Day 9- Stanley Glacier hike and Minnewanka Lake drive

Day 9- Stanley Glacier hike and Minnewanka Lake drive

Today we drove to British Columbia in the Kootnay National Park and hiked up to the Stanley Glacier. The start was a little iffy, when we reached the trail head it was pouring rain and there was a special sign posted on the trail map that there were bears in the area. As you all know sugar melts, so the rain was the first strike against this hike and secondly the glaring bear sign scared me to death. Steve on the other hand was ready to rock and roll, thinks his singing and his bear spray would keep us safe….. Anyway after the rain stopped and major arm twisting we started the hike.

This particular valley was shaped by fire- 1968 Vermillion Pass burn which charred 2,500 hectares of forest. We began the trek across the Vermillion River into the forest of predominantly lodgepole pine, a lot of which, remains charred. We followed the switchbacks (singing and yelping all the way) to Stanley creek and beautiful views of the eastern flank of Stanley Peak. From here we were also able to see Banff’s Castle Mountain to the north, with Mount Whymper and Boom Mountain directly behind us to the Northwest. As we climbed a little higher we had a great view of Storm Mountain to the East.

We continued upward to where the trail flattened out and we entered the hanging valley. Once there the trail remains fairly level across Stanley Creek, where it parallels the sheer 450-meter Cambrian limestone wall of Stanley Peak. We were able to see a few waterfalls cascading over the edge of the face; and the caves just past the boulder field. This is were we stopped to have lunch; which needed to be guarded against the golden-mantled ground squirrels, marmots, and pikas that live in the boulders. The climb continued about 900 meter to the plateau of the glacier. Fairly easy hike and we did not see any bears this trip. Total Distance: 9.6 kilometers, Hiking time: 3.5 hours, Elevation gain 365 meters.


Following our hike we took a different way back to our chalet via the 1A highway. It was a beautiful drive through the forests of Banff National Park. We then took the drive through Minnewanka Lake and Two Jack Lake.

Batteries charged on both cameras so lots of pictures, unfortunately the internet service where we are staying is very slow so pictures will be minimal. Our adventure continues and we hope you are enjoying it as much as we are.