The Band is back together, sort of.
Day 4 August 2, 2025, Magog CG to Marvel Lake CG, distance 28 km, elevation gain 244 m, elevation loss 628 m, 7 hrs.
With this being our last day in presences of Mt Assiniboine I got out of the tent early to capture some last photos of the iconic mountain. Unlike the clear day yesterday morning the rain overnight left cooler temperatures and Magog Lake covered in a thick blanket of fog which made for some interesting photos.
During breakfast I got to chatting with a younger couple who offered me some freshly ground and pressed coffee. How could I refuse? While they were just being nice they said their reason was that they were hiking out and brought too much coffee and where trying to lighten their load. We got to talking and I soon discovered the guy was making a career in computer science similar to my stepson who had just graduated with a degree in computer science. I go a whole lot of intel on the industry plus some insight into working in France that the young man had done and was the goal of my stepson. One of the things the guy said was that no one does lunch like the French. You do not sit at your desk and eat while continuing to work but gather to eat and share food and stories and lunch take at least an hour.
I headed back to camp just after 8 am to pack up and get ready to leave.
We hit the trail at 8:50 am and for the most part marched in pretty tight formation up to and past the Lodge at Mt Assiniboine.
Both the lodge and the Naiset Huts were surprisingly quiet as we passed by. Our plan for this day was pretty simple. Once over Wonder Pass we would take a side trail which would provide an excellent view of Lake Gloria, a real hidden jewel of the Rockies. We would then follow the trail down along Marvel Lake towards the campgrounds that dot the area. Bent, Spencer and I would stop Marvel Lake Campground while Ken, Neil and Chris would continue onto to Big Springs Campground. I view the two campgrounds very differently. Marvel Lake Campground is 1 km from the lake and is just someplace to set up a tent and sleep. Conversely I really like Big Springs Campground. It is wide open with a lovely creek running through the centre of it and a really friendly vibe. Unfortunately there are only 5 tent pads at Big Springs and when booking I was unable to secure enough sites so booked at Marvel Lake CG instead. I did keep an eye on the Parks Canada Booking website for openings at Big Springs but none ever showed up. So while the band was back together, the reunion would be short lived as we would be staying at different campgrounds.
It took us 1 hr 25 minutes to hike the 5.1 km to Wonder Pass rising a gentle 205 m in the process. With the rest of the day being downhill we hung out at the pass for about 20 minutes snacking and taking in the view it is after all called Wonder Pass.
As we made our way to the lookout I received a little good-natured flack about the length of the trail and if we were in fact even going the correct way. I was vocally confident in the direction but was a little surprised how far the viewpoint was down the trail. I had been to the lookout only once before with Micah back in 2019 when we completed a three loop through the Mt Assinboine area with our retired sleddog Volcano.
We caught up with Neil on the main trail and stopped for a snack on a grassy ridge just before the trail descended into the forest.
We made good time through the switchback in the trees. We had one interruption when we allowed a group with a happy golden retriever to pass by with all the prerequisite pats on the head for being such a good back country doggo.
After breaking out of the trees and crossing a drainage the slope we ran into a group of three hikers having lunch on the side of the trail. After a short discussion with the group we headed off down the trail. The trail sideslopes it way along the north bank of Marvel Lake slowing losing altitude as it pops into and out of the trees as we crossed a multitude of streams and avalanche paths.
As we made our way along Marvel Lake like always I was contantly taking photos of the lake when I noticed what I thought was smoke. There is a trail that passes by the west end of the lake and I was thinking maybe someone was camping in the area and was having a fire. When I pointed it out to the guys it was agreed that the smoke was coming from the top of the tree. After some discussion we all agree it was indeed a fire. Bent then used his Garmin to text Laura back home to call Parks Canada to alert them to the possibility of a fire at the west end of Marvel Lake. Bent who had worked his life in forestry described the fire as a “snag” in his text to Laura. From the US National Parks Service the definition of the word snag is “A standing dead tree or part of a dead tree from which at least the smaller branches have fallen.” It was at times hard to see the smoke. Bent said that it was a probably a lightening strike and there was a possibility it would burn itself out.
