We spent three days hiking in the Bugaboos … CMH has about ten lodges … Three are used for both skiing and hiking trips. The others are strictly ski lodges. Choice of a specific lodge occurs when you make your reservations. We met a couple people who had been on 6+ hiking trips and been to all the lodges.
Our first day’s hike was the shortest due to our travel in from Calgary. We were in the mountains for about three hours, and the walk was up-and-down, on a path that connected a series of lakes. A couple qualifications: First, there aren’t really established “trails.” Walking usually means taking the best and most accessible route, usually over heather or slate. The heather is soft and more pleasant on your feet. It reminded me of the vegetation in Alaska that grows in the tundra … spongy and pretty thick. The slate lies where water runs off the mountain. We were given waterproof parkas and rain pants in case a thunder storm rolled in …We were lucky and these clothes remained in our packs. The scenery was terrific and the hike was not too arduous. CMH asks for feedback about how hard you want to push yourself. They had four categories of difficulty. Mrs Bear and a younger generation couple signed up for the second group, while the other five of us opted for the third option. We were at about 6,000 feet elevation and I didn’t really notice the effect of the altitude … This was because the General pace of the walking was slow, with more emphasis placed on not losing your footing or spraining an ankle. I used two walking sticks, and almost everyone used at least one.
On the second morning, I had an association to a song by Peter Mayer, called “Yukon Sally.” The song is about a hiker named Yukon Sally who loves to spend time climbing into the mountains. She has a friend named Helicopter Joe, who transports tourists to the top of the cliffs for a quick photo to show they were really there, before loading them back up for another photo stop at the seashore in the afternoon. Joe constantly asks Sally to let him fly her up, because he sees mountain climbing as an”silly waste of time.” Sally smiles and simply says that she’d rather climb. I found Peter Mayer as an opening act for a Pierce Pettit concert, heard this song, and bought the CD at the show. My two daughters love the song, and see it as evidence of the superiority of women … But I admit that there is a part of me that feels guilty about taking the easy way up the slope!!! On the other hand, I realize this is the only way I would ever spend time in this majestic place and we were going for a multitude of photos. Anyway, I tried to figure out a way to download Peter’s tune, but my computer skills aren’t good enough … So, do yourself a favor and search Google for “Yukon Sally, by Peter Mayer.” If you are enjoying this entry, I am sure you will love the song and may even buy it !!
Day Two started around 10:00 … We went up the mountain with packed lunches and snacks, and lots of water. The basic plan is to hike the morning, stop for a lunch break, and hike a couple more hours into the afternoon. The helicopter pilot was part maniac and part artist. While buying him a beer that evening, he mentioned that he could park his copter better than he can park his truck … there were times when it seemed that we were cowering four feet from when the skids hit the ground … and at those distances, the rotor wash is even more intense. Anyway, we also had the option of being taken back to the lodge midday … a couple hiking in our group took that option.
It’s hard to tell from the photos above, but our second day started at a higher elevation, and seemed to be continuous hiking downhill. This is great in that going uphill presents endurance problems. But hiking downhill is much tougher on the legs !! Our guide asked us how much longer we wanted to go at about 1:30. I waited, and when no one ventured an opinion, I said “ a half hour.” At that point, I was aware that my knees were getting really tired … I was reminded of how I felt at about the same time when skiing … And sure enough, I had 30 minutes left in me. The problem was that our guide kept us out for 60 minutes. Just like a tired skier, I began to rely on balancing more and more with my poles, and finally leaned too far back and fell backwards on my butt. This happened again five minutes later, and I realized I had nothing left … in ski terms, I stayed out a couple runs too long, and just like skiing, I had to get myself down the rest of the slope. It was a torture, but everyone helped as much as they could. Getting off the copter, they called a 4×4 to drive me to the lodge.
We woke up to a third hiking day with more haze from the Canadian wildfires, which had been absent until a wind direction change brought the smoke our way. But, as the pictures above attest, it’s still spectacular.
This is the view from the back of the lodge. Today’s hiking dropped us off on the other side of the granite spires you see above … getting off the copter, we were face-to-face with Mount Bugaboo:
My legs were still sore, but not dead … and luckily, our first hike was gradually uphill, following a stream with occasional steeper sections as we bypassed waterfalls. And having reached ourselves goal of a beautiful meadow at the top of a waterfall, we didn’t hike back down. Instead, the copter picked us up and deposited our group for a little glacier hiking.
Walking on the ice was less difficult than most would think … There is a grit that the shoe tread bites into nicely, and my knees were happy. The harder part was standing in one spot while being informed of glacier formation and age. We were eventually picked up and I opted to call it a day, rather than hiking another ridge line … my legs were screaming 30 minutes !!
You might have been wondering what Mrs Bear was doing while my knees were surviving … the answer is “Via Ferrata,” which in Italian means “Iron Road.” This option is given once in your trip length, and from what I was told, involves climbing and traversing mountain sections using built-in hand and foot holds. Mrs Bear told me I wasn’t flexible enough as a teenager to climb this steepness:
That’s my wife, whom I try to stay up with, but there are some places I won’t follow.
And she has enough energy to wave at the photographer!! After their conquering of the Iron Road, there was not a lot talk about enjoyment, but lots of chest beating about accomplishment.
One more photo to end … what a perfect weather vane for this special lodge. The hummingbirds loved it as well.
The Adventures of Barry Brink 
Spectacular scenery.