Yellow Aster Butte Round 2 - August 19-20

Our last experience in this area wasn't much fun considering the amount of snow there was and the weather conditions and how lost we thought we were...but you can read all that in the previous TR. This time it was late summer and the weather looked perfect so we were on our way.

After taking an hour or two to get Sophie out of bed, a long stay in a traffic jam due to a bunch of cars crashing mildly into each other and a lengthy border crossing (note: stay in left lane when crossing at Sumas) we finally arrived to the trailhead. The road up the logging road was mostly uneventful (with the exception of my worrying we'll run out of gas and the fact that I had to back up a steep hill to let some big SUV pass near me, an inch from the edge of a cliff).

It was 2:00pm and we started up in the hottest weather we have ever hiked in. It was hard to breathe and the only thing that made us keep going was our memory of the snowline (or south meets north line) from our last trip, from where we were guaranteed colder conditions. Half an hour later we reached that line, got into the meadows and it was just perfect.

We could then see all around and almost to the end of where we were going (and to where we camped last year). An easy, straight forward trail. As we were walking we passed by a couple of hunters, or so I found out after Sophie pointed to their guns. We were wondering what they could be hunting and assumed it was some birds or something. Maybe some of the many ptarmigans we passed on the way up that scared the crap out of us. Or so we were hoping... As we kept going we ran into two other hunters and this time I asked what they were hunting. They said “bear”. I smiled and thought they were joking but then they said they were serious and that they chased a black bear higher up but didn't catch it. They said each person is allowed to catch 2 bears a year. The dude looked at me and must have assumed that my look of confusion was a look of shock, so he quickly added that they're not trophy hunters and that they catch bears to eat them. I was again surprised as I didn't realize people eat bears (I always assumed it was the other way around).

We continued on and reached this avalanche gully with some leftover snow where we filled up our water and kept going. I suddenly hear my name being called and was surprised to see Bogdan and Catherine who were also heading the same way, but to climb Tomyhoi. We kept going and reached our old camp spot where I confirmed my suspicion that we really were camped on top of a small pond last year...

From there, a short section through the woods led us to another south facing, scorching part of the mountain but at least it had the beautiful flowery meadows to make up for it. Luckily this section was short and we rounded a corner to see Tomyhoi. Or so I thought. I was convinced that this bump in the distance was it. I looked at the map and I thought yes, that's it. Although I had a few suspicions that were gnawing at me but I chose to ignore them. Sophie was certain that wasn't it and got annoyed with me for thinking it was. So yet again we thought we were lost on the trail to Tomyhoi. We kept going up the main trail and another sharper, more distant bump showed up but I had just assumed that's another peak of Yellow Aster Butte and didn't give it much notice. We got to the edge of a cliff and saw the multitude of greenish tarns and a few tents scattered about.

We kept following the trail, even though it looked like it ended over a cliff...but it was all good and the steep switchbacks were an easy way down through tons of wildflowers. We then were thinking how impossible that slope would have been had we gone on it the previous year, in the snow and thick fog...

We got to the tarns and had a hard time deciding where to set up camp, so we followed by example and claimed our own tarn. After setting up camp (I had fixed up the broken pole on my tent with some spares from another tent, the night before, and I was happy to see it worked well), we rushed to the water, got naked and jumped in. Our first time skinny-dipping and it was just awesome. I stayed in for quite a while until I started to feel my feet hurting so I got out. A bunch of my fingers went white, as they usually do in cold water...but it was worth it. There were some people coming down as I got out of the water but I wasn't worried, as by that point there was nothing to see anymore...considering how cold the water was...

Back at camp I was suddenly struck with the realization that that bump I mistook for Yellow Aster Butte is actually Tomyhoi, and then everything aligned itself properly. The map made sense, and once I used the compass out it all looked right and I felt like a fool for being so certain before.

Sophie then stayed at camp to do some Yoga, while I ran up to one of the rocky knolls to get the views of the other side. As I was going up, a bunch of people were getting naked and jumping in their own tarns...The views from the top were spectacular (of the mountains, not the naked people!) and I got Sophie to join me up there to read until the sunset. It was really pleasant and relaxing and put me in an amazingly relaxed mood. Once the sun had set and I got all the photos I wanted, we went back to our tent and went to sleep watching the stars multiply, as the sky got darker. We slept without the tarp on. It was hot enough. It was awesome. I kept waking Sophie up whenever I saw a shooting star or some satellite passing above.

