Berg Lake Trail

When I am really excited about something, a 4.5-hour flight to get to that something is like torture to me. Needless to say, having a chance to stand at the bottom of Mount Robson — the highest peak of the Canadian Rockies at 12,972 ft. — was a moment I looked forward to. I landed in Edmonton at 8:35PM, grabbed my bear spray and fuel canister just minutes before the Canadian Tire store closed near the airport. I then drove for four hours to Hinton, checking in at 1:15AM at my hotel. I slept for five hours and drove the remaining two hours to get to the visitor center at the opening time of 8AM to get my camping permit. It was the last few days before the “operational season” started (mid-June), meaning getting a permit was now on a first-come/first-served basis and no reservations were required.

I left the Berg Lake trailhead at 9AM under a heavy clouded sky with enough food for 3 days. The first 7KM wander through old-growth cedar forest along the Robson River, all the way to the first campground, Kinney Lake.

It had been drizzling the entire morning, so I stopped at the campground to have lunch under the nice open shelter. The campground was very clean and the tent pads had just been replaced. I had yet to see the peak of Mount Robson because of the heavy fog. The trail opened up and went over the Robson River a few times as well as its tributaries. The bridges were more than useful because the water levels were high.

Leaving the river flats, I made my way up towards the Whitehorn campground in the Valley of a Thousand Falls which sits between Whitehorn Mountain and Mount Robson. I only counted two waterfalls, but fair enough, Whitehorn mountain was almost free of snow. The scenery was still spectacular and walking along the raging Robson River as close as a few inches was exciting.

The 3KM section between White Falls and Emperor Falls was the most difficult of the entire trail. It was a constant steep incline on muddy and rocky terrain. My hiking poles were my best asset for this stretch. I was sweating and I could see my heart pounding through my base layer. I decided to skip the side trail to Emperor Falls to stay dry, as the potential cold weather overnight would’ve made for a potentially critical situation.

With the hardest section behind me, I now had my eyes on the next campground, Emperor Falls, as a potential place to sleep this evening. This is where I originally planned on staying anyway. But even if the fact that I would have the nine tent pads for myself that night, I was a little bit disappointed with where it was located. It was sitting right on the trail! There was no privacy and the tents pads were all muddy and even snowy.

With only 5KM left before reaching the Berg Lake campground, I decided to keep going. I was tired, but adrenaline gave me a little boost! I could start seeing Mount Robson through the fog and some partial views of Mist Glacier. I started walking faster! 🙂

And then just around a curve, the trail opened up on Berg Lake and its impressive Glacier, running down Mount Robson like a tongue dipping in the water. Even with the fog, it was the clearest view of a glacier I had ever seen. I walked further down the trail and stopped right in front of it and starred at the huge crevasses all over the glacier. Ever since I have been reading books about the mountains, I developed a deep fascination about crevasses. They are both scary and beautiful.

Berg Lake

It was 5PM when I reached my final destination, the Berg Lake campground, after an intense 8-hour hiking day. The first section of it was a little busy with a few tents already set up. I met a friendly BC Park warden doing some maintenance on the campground. I exchanged a few words with her and she told me that if I was willing to walk a few minutes past the campground, there was a couple more tent pads in a secluded area. I gladly took her advice and walked away from the busy shelter on the main open area and found myself completely alone. I pitched my tent, put on my down jacket and walked on the gravel flats near my site to enjoy a well-deserved homemade dehydrated diner, while having a front seat in front of my beloved crevasses.

As I retreated back to my tent, I noticed the sky clearing up and unexpectedly, the clouds and the fog had completely disappeared in minutes, reveling not only a deep blue sky, but also the reason why I dreamed about his trip for months… Mount Robson’s summit! I ran back to the gravel flats within seconds.

Next thing you know, I had a clear view of it. What a beauty! I became a little bit emotional. It is a massive mountain, the highest I have seen so far. There was only one thing missing and it was the presence of my second half. I wish she could’ve made it with me on this trip. I enjoyed the evening watching the mountain, dreaming about climbing it one day. I went to bed late but it was still bright outside, being only a week away from the year’s longest day.

The top of the Canadian Rockies!

In theory, I still had another night planned on this trip. There are lots of shorts trails accessible from the campground but most of them were still closed until July to protect a caribou herd. I decided to check the weather the next day and decide if I would spend a zero day (hiker’s slang for “a day on the trail where you hike 0 km”) or make my way back.

I slept well despite the cold wind. I woke up past 9AM. That was a first for me, but I needed all that rest I guess. I looked outside the tent and noticed the heavy and low clouds. High in the mountains, precipitations could’ve meant either rain or snow or both. Fearing a descent in bad weather, I took the decision to pack up and head back. It was not raining, and the sooner I’d leave, the better the chances were to stay dry.

Loosing altitude, I walked faster despite having heavily sore legs. The lower I got, the warmer it would get and in no time I rocked my shorts for the remainder of the day. One of my knees started hurting quite badly from an old injury. It made the 3km steep descent challenging, but it also confirmed I took the right decision this morning. Taking advantage of a “not so bad” weather window is always a smart choice even if it means shortening your trip.

I stopped at the Whitehorn campground to have lunch. I met a large group who stayed there the night before. After a quick chat, I was on my way back. The last few kilometers in the forest seemed never-ending.

It took me only six hours to get back to the trailhead. On a clear day, Mount Robson would be visible form the visitor center’s parking lot. I was smiling while telling myself that if it wasn’t for the 60 minutes break in the clouds the night before, I could’ve almost say that this mountain doesn’t exist. It seemed to me that Mount Robson would only reveal itself to those who commit to the 46KM round-trip hike to its base.

I booked a room in Jasper for the night before making my way back towards the town. The drive was as scenic as it could’ve been.