Bent and I were felling a little restless with the starting and stopping of the hike and were both looking for an opportunity to stretch our legs. Bent because he is super fit with long legs and me because I was finally feeling back to normal after my over salting. Ken and the guys loved the story and the group had begun to call me Salty…….
On arriving at the access to Marvel Lake a hiker is met with a view of a beat up shack and an old boat. Above is a comparison of the scene at Marvel lake on my two trips there in 2019 and in 2025. What strikes me as odd is the shack/storage unit and boat that are stacked by the shore that do not appeared to be in use but that Parks Canada have not cleared away.
It took Bent and I two hours 15 minutes to hike from our snack spot to Marvel Lake arriving at 2:45 pm. Bent and I spent a few minutes looking around for a spot that would allow us to sit as a group and view the lake. The best spot ended up being on a log right as we arrived at the lake.
As we were sitting enjoying our extended break a helicopter came by. Bent and Neil and possibly Chris all piped up with identification of the type of helicopter. What was clear by the very deep thumping sound the blades gave off was that it was not a tourist helicopter. The helicopter speed off over the lake towards the west end. We figured it was reconnaissance flight sent in response to our text to Laura about the fire.
We set off for our final destinations at 4 pm after a very extended break. For Bent, Spencer and I it was only about a 15 minutes hike to our campground where we would say goodbye to Ken, Neil and Chris as they headed off to Big Springs CG about 4 km further down the trail.
Bent, Spencer and I had a longish day coming up so we were planning on leaving camp earlier than the other group who were ending their trip and heading out to Mt Shark. Ken’s wife Katherine had agreed to not only pick up the other group but hike out with a resupply for us. We agreed to stop by their campsite at Big Springs CG to say good bye before moving on to our resupply with Katherine and then continuing onto to our random camp just past Palliser Pass.
It took a little while to select a camping pad. It does appear that Parks Canada has done some work at Marvel Lake CG since my list visit as a number, but not all, of the campsites have new tent pads with a wood chip base. Spencer and I were also looking for a campsite that would allow us to set up my tarp as the weather to the east was very unsettled.
Spencer and I had a great deal of difficulty setting up my tent. I think the set up on the platform at Lake Magog CG must have stretched the tent somehow. Spencer had and I had no trouble setting up the tent on our first night on the trail at Og Lake CG. Because of how awkward the set up was I texted Laura through my SPOT X device and asked if she could give the free standing kit that came with my Duplex to Katherine to bring with our resupply tomorrow morning. I figured having the free standing kit would make set up easier and it did.
The rain came down pretty steady and the ground quickly saturated. Spencer and I headed over for dinner but had a little trouble finding Bent. The eating area at Marvel Lake CG is out in the open and there is no way to shelter the table from the rain. Bent had spent a good deal of his working life outdoors in the forests of Vancouver Island and was used to staying dry in the rain. We found Bent sitting under a cluster of trees just getting starting on making dinner completely protected from the rain by thick canopy overhead. Spencer and I joined Bent and while it was not perfect it was very comfortable chilling out under the trees. We had a most enjoyable dinner but sadly there are no photos of our little dining room.
Walking around the campground we saw only two other groups but once it started raining no one else appeared from their tents.
As we were sliding into our sleeping bags I got quite the surprise when I took my socks off. I had a massive red spot on lower left leg. What was interesting was that it looked very red and inflamed but it did not itch or hurt in any way. I put some polysporin on the spot and covered in some medical tape and forgot about it. I had it checked out at the hospital after a couple of weeks and the doctor just said it may have been a spider bite and they were seeing more people with aliments similar to mine recently. I will never know what it was really but it took over two months to fade away,
Day 5 – Mountain Magic Group Hike 2025
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