Many visitors and residents of Waterton have taken a stab at the Triple Crown, which is a rewarding challenge for experienced hikers. The majority of these people complete the hike over 3 separate days. One reason is that the hike to Crypt Lake requires a boat to reach the trailhead, and if you don't have access to one, you will likely be taking the Waterton Inter-Nation Shoreline Cruise to drop you off at about 9 or 10 am, which also means having to catch the last boat back at 5:30 pm. Another reason is that each hike individually can be quite strenuous.
On August 22nd, Shawn Elford and 2 of his friends completed the impressive and noteworthy task of hiking the entirety of the Triple Crown in one whole day! Starting at Crypt Lake, moving on to Akamina Ridge and finishing at Alderson-Carthew, he wrote a blog entry with a chronological list of events, accompanied with a photo for each part of the story. This is what he had to share:

#1- Left to right- Scott Leishman, Kristen Gibb and Shawn Elford. We used a friend's boat to get across to Crypt Lake trailhead. 17.6km. Began 6:00 am. Morale: 10/10.


#2- Absolutely beautiful sunrise- couldn't help but stop for a quick photo break. Morale: 11/10.

#3- Probably the coolest part about hiking Crypt Lake is the tunnel, right before getting to the lake. Starting out fairly wide and tall, the tunnel quickly narrows into THIS...
#3a- Scott Leishman at the exit of the tunnel. People of any size can get through. There's even a ledge to sit and hang out on in the tunnel.

#4- The beautiful Crypt Lake. This morning was a little overcast, and great weather to hike in. It took us 2 hours to get to the lake, albeit we do a lot of hiking and are in fairly good shape. After the lake we failed to take any pictures. We jogged on some of the flatter spots, completing the entire hike in 3.5 hours.

#5- So after Crypt, we took an hour break to take the boat out and have a good breakfast. 11:00 AM- start of Akamina Ridge- 20 km.

#6- We made it to the scenic Wall Lake in exceptional time. Morale was definitely 10/10. Unfortunately, Bennet's Pass was looming ahead of us.

#7- Heading up Bennet's Pass, there was a large patch of snow. Although this hike was completed on August 22nd, there was still snow, so be prepared for all different types of weather and conditions.

#8- On top of Akamina Ridge, Shawn poses for a glam shot, with Wall Lake in the background.

#9- Kristen is feeling reflective and grateful to be alive, as she gazes down at the beautiful Wall Lake. Morale at this point? Most definitely 10/10.

#10- As we completed Bennet's Pass, the wind was HOWLING. Kristen demonstrates how far she can lean into it without falling over.

#11- Once you get onto the ridge, it's a lot like a camel's back. You must hike up and over 3 separate peaks. Here Kristen is leading the way. You can see the path is well-defined and that there is lots of room on the ridge to walk safely.

#12- The gang at the top of the highest peak. Sunny and beautiful.

#13- This shot is looking south into Glacier National Park. Behind us are the Kintla and Igassi Glaciers. Life is great!

#14- Scott leading the charge along the ridge.

#15- At this point, we're stopped on the ridge. Looking down to the right, you can see Forum Lake...

#16- We then made our descent to Forum Lake. This picture looks steeper than it actually is. The climb down into Forum Lake requires sure footing as there is loose shale and vegetation to come down on. If we had to do it again, we would come this way and go down Bennet's Pass.

#16a- We finished hiking Akamina in 6 hours. We took our time to enjoy the beautiful scenery on the ridge. We then headed up to Cameron Lake for some food to recharge the batteries.

#17- Exactly 12 hours after starting Crypt, we started the last hike, the Carthew-Alderson Traverse, at 6:00 pm. After enduring a windy and strenuous afternoon on Akamina Ridge, we were starting to feel tired, yet morale was exceptionally high since we had finally reached our last hike!

#18- The sun was setting as we made our way up the saddle.

#19- The shale proved to be quite the obstacle as we climbed our way into the saddle. It took us about 2 hours to make our way this far.

#20- Morale reached an all-time high, as we realized the remainder of the hike was downhill from the saddle. After a quick picture and chocolate bar break, we had to giv'er in order to make the most of the remaining daylight.

#21- This is before Upper Carthew Lake. There's still some snowy patches in late August. Earlier in the season, some of the snow patches make for great places to slide down on your butt or feet.

#22- After the snowy patch, you walk along both Upper and Lower Carthew Lakes. At this point, we put the camera away and got our hustle on.

