Day 4 Sawback Lake CG to Mystic Valley CG, 18.5 km, 290 m elevation gain, 748 m elevation loss, 4 hrs 55 min.
It was a pretty easy and quiet morning. Second straight day we are the only ones in camp. It is not that the area is remote but there is really just not a lot of people on it. We would see more people this day a fun introduction and a couple of people we would like to forget.
The obvious water source is quite a hike from the eating area which makes planning key when cooking unless you enjoy walking back a forth to grab a litre of water. On another trip to the campground later that summer I found a faint trail that leads from the eating area a short way down a willow covered slope to a small but clear creek.
After an easy morning we hit the trail with a lot of chatter and a bit of vim and vigor. After the little climb from the creek crossing were back on the trail from yesterday that joins the campground the lake and the junction to the main trail. It was a little over 10 minutes before we arrived at the junction with the main trail which would take us to 40 Miles Summit. We turned right on the main trail and immediately headed downhill to a bridge to take us back across the same creek we had crossed just a few minutes ago.
After the bridge the trail rises a nasty 200 m in just 0.8 km. The best part of the climb is that it encompassed the majority of the elevation for the day. Our next goal would 40 Mile Summit a short 2 km walk rising just 50 m. After reaching 40 Mile Summit, which is not a summit but a pass, it would be all downhill to lunch at the Mystic Warden Cabin.
I am very curious about the origins of the names of the pass we are standing on and the creek flowing south. Both are named 40 Mile and I have scoured the internet and I cannot find the origins of the name. The other aspect I am curious about is why the pass is named a summit when it is clearly a pass.
Shortly after going over 40 Miles Summit we met a lone hiker heading the other way. We did the standard stop and talk for a couple of minutes. I had a tripped planned for my end of July trip with a different group to tackle hiking the Jasper South Boundary Trail. During my research for trip I came across the following blog post on Ben Goes Hiking. I actually corresponded with the author, Ben, a couple of times through the comment section. Through the correspondence I learned that Ben was planning a trip on the Sawback with a similar time frame as our current trip but planning to hike in the opposite direction to us. During the hike I had been on the lookout for lone hike that looked like Ben that I had seen from the photos on his blog. As we crested 40 Mile Summit I knew that the opportunity to meet Ben was running out as we would be diverging from his route at Mystic Junction. After a couple of minutes of chit chat just as the conversation had reached its natural conclusion I took a chance and asked the hiker if his name was Ben. It was. So we spent a little more time exchanging a more stories before heading towards our respected destinations. Like me Ben also hikes with a stuffed companion, Parka, but Parka travels inside Ben’s pack so that there was no chance for a meeting between Parka and Frosty. So I copied a photo from Ben’s blog and here are Parka and Frosty together.
Just a few minutes after leaving Ben we met a couple with a little dog off to the side of the trail. The women was busy pulling her rain pants on as we arrived which at first appeared odd as it was a cloudless sky. She laughed as she told us she slipped on the last bridge and fell in a stream. She advised us to be careful crossing the bridges advice which all heard but only some took seriously.
It was not more than a few minutes before we came to our first stream crossing with simple log bridge. The bridge had snapped leaving water freely flowing over much of the bridge. Spencer thought it would be a good idea to go first and demonstrate his excellence balance and bridge crossing skills.
We arrived at the junction to Mystic Lake at 12:30 pm. We had covered an easy 10.5 km in about 3 1/2 hours. It was time to start looking for a place for lunch. Arriving at the Mystic Junction Warden cabin it became quickly apparent that the porch of the Warden cabin would make a great lunch spot being both shaded and having open views to the surrounding peaks.
Lunch was very relaxing. The cabin had a great view from its wonderfully shaded deck. We only had a little over 2 km to hike to our campground so we lingered for almost an hour. During lunch Chris made a friend of an insect who took a liking to licking the sweat on his forehead. Either Chris or Ken could name the insect, both have bio degrees, but it was quite entertaining watching the little critter do its thing.
On an early backpacking trip I purposely put the snacks for the day in the top pouch of my backpack. Hiking in the sunshine during the day had the unintended consequence of melting anything that was chocolate which did include a package of Aero Bubbles. Once cooled the Aero Bubbles formed a large bubbly chocolate mass that was simply delicious. This has become a tradition when hiking. Purposely melting the chocolate snacks. On this trip I had Maltesers. For me a big wad of chocolaty matltesers makes for just the best on trail treat.
We arrived at Mystic Valley Campground at 2:30 pm. This was the primary goal for the day but with lots of daylight left our next objective was to spend some time at Mystic Lake. There are five closely spaced tent pads. We quickly set up the tents and inflated our sleeping pads. We intended to eat at Mystic Lake so we packed dinner and treats in our bags and put the extra food in the bear lockers. Once tidied up we were off on the approximately 15 minute hike to Mystic Lake.
Mystic Lake is a very pretty lake and a back a must see back country destination. The first time I camped at Mystic Valley CG we visited Mystic Lake in the morning and had our breakfast lakeside. The very limited viewing areas are all west facing and on this day arriving late in the afternoon left us with full exposure to the sun. There are only a couple of places for a group to get a nice view of the lake. One group were at the lake before us and had the prime location so we went off to the right a little and sat on some logs in the shade. When the first group left we shifted over to the better viewing location but we found it to be too hot. We soon moved into the trees to cook our dinners out of the away from the glaring sunshine.
We had an unfortunate event unfold during dinner. Two young guys arrived the lake a little after us. When we moved over to get the better view of the lake they took over our old spot. Our kitchen for dinner basically straddled the trail. Oddly when the young guys left they took a really wide route around us way off trail. We noticed this and remarked on it but did not think much more of it. Then a little while later Spencer realized that he did not have his poles with him and went to look for them figuring he left at the spot we first set up at. Spencer could not find his poles and the four of us spent a few minutes looking all over for the missing poles. We came to the disappointing conclusion that the young guys found the poles and gave us such a wide berth so that they could sneak the poles past us. This put a little downer on the day but Spencer was very pragmatic saying that it was just poles they are replaceable.
As the sun started to go down we made our way sombrely back to the campground. It was hard to shake off the loss of Spencer’s poles even if he tried to downplay the situation. As we approached the water crossing I spied a log in the distance off to the right and decided to check out if it would lead my across the water.
No one followed me across the log. When I got back to the trail they were all putting their shoes back on after wading across the water. It was a quick mostly downhill walk back to camp. There are always something to do at camp so we stayed busy until the sun went down when we all dove into our tents. As per our usual routine Spencer and I read until it was time to close the eyes. Tomorrow would be a fairly simple day walking up and over Mystic Pass, one of my favourite alpine passes, then back to the car at the Moose Meadows trailhead.
Day 5 Staying Cool in the Sawback – Banff NP 2024