Sophie was paranoid that bears will eat us during the night because they can see through the tent...maybe mistake us for a wrapped hors d'oeuvre so she kept the bear spray close to her head. I was paranoid of getting sprayed by Sophie if I sneezed the wrong way. I did sneeze the wrong way and woke her up and saw her looking suspiciously everywhere (I'm sure her finger was on the trigger) but quickly calmed her down it was just me...close call.

We awoke to a blazing sunrise that heated up our tent like an oven and a loud buzzing. There must have been thousands of bees working hard on the flowers there. It was pretty neat. Sophie then cooked us some pancakes in our brand new pan. They were delicious and very satisfying. We then packed up, watched a family of ptarmigans pass near us, with the mother ptarmigan standing on top of boulders directing traffic while a hummingbird buzzed by us at insane speeds. We then went for another naked dip in our very own tarn before leaving to climb the butt...er...buttes...sorry, my mind was elsewhere...

We hiked up with our big packs up to a point where a marmot was guiding us to and then ditched the packs there with the marmot standing guard for us. We continued up the first bump. Then descended from it down a ridge that turned out to be a little exposed and scary (but not too bad). Then it looked like the trail ended but noticed it continued down past this short scrambly bit. So we ditched our poles and scrambled down. As we approached the final bump, I was having second thoughts about continuing farther as it looked like a very steep exposed climb but we got closer and I noticed a trail going around the scary bit. There was a little bit of mild exposure but nothing too frightening. I went over it and then Sophie followed, after ditching the Nalgene and our last item other than the camera around my neck. From there it was a bit of a scramble but it was pretty easy with the occasional dizzying look down, but nothing too dangerous.

We couldn't make it to the true summit, as the moment I tried to step there, we were swarmed by the many flying red ants that inhabited that peak. So we quickly backed away and just settled to taking photos from a safe distance of the ants.

The way back was quick and we picked up our various dropped items. We then got greeted by a ranger who looked a little upset at us. She thought we camped up on the butte so she was fuming and ready to give us a lecture, but we quickly calmed her down once we explained we actually camped at the tarns.

On the road back we were walking lazily, very satisfied at the amazing trip we just had when all of a sudden I hear this rustling in the bushes. I don't know why but I immediately thought it was a bear. It seemed just a little too big to be another ptarmigan despite my hopes to the contrary. As soon as Sophie caught up to me I told her we have to make a lot of noise as I suspected something was in the bushes. The noise seemed to help and the rustling got farther so we continued on. The moment I stepped out of the treed section I looked to the right and saw a small brown bear jumping away with a whole bunch of rustling in the bushes besides it going the same direction. Strangely enough I was quite calm despite the fact that I right away thought of Mama Bear being around too. I guess I didn't want to worry Sophie too much so I didn't tell her what I saw until we were far enough from the area.

Two ladies were approaching from the other direction and we warned them about the bear we saw. They asked right away if it was a Grizzly or a Black Bear. I told them I couldn't tell from looking at the butt of the small one. They continued on singing at the top of their voices, completely calm. As we continued on, we ran into four other people, warned them about the bear and got the same question “Was it a Grizzly or a Black Bear?” They then noticed my accent and asked where we were from and I answered “Vancouver”. From the look of confusion on her face I assumed she never heard of it...

The rest of the trail back was uneventful. Well, other than being swarmed by a billion flies near the bottom of the trail. Those flies seemed so strong! I felt them grabbing on to me with their puny legs. No matter how much shaking I did, they did not let go. Freaking out, I ran down as fast as I could...or maybe I ran away from Sophie who was talking at the top of her voice and clutching the bear spray in her hands ready for an attack...

The logging road was again a load of fun whenever we had to squeeze by a big SUV that was coming up...

An amazing trip really. The views of Baker, Shuksan, Larrabee, American and Canadian Borer Peaks Tomyhoi and the various tarns and Yellow Aster Butte were just magnificent. Few places are as amazing as this one. I can't wait to return.

See the photos...