#23- After an hour of hiking in the dark with our headlamps on, we were almost home free. After a 16 hour day, Scott poses and shows his true feelings. Start to finish, it took us 16.5 hours, but that's including transitions, food stops and breaks. 56.2 km. What an EPIC day!!!!

I am in complete disbelief it is almost September! It's funny how being out of school and living in the working world, your internal clock becomes somewhat disconnected. I've been enjoying this gorgeous 30+ weather (Celsius, for the Americanos) over the last week and was blown away when I heard someone mention going back to school in matter of another week or so!
A little over a week ago my mom and brother came out from Ontario to visit for a few days. One of the day trips we did, along with my boyfriend, was a drive into Montana, through Glacier Park on Going-to-the-Sun Road. The beauty that we saw was completely awe-inspiring! We drove up just a bit past the Loop to Avalanche Lake, so we didn't quite do the full length of the drive, but to go all the way to the end into West Glacier, is almost 3 hours long one way (by then we were getting hungry, and it was time to make our way to Babb for gargantuan sized steaks at the Cattle Baron.)
There were so many waterfalls and unique rock formations- it was such an experience, to drive at the edge of mountains, around this great valley below. I would love to go back soon and do a hike there- particularly the Garden Wall, which from what I hear is one of the most spectacular hikes you can do. *See the photos I took below!*
 Over the last few years, I've had the great fortune of doing a lot of travel- for leisure with friends, with my partner Geoff, as well as for business. For a while I worked in the Caribbean on some of the Carnival cruise ships with the art auctions. I also did a stint in part of a cross-Canada tour in a graffiti art covered hippie bus, while going from school-to-school teaching children instructional workshops on how to build art-making robots (That sounds like mouthful in itself!) I have to say of the many things I have seen and been lucky enough to experience, this drive down Going-to-the-Sun Road may have just been the most amazing sight I have witnessed in my 25 short years on earth!

Another very cool experience while my family visited was hiking to Goat Haunt,in Glacier Park, from the Waterton town site. Our friend Nick had invited Geoff and I along on the hike, with a group of 3 other girls, so my family also tagged along. It took about 4 hours to do, and was not a strenuous hike, so that was a plus. Also, if you are going out on one of the hotter days we have, you are almost completely shaded by trees. You begin at the Bertha trailhead, and traverse past the lookout point, past Bertha Bay and Boundary Bay, which have a little bit of an incline to them but are not difficult. Following this, once you cross into the United States, you trek through bushes for another couple of hours on relatively flat ground. It was a comfortable hike, but was a little boring towards the end, as you had to watch your step for rocks under the bush and couldn't really take in the scenery, unless you came to a stop. The end is pretty exciting. You get to cross a small, swaying suspension bridge, over rapids, that only allows for one person at a time to cross. When you finally reach the ranger's station in Goat Haunt, the friendly border guards will give you a souvenir stamp on your passport. Then of course, there was the boat cruise we took back to Waterton. It felt good to relax and bathe in the sun, after a day of hiking, while a guide told us about the mountain range we passed through, and feeling the cool wind blow through your hair. We were even fortunate enough to see a bear, right at the docks of Crypt landing as we passed by, with an eagle flying right overhead.

Right now is a great time to hike- the weather is warm and all of the trails are accessible and getting the thumbs up from Parks Canada. Also, it's almost September- that really only leaves a little over a month of prime hiking time left in Waterton and Glacier! Don't let this window of opportunity pass you by! It is also the perfect time to be fishing! I just completed 2/3 of the Triple Crown and 2/4 of the Fantastic Four with Alderson-Carthew this week, as well, but that is an entirely different story for another day.
Until then, happy hiking!
Marie

This summer, when Vimy's Lounge and Grill implemented a new menu, one of the additions introduced was a yak-beef dip sandwich, served with au jus. Similar to a beef dip sandwich, the meat comes from a cross breed of yak and cow, known as dzo. It is a leaner meat, lower in saturated fat, with a sweeter, more succulent taste than the traditional beef.

