Joffre Lakes

There were 5 of us this time. After the short drive from Vancouver we got to the Joffre Lakes parking lot to be greeted by the many mosquitos and the rain. We put our packs on and followed the large group of seniors that came in a tour bus at the same time as us. The first lake gave us a good taste of what's to come so with the incentive to see more, we kept going up towards the campground.

The rain started falling really hard. We got soaked to the bone but still energized and feeling well we kept treading ahead. Near the second lake the rain stopped and blue skies were even visible through the trees. The second lake was way nicer because, with the clouds up, we actually saw the glacier this time. We also got greeted by some hungry whiskey jacks.

On we went reaching our destination after a total of 3 hours. We were alone with the exception of one other camper some distance away. We set up our tents and the 5 of us played some cards in my 3 person tent, hiding from the rain that came back... We came out once the rainfall had eased. I went for a swim in the lake and went exploring on my own. Went to the foot of Matier glacier, jumped over the rushing glacier melt, watched the sunset over the mountains and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the park.

After a good night sleep we woke up to find the rain had come back (there wasn't a cloud in the sky the entire night). In the breaks between the rain we ate breakfast and started on a hike towards Tszil glacier. Rain had again soaked us on the way but we still enjoyed the hike. The terrain was fun to hike on. We started by scrambling over some rocks, continued through some dense bushes, walked the tight rope of a deteriorating ridge, climbed some granite walls, hopped over some rocks and finally walked up some snow to reach the edge of the park. We had lunch on the top of a natural castle wall between Taylor Mountain and Mount Tszil, hoping the clouds will lift a bit so we can see what's on the other side. The clouds moved around but did not show us what truly lies beyond and eventually the rain started pouring yet again. This time it was dropping some hail and some snow flakes here and there. A bit dissapointed that the views were somewhat limited but still quite satisfied with the hike itself, we headed back down.

I went for another short swim after which we packed and left as the crowds started coming in, filling up the entire camp site. The rain had stopped completely on our way down. The hike down was quite trecherous as everything was extremely slippery. We got to the car in a bit over an hour and a half to be greeted by the many mosquitos who had a grand feast upon my return...