Hike up through a rejuvenated fire-ravaged forest to a scenic alpine lake
This was our first backcountry trip. Laura, Links and I headed out July 16th, 2011. The plan was to hike from Floe Lake parking lot to Floe Lake and camp on day 1, Then hike up and over Numa Pass and exit out at Numa Falls parking lot.
We picked the hike from the guidebook, “Classic Hikes in the Canadian Rockies”, by Graeme Pole. We physically prepared for the hike by doing day hikes on the weekends. I ran during the week and Laura had a home exercise program. We read Ben Gadd’s “The Canadian Hiker’s and Backpacker’s Handbook” to learn about backpacking. Both books have a wealth of knowledge. I really enjoyed Ben Gadd’s book. As a summary, he wrote a story of a group backpacking in Jasper NP. It was a nice way to show all the advice in action.
We had a very successful trip. As expected, we learned several things that we changed moving forward.
What we learned:
- Need a new tent (current tent tipped the scales at 9 lbs)
- Don’t need a hammer
- Tree deadfall drastically cuts your speed
- We can do it!