Springridge Ranch in Pincher Creek, who are the local suppliers of yak-beef recently mentioned Vimy's in one of their blog entries- very cool! Check out some of the other pictures on their website, if you've never seen what these animals look like- very interesting, funny looking creatures- cattle with long, fuzzy tails... http://springridgeranchyakcrossbeef.blogspot.com/2011/07/yak-beef-dip-at-vimys-lounge-and-grill.html

Also noteworthy: the Edmonton Journal wrote an article about Springridge Ranch and raising dzo in southern Alberta, which mentions Vimy's as an innovator, being the first of restaurants to feature this tasty delicacy on their menu! http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/Where+deer+shaggy+play+meat+sweet+juicy+revelation/5229010/story.html

Spending a weekend in Waterton? Wondering what there is to do? Let locals advise you on the best of the best hikes, scenic locations to take photos or spot wildlife, where to eat, interesting and unique adventure opportunities and more!

Every Saturday morning, from 8 am til 10 am, visitors to Waterton can take advantage of a FREE concierge service, held at the Waterton Lakes Lodge, in Vimy's Lounge. Trip advisors Marie and Matt are available to answer any of your Waterton questions and tell you how you can make the most of your vacation.  There are also free maps, handouts and guidebooks available. Come out and take advantage of this great opportunity to pick their brains!

A few weeks ago, Lockey had posted about his trek to Crypt Lake. My boyfriend Geoff and I finally found the time to make our own journey to Crypt, yesterday. We moved to Waterton in April, and while we both consider ourselves well acquainted with the park now, we have both only scratched the surface as far as hiking goes. Part of this is due to the fact a lot of the trails are not do-able until June or July, and the rest is a combination of procrastination and trying to find the time around work schedules. So far this season, I have completed the following hikes:

• the essential climb on Bear’s Hump quite a few times with one scramble towards the top of Crandell
•  Lower Bertha Falls
•  Crandell Lake
•  Goat Lake, which includes a trek through the Snowshoe Trail
•  Blakiston Falls
• Red Rock Canyon
•  Cameron Lake
  
• and now Crypt Lake. 

Most of these hikes are not terribly difficult, with the exception of Goat Lake. I will admit that as a hiker, I am slightly out of shape, but nonetheless I enjoy being challenged. I really want to push myself to complete the Fantastic Four and Triple Crown before the summer is over.

So, forfeiting the first 9 am boat cruise over to Crypt for an extra hour of sleep, we decided to take the 10 am boat. We were in a bit of a panic, as the boat only leaves at 9 and 10 am (it also departs Crypt at 4 pm and 5:30 pm each day...so if you are depending on the cruise to get to and fro, then you have to be especially time conscious!) We narrowly made it after a protein-filled breakfast of eggs and toast with all of the fixings, and scrambling to grab all of our hiking essentials: a backpack with water, Gatorade, packed lunches, bear spray, bug spray, sunscreen and hunting knives. The sunscreen is a must! It was a scorcher yesterday, so I must have sprayed that stuff on at least 3-4 times, and instead of my regular pale white self I am glowing with a bit of red. A hat is also a good hiking accessory. Another thing that we found, is that we definitely should have brought more water or one of those handy-dandy devices that let you filter your own water, since there were at least 3 streams we passed. We joked that at times, the hike was a bit like walking in the desert when we climbed the switchbacks just outside of the forested areas. Seeing running water was a bit like seeing mirage and we happily splashed around in the extremely cold, but refreshing glacier water.

It is really easy to see why Crypt Lake is the #3 hike in Canada and a national favourite. While it was intense at times, it was a great workout with fantastic scenery. There were families with young children out on the trail too- if your family is physically up to the challenge of a day hike, 5+ hours, it is not impossible. I was very impressed to see kids as young as 7 or 8, enduring the challenge, though most of the hikers were pretty experienced.

 As we disembarked from the Roddy Paul and walked into the forest of trees following the hike trailhead, we took in a different, invigorating scent of pine. Along the way, we saw numerous waterfalls. I was clamouring to snap photos at almost every turn, but in our rush I had forgotten to charge my camera battery and so had left it behind. Geoff had pulled out his camera on the boat ride over, only to discover its batteries were still in a flashlight we had used a few days prior at a campfire. Generously, a couple from Pincher Creek, who had asked us to take a photo of them, offered to take our photo in front of the falls and email it to us.

