Day 13 - Johnston Canyon and the Ink Pots

Day 13 - Johnston Canyon and the Ink Pots

Even though we did a long hike yesterday, Steve insisted that we hike today since the weather was beautiful. We decided on what is the most popular hike in the Canadian Rockies – Johnston Canyon with its numerous waterfalls.

The path along the canyon is actually paved with numerous catwalks overhanging the turbulent waters of Johnston Creek and the waterfalls. The lower falls is reached at km 1.1. A bridge across the creek serves as a viewpoint thundering cataract, and a short tunnel through the bedrock allows passage to a more intimate vantage point. Back on the trail there are numerous waterfalls (bigger than any in Michigan) before reaching the Upper Falls at km 2.7



The Upper Falls is 30m (98 feet) and there are two viewpoints: one from a catwalk at the bottom; and the other after a short steep hike to the upper part of the falls. You have a beautiful view of the gorge and the falls from the upper viewpoint.

We continued from here another 3km to the Inkpots. The trail here is unpaved and very few people continue past the Upper Falls. The trail ascends steeply through the forest and then down again into the valley where the inkpots reside. The inkpots are seven cold mineral springs bubbling to the surface in the open meadow. The springs are unique as they are 4ºC year round and the bottoms are composed of quicksand.
It was here we stopped for lunch and enjoyed the panoramic view of the valley and the surrounding snow capped mountains.

We could see snow falling on the distant mountains and by the time we left the Inkpots it was raining lightly. We enjoyed the hike back to the car where the sun was again shinning.