow parsnip also grows in profusion along this section of the trail. That's Mt. John Carter in the background, named in 2001 after Kokanee Glacier Park's first ranger, who was killed in an avalanche while skiing just north of Kokanee Lake in February 1996.

Some of the other flowers growing along the trail are fringecup, false hellebore and red columbine.

After a couple of kilometres or so, the forest thins, and there are views of the mountains to the west, including Outlook Mountain and Mt. John Carter.

There must be dozens of streams rushing down the eastern side of the valley - meltwater from the glacier that is perched between the peaks above.

Although not my first choice, running into various individuals and groups and stopping to chat now and then was pleasant enough. I met a couple from Colorado, a family with some younger children and a small group from Britain, among others. I was happy to see a lot of younger, twenty-something folk out enjoying the park, like this group who braved the icy water of Kokanee Lake for a quick dip. The outlet of the lake lies at the 4.5 kilometre mark along the trail.

The trail follows the western shore of the lake, traversing several several talus slopes. I think that's Kokanee Peak in the distance. This is where Michel Trudeau, Justin's brother, tragically died when an avalanche swept him into the lake in 1998. His body was never recovered.

What little soil there is between the boulders supports various flora, including yellow columbine.

I saw a couple of hoary marmots and a ground squirrel or two, but far fewer than I'd seen on previous hikes. Pikas seemed to be totally absent. I didn't even hear one.

A short time later, I spied this bald eagle feeding on something - in all likelihood one of the aforementioned critters - down on the ground beneath it. I suspect an eagle hunting in the neighborhood may have had something to do with the local rodents (and lagomorphs, in the case of pikas) lying low.

At the northern end of the lake the trail crosses a wide, lush meadow, near the headwaters of Kokanee Creek.

At this time of year the white, pink and yellow heather is in bloom.

And this is as far as my old body wanted to take me this time. Not so long ago, I would have carried on to the Sapphire Lakes or another of the amazing destinations in the park, but, alas, neither my speed nor my stamina are what they once were, and I have to be content with shorter hikes as I creep ever upward in years. I'm grateful for what I can still do, though, and happy to have been able to experience the beauty of this special spot one more time.

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