The greatest highlight of the entire trip was, of course, the cave tunnel near the end of the journey. After 2.5 hours of pushing ourselves, we splashed around in a stream to cool off and then on the other side was the cave. Even on a weekday, the boats had brought many people over to Crypt to hike. There must have been at least 100 people out on the trail, which meant waiting in a line to climb the ladder into the cave and then to pass through (1 person at a time sort of deal.) However, not only was this my favourite part of the hike, crawling through the cave but I was also very challenged by traversing the wire-guided cliff edge following it over towards the lake, as someone who is not a fan of heights. It felt good to climb through and then relax on the edge of the lake with a sandwich, before the lengthy trek back.

5 hikes to complete Triple Crown and Fantastic Four: 1 down, 4 to go!

See you on the trails,

Marie

On Tuesday July 26, 2011 my wife, John and Dianna Elford and I hiked Swift Current Pass to Granite Park Chalet.  We stayed at the Chalet and hiked out the loop in the morning.  One of the hikes in the Fantastic Four of Glacier is the Garden Wall hike.  The Garden Wall hike starts at the Logan Pass visitors centre (see picture) and is part of the famous Northern Highline Trail of Glacier National Park.  As of the date of our hike (and today being July 29, 2011) the Garden Wall hike is not opened. 

There is some confusion as to what and where the Garden Wall Hike is but I take it to start at the Logan Pass Visitors Centre and end at Granite Park Chalet.  Eric Molvar in his book “Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks” agrees.

 For the purposes of the Fantastic Four one must make it to the Chalet and then can take the Loop trail or Swiftcurrent Pass as the rest of the hike.  In my view the best combination and way to do this hike is to start at the Logan Pass Visitor’s Centre, go through Granite Park Chalet and come out Swiftcurrent Pass.  The problem with this is that it makes it a very long day hike but you have very little elevation gain and a lot of elevation loss coming down Swiftcurrent Pass.  This is spectacular scenery and a lot of variety.  We saw both a bear and a moose in the Many Glacier Valley on the day we hiked.  If you go out the Loop Trail you will cut over three miles from your hike.  The other problem with taking Swiftcurrent Pass is you have to have two cars to shuttle between Many Glacier and St. Mary’s (or take the Glacier Park in Shuttle from Many Glacier Motel).  For this reason most people will likely start at the Logan Pass Visitor Centre and take the Loop Trail out to the bus stop.  The Shuttle Buses run July and August so if you are hiking after Labour Day you might as well go out Swiftcurrent Pass.  The Shuttle Buses are amazing and I waited very little time for them at the bus exchange from West Glacier to East Glacier last Wednesday.  I think that our problem was that we hit the lunch hour and had to wait over an hour at the Logan Pass Information Centre to catch the St. Mary’s bus down to our car.

The hike took us about 4 ½ hours from the trail head of Swiftcurrent Pass to the Chalet.  We ate lunch and took our time.  I am sure the young and strong can do this trail in under 3 hours.  The loop the next day took us just under two hours.

We started our hike on a cold and rainy day.The weather got worse as the day went by.  The Swiftcurrent Pass was free of snow until ½ a mile from the summit at a place called devil’s elbow.  There was an ice bridge over the roaring little creek.  We crossed without incident but it is a little dangerous and a group coming out of the chalet decided not to risk it.  After Devil’s Elbow, the trail was predominately snow-covered to the Chalet. The trail is probably a week or two away from being snow free and one should be concerned about the ice bridge going at Devil's Elbow.  The Park Service is still recommending an ice axe(check).  We took our ice cleats, but John and I did not put them on until the after Devil’s Elbow.

The Chalet was great.  The manager Lars has been there for seven years and is a wealth of information.   Lars and his staff are great hosts and a welcome sight when the weather is bad.

As you can see the weather was better on the morning of the 27^th.

Keep Hiking, Lockey

 

Patience is not one of the virtues I possess, so I hate to be the one to say that the launch for Fantastic Four is going to be put off for a week, until Saturday, July 30th at Pearls. WPIR apologizes for any inconveniences. That said, there is another additional week for the snow to melt off some of the trails, which will mean safer and more enjoyable hikes for all!

It's finally summer in Waterton! It seems like I'm stating the obvious to say that, since it's July, but winter lasted well into May this year...Since moving to Waterton, one comes to realize that you really have to milk these beautiful sunny days for all they're worth and get outside. A lot of the hiking trails are finally open and getting the Parks seal of approval- no time like the present to enjoy a great hike. I know that this year I'm trying to fit in as many as possible and conquer as many trails as I can.

