Bugs, Wasps, Hornets, Snow, Lakes, Mountains, Teats n' Cheeks!
This weekends hike was to Cream Lake by the Bedwell Lake Trail. I have mixed feelings about this hike. It is beautiful but there are very few campsites and it's a bit touristy. Baby Bedwell Lake is the first campsite. There are 8 camp spots here. At Bedwell Lake, there are 10. These are first come first serve but each pad can hold 2 or 3 tents if necessary, if you're travelling with a party. If you get to the site and everything is full, you are allowed to set up for one night but must ensure you practice Leave No Trace principles.
You are allowed to camp randomly once past Little Jim Lake but that area is still covered in snow, there's no bear cache or toilet and you'd have to find somewhere with accessible water.
I got off work an hour early on Friday, grabbed some dinner and drove straight to the South end of Buttle Lake, as if going to Myra Falls. After crossing the lake, there is a one lane logging road to the left, Jim Mitchell Lake Rd. The road is rumoured to have had improvements recently. If that is the case, people driving this road in two wheel drive have already started to carve out plenty of big potholes. The road is in poor shape at parts. Some people made it up in a Mazda 3 and older Toyota Tercel but I would not recommend it. There's no cell reception for hours if you break down or bottom out and you're going to make the road worse.
There was some people parked and getting packed up as I arrived. One guy was couldn't eat all his pizza so he offered it to me. After refusing it because I had already eaten, the other couple took it. Only after he handed the pizza off did he tell them it was Hawaiian pizza. I feel that's something you should tell someone before giving them the pizza! Gross!!
Bedwell Lake Trail started out almost like any other hike through the Strathcona alpine. There's a metal suspension bridge close to the beginning and a well crafted trail switchbacks up the valley. Wooden steps and boardwalks are dug into the ground where needed.
About 30 minutes into the trail I ran into a group of 4 of 5 ladies. They informed me that their friend Betty was celebrating her 70th birthday today. They were almost back to the trailhead from a dayhike to Cream Lake and back! Good for you Betty!! We chatted briefly and they asked me how far I was going. I assured them I was going all the way!
All the dayhikers I ran into thought there was room at both campsites so I shouldn't have to worry too much but there were also people who were starting after me. I just had to keep up the pace and make sure they didn't pass me!
Some of the inclines had wooden stairs to get you up some cliff sides but soon the green metal stairs started to appear. There are 237 of these metal stairs in total, some steeper than others. 47 are before Baby Bedwell and I don't think are as steep as the remaining ones between Baby Bedwell and Bedwell Lake.
These stairs are not great for dogs. If your dog is too small, their leg will go right through the hole. Even if your dog has monster paws and wont go through, the exposure in parts is real. You can zoom in on those stairs and see that some huge rock or tree must have fallen and bent part of the railings sideways. I saw one dog at Baby Bedwell and another that was almost at Cream Lake. I wouldn't risk taking my dog and wouldn't want to carry her up all those stairs!
I didn't waste any time exploring Baby Bedwell 4.7km into the hike. I took a couple pictures of the sign for reference later. There was a bright yellow sign, Caution Bear in Area!
The Bedwell campsite was only 2km away but there were 190 more stairs to climb and descend. It took me almost 45 minutes to there but I managed to get stung by a wasp a couple of times through my sock 15 minutes before getting there. I watched another attempt to sting me through my thick shoulder strap. There was a big pile of bear scat close to the campsite to remind you that there was still a bear in the area.
I arrived at Bedwell Lake Campground at 6.8km a little before 9pm, roughly 30 minutes to sunset but there were no tent pads left! One of the campers offered me some flat ground in front of their pad but I wanted to have a look around first. Besides, that flat spot was a slight hill!
I managed to find one of the last flat dry spots on a rock that overlooked much of the campsite. It was a pretty sweet score. One couple who I saw as I arrived in the parking lot showed up at sunset looking for a spot. They ended up setting up a tent in a still damp tarn for the night. The bugs were bad enough at my camp site!
Day 1 - 7.11km, 540m elevation gain. Bedwell Campsite elevation 927m.
After breakfast, I was the firstperson to start making their way to Cream Lake. It was a steady hike up some switchbacks into the exposed alpine. There was still snow just before Jim Lake at about 1200m elevation and ice still covered most of Little Jim. The trail goes around the North side of the lake for about 1km. Somewhere near the beginning a Bald-Faced Hornet showed up all pissed off. I ran a good portion of that lake over some sketchy terrain for the speed I was trying to go. It eventually stung me in the shoulder but I got a few pictures along the way at least!
