Day 1 Moose Meadows TH to Luellen Lake CG, 16.6 km, 806 m elevation gain, 269 m elevation loss, 6 hrs 35 min.
The backpacking trip was planned to start Monday the July 8th. The weekend preceding the trip I squeezed in a camping trip with Laura and Margaux at Etherington Creek Recreational Area in Kananasksis in our trailer. To make the weekend just a little busier we had to volunteer at a Casino fundraiser for our curling club on the Friday. Even with the casino we wanted to spend a couple nights in the trailer which meant that we would be camping Saturday and Sunday night. So the plan was to get up early Monday morning in the trailer and be on the road by 6 am so that we could arrive home by 8 am. Then I would be able to tidy up the trailer and grab the final items for the backpacking trip while Laura could take the long walk to her office (bottom floor of the house) and go to work for her regular start time.
The plan was for me to pick up Ken, Chris and Spencer in Canmore and then meet Don at the trailhead at 11 am. Chris had stayed the night before at Ken’s place which is just a 2 minute drive from my place. Spencer lives across town which is about 10 minutes away, perks of living in a small town. I was running a little behind schedule. I had hoped to leave the house by 10 am, but it was a little after when I got going.
The pick ups went smoothly, the day was bright and sunny and already getting a little hot. I decided not to try and acclimatize to the heat and put on the A/C for the 40 minute drive to the trailhead.
Don was waiting for us at the trailhead. Don had driven from his home on Vancouver Island. Having done the drive a few times Don utilized his time on the road to get a head start on acclimating to the elevation. He made a point of staying at Illecillewaet CG in Glacier NP in order to sleep at elevation. It cannot be overstated the impact of the effects of elevation when coming from sea level, Chris also lives at sea level in Vancouver, up to 1400 m elevation where would start our hike. I clearly recall my daughter hammering out a 5 day hike on the Juan de Fuca Trail on Vancouver Island only to suffer on the first day of our hike around the Egypt Lake area in 2021.
It was all smiles when we met up with Don at the parking lot for the Moose Meadows TH just after 11 am.
The Moose Meadows trail is not very spectacular in fact it is just a walk in the woods. Many people would opt for hiking up Johnston Canyon but in July in the middle of the day the canyon would be packed with tourists and trying to navigate past people on the narrow bridges with backpacks on was an aggravation we wanted to avoid. We took the time on the mostly wide trails to walk and talk and get to know each other. Who needs team building exercises when you can talk? We arrived at the Ink Pots at 12:55 pm. The Ink Pots are a nice destination for a pleasant day hike in Banff NP. The “pots” are pools of water bubbling up from underground springs that have a high mineral content that give them a bluey/green colour. We chose to stop for the obligatory photo before pushing on.
Crossing a short meadow after the Ink Pots brought us to a bridge over Johnston Creek. We had hiked just a little over 6 km and had 2 km to go before arriving at Larry’s Camp CG where we planned to have lunch. The hike to Larry’s Camp followed the creek making for an easy walk mostly in the trees with little elevation gain. While we did leave the crowds behind at the Ink Pots there were still people to be found on the trails. We we ran into a father/daughter duo just finishing a multi day trip in the area. I do not recall them giving us any intel on the cornice, I am sure we would have asked.
The temperature was really beating down on us as we rolled into Larry’s Camp. We stopped for lunch along side the creek draining Mystic Pass and hid in amongst the trees in an effort to beat back the heat. The campground was completely deserted. Another father/daughter duo came by during lunch who like us were starting their trip. They were doing the same hike as us but where headed in the opposite direction, counter clockwise. We would see them again on Day 3 at Flints Park.
We had a good long lunch. We did not feel the need to rush as we only had 10 km of relatively flat hiking to go to arrive at our campground for the evening. We headed out back on the trail just after 2:30 pm. First order of business was a quick creek crossing across a robust but skinny bridge. Once across the bridge the trail immediately arrives at a three way junction. We were headed left at the junction following Johnston Creek. The trail to the right comes down from Mystic Pass where we will come down on the final day of our trip.
