Molar Pass Loop

The Molar Pass Loop is a 50-ish km trail located in Banff National Park, Alberta. Most guide books will recommend 4 days/3 nights to do the entire loop. However, an early start combined with an ultralight setup will make this trip doable in 3 days/2 nights. No extra time was allowed to peak-bag the area as late September meant it was wildfire season and the smoke would’ve limited our views (it did).

We did the loop in the clockwise direction, starting with the climb up the North Molar Pass on the first day and camped at the gorgeous Fish Lakes campground. It was a spectacular hike with the golden larch trees on the other side of the Pass. The campground is located next to Upper Fish Lake with the tent area sheltered from the winds into the trees.

Gorgeous, but smoky views. This is a very scenic trail to hike on.

And the last little stretch before going back down towards Upper Fish Lake.

We set up camp in the trees but spent the evening near the lake.

Upper Fish Lake

We left early the next morning under a gray sky. The hike along the Pipestone River was easy, except for a few sections where the trail was washed out by the river and a couple of sections through overgrown willows. There was almost no elevation gain/loss, which gave our legs a well-deserved rest after our long day of climbing up the previous day.

Waist-high bushes and willows… Guaranteed to make you wet in rainy conditions. Longs pants were a must!

The Pipestone River

As we reached the junction where the trail leaves the Pipestone River to reach the Molar Creek, the sky became darker and our hard shells were required as it started to snow quite intensively. In no time, we were caught in a whiteout blizzard along the Molar Creek. We couldn’t find the campground and had to cross the ice cold water creek at least a dozen times. The trail was washed out and the reduced visibility meant we could only see a few meters in front of us. We kept walking to stay warm and found the campground when the blizzard had stopped and the fog had lifted. If it wasn’t for Rich, a solo hiker who had a little camp fire going on at the campground, there is no way we would have found it.

It was hard to dry our gear because of the lack of dry wood. The weather cleared out in the evening but the temperature stayed below freezing and we woke up happy to see the snow was still on the ground. We left early with Rich because we knew there would be more crossings to do and wanted to take advantage of the lower water levels from the early morning. The trail is well used so finding our way was easy despite the snow accumulation.

The view from the South Molar Pass was as pretty as its North counterpart. It was good to see there was no snow below the treeline, and it was indeed not muddy on our way out.

The Molar Pass Loop is an awesome trail. It requires some efforts near both passes and most of the trail is quite exposed to the elements. A map or a GPS is required for all the washed out sections but the route-finding challenges are what makes this trail even more exciting!