Simpson River Trail

Following my failed attempt to reach the Limestone Lakes, I was driving back on the Banff-Windemere Highway asking myself what to do now. It was the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday and like I said previously, I had plans to come back only on Sunday. My only problem is that I didn’t have a map of Kootenay National Park with me and my phone had no service. Kind of hard to plan something… but I remembered a spot I stopped to on my way in to get some water: the Simpson River Trail. There was no indication of any campground on the map at the trailhead, but my intention was to find a decent flat spot along the river and camp there for the night. With the top of the mountains still snowy from last night’s snowfall, I just had to stay one more night. I find the mountains at their best when Mother Nature sprinkles a little white magic on top of them! It’s just so PRETTY!

The Simpson River Trail runs through a pretty much entirely burned forest from a 2001 wildfire. The ground is littered with charred deadfall. It was good to see all the new vegetation growing in between the dead trees. It also provided extensive views of the surrounding peaks: Mount Shanks to the North, Indian Peak and Octopus Mountain far to the East and Spar Mountain to the South.

Mount Shank looking gorgeous with snow on top.

Indian Peak, in the middle.

The first view of the Simpson River. What a nice river! Sir George Simpson, Governor-In-Chief of the Hudson’s Bay Company had first been here in 1841. This valley and river were named after him. After reading his biography, I was more than happy to be hiking this trail, thinking that he might have walked here too 178 years ago.

The weather was unstable and when the wind picked up, I started to walk a little faster. Being surrounded by burned trees when it’s windy is a very big hazard. They can fall really easily. While this must’ve been a really pretty forest before the fire, I enjoyed this environment as it was new to me and I found it somewhat beautiful.

Believe it or not but with all this new growth, there was absolutely no place for me to pitch my tent. It became a little frustrating. I was almost 6KM into the hike before I spotted a gravel bar on the other side of the river where I could spend the night. But to reach the shore of the river, I had to get off the trail, hike down a steep hill and climb above unstable charred trees. I then traded my hiking shoes for my river shoes and was ready to cross. After studying the water, I aimed for a spot where there was a little island in the middle. It would not only cut my crossing in half, but usually, when the river is wider, the water is slower. That logic was not true at the moment because of the snow we had last night. It had melted during the day, hence the faster water.

The crazy fast and waist deep Simpson River, just East of the Lachine Creek junction.

The flat gravel bar where I wanted to sleep for the night.

That’s pretty much how the shores of the Simpson River look like.

The little island at my crossing spot.

I tried crossing twice but I almost got carried away. I had water up to my waist and couldn’t get my feet to hold their position while walking. I safely turned around. I was bummed. It seemed like this area wasn’t a good place for me to camp that day. While leaving the shore on my way back to the trail, I saw this heart shaped rock. It made me think of Andrea, and how I missed her. I couldn’t see any other options then walking back to the trailhead and drive back home. And that’s what I did. I made my way back to the trail and started hiking back.

After about 20 minutes, I was surprised by a lady walking up my way on the trail. It was almost 5PM. Why would someone venture on a day hike at this time of the day? Talking with her, I learned that at the end of this trail, just on the other side of the park’s boundary in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park was an old decommissioned campground. After a few minutes, her husband showed up and pulled the map of the area to show me the way. It turned out that Sue and Jim, a lovely couple in their mid-60’s from Seattle, were on their way to that campground for the first night of their 8-day backpacking trip in the Rockies. There was a catch though. The campground was on the other side of the Simpson River and the bridge crossing it had been washed out in 2016. It got me worried after trying to cross it a few minutes ago. But I figured that if they were willing to go, I’d gladly join them and camp there for the night.

I turned around, again, and hiked with them for a while. They had eight days worth of food in their pack so I was obviously walking faster but I knew I would see them later at camp. I had only 4km to hike before the crossing. I was happy again and kept telling myself that if I had spend a little bit more time down by the river after my attempt, I would’ve missed them both and would’ve never known about this campground until later on at home while looking at the map. In the end, I would spend another night under the stars! 🙂

The last 4KM felt like 10KM. Perhaps my hike up Joffre Creek the previous two days was starting to make my muscles a little sore. I was pretty sure that once into Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, the trail would become ugly. Why? Because while looking at Jim’s map, I noticed that this tiny section was at the far West side of the Park. I thought that it probably made no sense for BC Parks to send a crew to clear it as it sees so little use with the bridge being out. I was right. Even without a marked sign, it would have been easy to know where the boundary was.

I forded the Simpson River at the washed-out bridge location. Once again, I had water up to my waist, and I made it slowly across. It was a close-call… I almost went for a swim. This river is insanely fast!!!

This area was the only patch of live forest left. It somehow survived the fire. I was welcomed there by Marie-Claude and Steve, who were also here to spend the night. Steve is originally from Kingston, Ontario while Marie-Claude is from Montreal, Quebec. Small world! They have been living in BC for a long time and it was fun to meet other expats like myself. Steve never saw me crossing the river earlier as he was fishing a little hole further downstream. When he saw me wet, he told me they had crossed upstream where the water was shallower. I was now worried for Sue and Jim and I waited for them at the crossing spot to relay them the information I got from Steve. Their crossing was way easier than mine and it confirmed that Steve’s spot was the best place to cross tomorrow morning.

I quickly set up my tent before loosing daylight. Once all my camp tasks were done, I made my way around the campfire that Steve and Marie-Claude had light up, and along with Jim and Sue, we had dinner and spent the evening talking about life and of course, we shared a bunch of hiking stories. I had once again a great time. It’s funny how I intended to spend this entire trip by myself and somewhat ended spending most of my time with other people. It was an enjoyable moment.

The campground was located at the confluence of Surprise Creek, a tributary of the Simpson River, and the Simpson River itself.

Surprise Creek

Simpson River

It rained a little bit overnight, but I woke up to a blue and sunny sky. We all had breakfast together and after Sue and Jim made their way to the interior of the Park, Steve, Marie-Claude and myself were getting ready to head back to the trailhead. I left a little before them and starting with a glacial crossing first thing in the morning is always fun. I used the easier spot to get to the other side and started walking at a good pace. I noticed a few fresh wolf tracks in the mud right as I got back on the trail.

The more I looked at the Simpson, the more I started to think about my packraft. This river could make a fun packrafting trip if I was to hike 10KM further upstream to the bottom of Simpson Ridge.

While hiking on the narrow trail, I rolled my left ankle pretty badly. I did not hear any cracking sound but I knew right a way that it was serious. Luckily, I was right next to the river and therefore I stopped for a while and left my feet soaked into the cold water to mitigate the pain. The best I could do was to hike the last 6KM steadily to prevent my foot from swelling.

Way better than ice to treat a swollen foot!

At some point, Steve and Marie-Claude passed me. This crazy couple decided to go for a trail-running session along the trail! After stopping together for a water refill at a creek, they resumed their run. It was quite impressive to see them run this trail ahead of me.

One last brief stop to admire the river on my way back.

The hike back went well despite my ankle. I got back to the trailhead in no time, where my new friends where soaking their feet in the Vermilion River before going back home. I joined them under the bridge for a while before making my way home. When I got home and removed my shoes, my left ankle was really swollen and I could barely walk. It looks like I will have to rest for a while… But it’s part of the risks of venturing off the beaten paths. I had an amazing weekend in the mountain. I met a lot of wonderful people and once again, I was blown away by the beautiful landscapes I was able to witness all along these trails.