The trail from Larry’s Camp to Luellen Lake is a straightforward woods walk but in the backcountry nothing is straightforward. A major theme of the trip would be how to keep our feet dry. With the wet spring and high temperatures the stream beds were full and frequently overflowing their bank. As we would discover over the next 10 km dry feet were not to be an option on this trip.
Along the way we took a couple of breaks to cool off. Along with the heat and the elevation Don was also dealing with a flair up of plantar fasciitis that he had hoped he had gotten control of before the trip. I was happy to let the pace settle down a bit as my tummy was not super happy. During one of our breaks I consumed an entire Builder Bar, mint flavour. Normally I nibble on a bar over the course of an hour or so and keep hiking while I nibble. But during one of our longish breaks I just sort of ate an entire bar. Thinking back I guess that was too much dense food in my stomach at one time. By the time we hit the turn off for Luellen Lake I was all back to normal but I was not happy for quite a few kilometres. Lesson learned.
We past a family with a few little kids off trail exploring the ever shrinking Johnston Creek. We would not see them again as they were headed to Johnston Creek CG. Shortly after passing the kids we ran into a mother/daughter duo heading in the opposite direction. The said that they had run into a bear on the trail and could not find a way safely past so had decided to bail on their trip. Then they asked if they could join our group thinking of safety in numbers. We gladly accepted them into the group. Spencer who has younger boys decided to share the bear chant he and his boys came up with. To make it fun to alert bears they yell train sounds, and not any old train sounds but steam engine sounds, choo-choo. So quickly we got into a rhythm of me yelling Chug-a-Chug-a, then Spencer would yell Choo-Choo and Ken would finish it off with a Wuu-Wuu. By the time we got to the turn off to the side trails for Luellen Lake we had not seen the bear the women were gone. Guess they were embarrassed by us and figured we would have cleared away any bears along the trail so it was safe to trail in behind us.
We arrived at the junction for Luellen Lake at 5:15 pm. We had traveled the 8.4 km from Larry’s Camp in a little under 3 hours. On the way down to the creek we pass by the biffy for the Johnston Creek CG and very soon we arrive at the bridge that would take us over Johnston Creek.
We had another little break in the shade by bridge. Unfortunately Don had come to the decision that Luellen Lake would be the end of his trip. Don’s heels were hurting and he felt the situation was unlikely to improve on the trip. Don had another trip coming up, with his son, so he hoped by ending this trip early he could recover somewhat to spend some quality time with his son. Don would stay the night at Luellen Lake then leave with us in the morning when at the junction with the main trail he would head south back to the trailhead while the rest of us headed north.
There are only five tent pads at Luellen Lake and we had reserved three of them. A group had arrived before us and had set up on multiple tent pads so had to move one of their tents. One member of their group headed over to Johnston Creek CG to try and find a spot. We quickly set up our tents which is when I discovered I had forgotten the tent pegs. With my Zpacks tent not being self supporting I need to peg it securely to erect the tent. Luckily in a group our size there was enough spare pegs that I had no difficulty in setting up the tent. After setting up the tent it was time for dinner. I had brought a treat for dinner, burgers!!
After dinner we had the evening to relax in our glorious surroundings. We did have a lot of unwanted company in the form of mosquitos. This was about as bad as I had ever seen them. At one time I counted 20 mosquitos on Spencer’s back.
Just as we were getting ready to head to bed three guys arrived in camp. The older guy in the lead had what looked like a day pack on, the next guy had a pretty descent pack which included an ax, and the last guy had a huge pack that looked like it had the tent and an inflatable raft. They said that they were from Saskatchewan and asked where they could set up. It turns out they had no permit. The older guy insisted he had camped at Luellen Lake 10 years ago and it had not required a permit. The set up off the trail on a clear section on the hill giving their tent a decidedly downhill tilt. They then tried to hack some of the deadfall to make some firewood. This would prove unsuccessful. They were very pleasant and did provide some entertainment for the rest of the trip as we wondered if we would run into them again.
Since the sky was clear when I went to bed I decided to try for some astro photography. I got out of the tent at 3 am to take pictures of the night sky which was looking pretty clear. I got what I considered some pretty descent photos of the Milky Way. I always enjoy looking up at the wonders of the sky. I take some photos and then spend a bit of time just looking off into the sky as it stretches to infinity, just sitting and wondering and sitting some more.