At the East end of Little Jim, the terrain turned to snow and there was a large hill to walk up. After walking a bit on the snow I opened up my daypack and started to take out my micro-spikes. With a lot of my stuff laying all over the snow another pissed off hornet appeared. I grabbed my stuff and ran!! I ran to the base of the hill trying to hold on to all my stuff and swinging my hat like a lunatic. I hit the bastard and he disappears for a bit. I had enough time to put my micro-spikes on and zip up my belongings in my backpack before the hornet appeared again. I ran up that hill, a 230 foot elevation gain only to be stung in the leg at the top!
Now that I was up the hill, it was a pretty easy stroll the rest of the way. There was no escape from the sun and it was a great day out there surrounded by mountains and the snow. It was about a 3km walk through the snow to Cream lake. The views were stunning along the way and you can even see Della Falls from the shoulder of Mount Septimus, roughly 12km in. I think I found a path that would lead at least part way down the mountain side to Della Falls. It is more of a mountaineering route apparently but it may be worth exploring later! The other option is to canoe to across Great Central Lake to get to the trailhead from the other side.
I got to Cream Lake at the base of Mount Septimus around noon. One group got there just before me, passing me as I was taking pictures of Nine Peaks. I got a pretty good spot on the rocks and the view was great. Someone elses pictures of Cream Lake showed that it was still mostly frozen on Thursday and I wasn't sure how great it would look when I got there. Now, only a third or so of the lake was frozen and I couldn't have asked for better weather. Shirts and pants were coming off and people were jumping in!!
Not me of course. That water was still bloody cold!!
I had packed my stove with me and enjoyed a hot lunch with a view. I didn't have the place to myself but there was room enough for all! I stayed for several hours before making my way back to camp.
The sun had softened the snow making the return easier. I didn't use my microspikes at all on the way back. This was also the first time I brought my snowshoe poles and used one as a hiking pole on any hike. I'll only bring one next time but even having one took so much pressure off of my knees. I've never used them before, except when snowshoing, as I like having my hands free. Taking one may be a small sacrifice to make things easier on either knee!
Along the way, I picked up another pissed off hornet at the top of the hill where one got me on the way up. I'd bet it was the same one. As I lightly jogged down the hill I had passed a slower couple who had left the lake before I did. I guess I didn't pass by close enough because it was still circling me when I got to the bottom of the hill. It gave up shortly after and this time I enjoyed a slower pace to the other side of Little Jim.
I made it back to camp around 5pm, cooked dinner and then went down to the beach for a couple of hours. Got a little burned on my back, nothing terrible but a heavy pack the next day reminded me I should be more careful! Dinner was bug free because of a decent wind but they came back in force later on in the night.
I wasn't able to snag a tent pad as I was at Cream Lake enjoying the day. Even if I did, someone would have had to set up off pad as everything was full again so I stayed where I was a second night. More people had shown up were forced to set up somewhere without a pad.
Day 2 - 12.53km, 625m elevation gain. Highest elevation reached 1396m (Cream Lake 1259m)
It was a colder night, but I stayed warm but the tent fly was soaked when I woke up. My boots still hadn't dried from all the snow that they absorbed. My bag was a bit heavier because of it but my socks kept my feet dry at least. I cooked up some breakfast and ate while walking in a circle to avoid the bugs. I was packed up and on the way back home before 8am.
The stairs are easier going on the return trip but there are still stairs to climb no matter which way you are going. I stopped to take some pictures but after two nights, I wanted to get home.
I guess a lot of people had left from both campsites before me. I passed a 70ish year old man somewhere on the path, he mentioned something about me being the first male. We chatted for a bit and I didn't think anything of it.
Closer to the entrance, there was a group of about six women. There were three of them on each side of the trail taking a break and talking to each other. As I passed through them several of them exclaimed "A man!!!", one even raised there arms for me as I passed through the tunnel. It was a bit weird. Like Sir Galahad in the Holy Grail, thoughts of getting home to Tracey guided me like Sir Lancelot through that perilous danger!!
Two minutes after that encounter I was running downhill again to avoid being stung another time.
I left the trailhead a little before 11am and was home before 2.
Day 3 - 6.44km, 136m elevation gain.
If I was to do this again, I think I would prefer to do it while there is still some snow on the ground. Preferably a weekday. The views really were stunning but, it felt too touristy for me and like too much of a race to get a spot. I could do it as a day hike but then your time is extremely limited. May go back next year.
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