June 27 – Bear’s Hump Trail

First I had to get a picture of the amazing very old original Winnebago RV. It looks in great shape. I wonder how old it is.

The Bear’s Hump is a round point partway up the mountain that looms over the town. This is the view from the cruise the other day.

The trail climbs 225 meters or 738 vertical feet in 1.2 km, which makes for a very steep trail mostly made up of very tall stone steps. I did this one by myself as Jennie would not have been a fan of the steepness, the tall steps or the cliff edge at the top. This also means no wildflower pictures as I just motored up, mostly head down breathing very heavily.

You really had to pick your window to do anything today. It was very windy and rained rather hard all night and this morning. The forecast said it was going to clear around noon and amazingly it was. Then just as I was leaving it started to sprinkle again but it never amounted to much. I had mostly clear skies during the climb, my time at the top and most of the way back down. At the top I could see more rain coming so headed down and made 2/3 of the way before it started. I did bring a raincoat so it was not terrible. By the time I got back to the RV it was sunny again. Then during the mandatory nap it poured again. Then sunny and repeat.

Here is the sign board at the start showing the trail.

Up I go, with the target high above me on the left.

When the trail is wider than the steps, as above, I always avoid the steps. It seems easier on the knees.

Looking down on the hotel.

The end is in sight.

It is a pretty great view. You can see the rain down the lake.

Wider.

widest

And of course a photosphere.

It was extra windy here with it blowing up the cliff edge. It was tough and a bit scary to stand near the edge as you really had to brace yourself. I saw only a family with 4 very young kids climbing up and warned them to be very careful. The winds could easily knock a young child over.

For some reason you are not allowed to climb higher.

Off to the west I could see the rain and the wind was blowing it right towards us so I decided that it was time to exit stage right.

Still sunny part way down.

Then not so much.

I’m glad I had the rain jacket.

A photosphere from on the way down. No more long distance views.

And back at the parking lot.

The view up when I started.

And ended.

And then once I was back at the RV it had cleared up.

As I said, the rain and sun cycle has continued for the rest of the day.

As so ends this trip. It could also possibly be our last trip in the RV. Sigh!

Tomorrow we start the 5 day drive back to our cottage.

The blog will resume when we head to Iceland for 3 week on Aug 25.

June 26 – Lower Bertha Falls

When we got up it looked rather cloudy and grey. The forecast called for a band of showers to pass through around 9 so we had a leisurely breakfast and waited. When they never showed up we headed out.

The trail to Lower Bertha Falls starts just outside the campground. It was a 6.3 km round trip from home with a 180 m gain in elevation. The trail climbs diagonally in a straight line up the mountain behind the campground.

It is moderately steep to begin with then turns into a gentle climb to an open viewpoint down the lake. Then the trail turns inland along the side of a valley created by a stream from Bertha Lake. There is not much climbing along this section as the waterfall is just above the viewpoint in elevation and as we head in we are waiting for the stream to rise up to us.

As you can see this mountain was affected by the fire. While the fire was good for the forest and probably bad for tourism, it was great for views from the trail as there were no trees to block them.

We had a bit of every weather today. Starting out cloudy, then a bit of sun, then full sun and back to cloudy after we got back. The light rain finally came around dinner time. We were kind of glad it was a bit cloudy because the trail was very exposed and when it got sunny it got hot.

Right at the start there were some trees.

Then very wide open.

A photosphere.

Prepare for another onslaught of wildflower pictures as this open slope faces east and was just covered in them.

Lets start with some fauna. I am just amazed at the detail the phone camera can capture in these closeups.

This reminded me that yesterday’s trail around Cameron Lake was the first and only time we have encountered mosquitoes or any other annoying flying insect.

The view point was a great place to see down the lake.

The photosphere.

On the way back it was much sunnier.

From here we turn inland up the valley towards the falls.

Lots of huge twisted burned trees.

The stream is almost up to our level.

We thought this rock looked like a petrified stump.

Just before the main falls there is a smaller one.

and a photosphere.

I know we have posted these before but they are so interesting and look different at the various stages of bloom.

And at the falls.

and blurred.

I climbed up a bit for a closer view

And a photosphere.

Back we go,

Jennie likes to study the rocks, which around here are all sedimentary. The area used to be at the bottom of a massive lake covering most of the west and middle continent.

So many interesting textures.

Looking down on the town of Waterton.

It’s amazing how small it is considering about half of it, all the area closest to us, is the campground. Just 50 people spend the winter here.

Can you spot our little red car next to our home.

And then down to home.

The guy on the cruise yesterday had mentioned a place that had great ribs and brisket, which Jennie is a sucker for, so we went and grabbed some takeout. It was OK but not great and the portions of the side dishes were tiny, especially considering the big prices.

But what is amazing is how empty downtown was.

This is the main tourist street, always closed to traffic, at 2 pm on a Wednesday afternoon. I guess everyone is on the boats or hiking.

We really enjoyed that hike.