 I recently hiked with a friend to Goat Lake and while it was definitely not easy, with over an hour of climbing a steep incline, it was definitely worth it. (*SEE MY PICTURES BELOW OF OUR HIKE*) There was such a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains, many waterfalls and Goat Lake itself. My hiking buddy and I are both photo enthusiasts, so it was pretty exciting and we got very snap-happy (which possibly delayed things an additional hour...) There was a little bit of snow at the upper part of the trail, just before you reach the lake, which is why Parks isn't recommending the hike in their posted trail conditions. I think if you exercise extreme caution, you will be okay- a lot of the snow has melted over the last week or so, and it's pretty easy to go around. That said, this isn't really a hike for beginners, though the first hour along the Snowshoe Trail, up to Goat Lake's trailhead is very easy, as well as picturesque. It takes you through part of the subalpine region of Waterton.

 With impending trail conditions, the kickoff of the Triple Crown of Waterton and our newest hiking challenge, the Fantastic Four of Waterton have been pushed back until this weekend, on Saturday, July 23rd. As you can see in Lockey's recent post, Crypt Lake is do-able, but with exercised caution and going into things well-prepared. Parks still isn't recommending it, but if you're an experienced hiker, there are others like yourself out there on the trail right now.

 The Fantastic Four of Waterton-Glacier: the Peace Park Challenge, is a trek that takes you on 4 hikes: Waterton's 2 favourites, Crypt Lake and Alderson-Carthew, and Glacier's 2 most scenic hikes, the Garden Wall and Siyeh Pass. It's the first international challenge, half of which is done here in Waterton, and half of which is done in Montana's Glacier National Park. Together the 2 parks comprise the world's first international peace park. One of the really cool things, is that if you're like myself and you havn't done Triple Crown yet, you can count 2 of the hikes towards Fantastic Four, as well, 5 hikes in total (since A-C and Crypt are part of both.)When you trump all 4 hikes and get all 4 stamps on you Fantastic Four punch card, you get your name on the wall of fame in Pearls and the Experience Waterton website.

 Drop by Pearls Cafe this Saturday, the 23rd and check things out- it's totally free to sign up and receive your punch card. The launch party will be going on from 9 am until 5 pm. Even if you're not a hiker, drop by- it will be fun!

Happy hiking!

-Marie

There is a new forum on Experience Waterton
Check it out and come join us! www.experiencewaterton.com/forum
This is the place the discuss your Waterton adventures, talk about your favourite hikes, ask others about their visit to Waterton or just shoot the breeze about anything in general. 
Looking forward to meeting you there!
-Marie

Crypt Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park, July 9, 2011 - One leg of the Triple Crown of Waterton (see experiencewaterton.com) is finished for me.  On Saturday, July 9 my brother, sister-in-law, nephew and his friend, niece and husband and one of my best friends John Elford and his wife Dianna and I went to Crypt Lake.  

Apparently there was an accident a couple of weeks ago when a lady slid down a snow drift and seriously hurt herself on the hike to Crypt Lake.  Parks Canada has not been recommending the hike as a result of the accident.  I talked to Keith at Shoreline Cruises, the operators of the boats on Waterton Lake, to see if people were making it through.  Keith told me that their customers were making it to Crypt Lake all week.

We wanted to do at least one of the legs of the Triple Crown, and both the Alderson-Carthew Trail and Akimina Ridge are still impassable for normal hiking.  John and his son Shawn did the Alderson-Carthew Trail with back country tour skis almost two weeks ago and John thinks another week may see that trail passable.

We left the boat dock at 9:15 and the fast group Sarrived at Crypt lake at 11:45 (2 1/2 hours).  It was a beautiful day but windy.  When it is windy in Waterton I like to be in the backcountry.  The snow slides across the trail were a concern but no problem for us.  At least five groups followed us through and no one had any problems.  John, Trevor and I actually slid down the snow slopes on the descent (see pictures) which was great fun but wet.  It took us 2 hours once we left the lake to get down.

There was no snow in the tunnel or on the cliff. There was lots of snow after the cliff to get to the lake (usually only a 2-3 minute walk) but not a danger.  It was the usual great scenery and amazing hike.  It is widely rumored that Parks Canada at one time rated Crypt Lake the best hike in Canada.

If you have not done the Crypt Lake hike and want to get a glimpse of why this is so spectacular, see the pictures in my gallery.

Our next hike is Oldman Lake in the Two Medicine/St Mary’s area of Glacier National Park.

Keep Hiking - Lockey