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Day 3 Rockwall North – To Paint Pots Parking Lot – Kootenay NP

Frosty and a couple of clowns getting ready to start the day.

Helmet Falls CG to Tumbling Creek CG, 11.1 km, 50 m Elevation Gain, 522 m Elevation Loss, 4 hrs 57 min.

Had a slightly more exciting evening than I had hoped. It rained around midnight and my tent sprung a small leak. Not sure how I noticed, but I had water coming in under my sleeping pad. I managed to mop up what water had appeared in the tent and moved to one side and pulled the tent floor up where the hole appeared to be and that stopped the leak. When I fixed the hole at home it was so small I could not see it. I had to pour water into the tent and find where it was dripping to locate the hole. Even though the floor of the Zpacks is made of thicker material than the walls. This little incident made me nervous about my longer trip so I did order a Zpacks ground sheet, a weight penalty of 88 g! Despite the excitement I was up and out of the tent and down by Tumbling Creek at 6:50 am. I decided to have breakfast down by the creek as it is really just making some coffee as eat a 100 g of Logan Bread so no preparation required.

My morning kitchen.
The fruit of my labour, a hot coffee.

After spending some quality time alone by the creek I headed back to the tent to pack up and noticed that during the night the ladies had moved tent spots. Guess they had some water issues of their own.

Seems to be some impromptu canal digging.

Ken and Neil got to work on their breakfast about 8:30 am. I made myself another coffee and decided to have a snack, a lunch wrap, since it was going to be a short day and I thought we would be back at the car by lunch.

Getting their breakfast ready. My second cup of coffee is heating up on the seat beside Neil.
Coffee and a snack. If second breakfast is good for hobbits its good for me.

We were off on the trail at 9:46 am the first obstacle of the day came quickly as we had a awkward creek crossing. The creek bed was down a steep slope onto a wet wobbly log. Being in my customary place as the caboose I was entertained by watching Neil and Ken cross the creek. There were no wet feet in the crossing.

Leaving the campground after a couple hundred metres we came to a bridge crossing. The bridge takes you to the south side of the river and links up with the trail heading west to Tumbling pass or going east (as we did) back to the parking lots at the Paint Pots. The bridge has been build with what appears to be a judicious amount of room between the walking surface and the creek. Despite the height of the bridge there is obvious signs of impact to the extent that the handrail upstream has a serious dent in it.

Bridge over Tumbling Creek
The peaceful meander upstream creek passes under the bridge and gets funneled into a tumbling mass of foam.
That was some serious impact!
This is on the south side of the bridge at, Left sign is heading south to Floe Lake, the right hand sign heads north back the way we came or heading east following Tumbling Creek back to Paint Pots.. I like how you can get to Helmet/Ochre Junction CG either way, its 20.9 km via Helmet Falls, or 6.5 if you continue to follow Tumbling Creek.

At the junction we headed east following Tumbling Creek. The narrow canyon the creek entered into after passing under the bridge led to a very tall water fall. We would lose 130 m over the next 0.9 km the trail then dropped a modest 180 m over the next 4.7 km.

Aptly named Tumbling Falls.

After viewing the underappreciated but still impressive Tumbling Falls, not even sure if that is an official name, continued on down the pleasantly graded trail. The hiking was uneventful for the most part but we did pass through some quite large piles of avalanche debris that Parks Canada had fortunately cut a path through.

We came across the remnants of an old house (-116.22359, 51.14809) complete with old rusty tins that probably once held food.

Ken pointing out some design flaws to Neil.
What you can see from the trail.

A few minutes after leaving the old house we came across one of many small stream crossings across somewhat rotted logs. Poles were very handy in keeping things steady as you crossed the somewhat unstable logs. The trail was very pleasant as it followed the creek down the valley. For the first time in a long time I had to wait while someone else took photos.

Not one of Parks Canada’s finest bridges.
Neil taking photos.

The trail cut through a large snowfield where again poles came in useful. A the creek passed over a small waterfall as the water carved a little canyon. The creek fell away from us for a little while. We dropped back down to the creek through a series of switchbacks and crossed a very new bridge to the north side. It was just past 11:30 am and we decided to have a short break. We had been hiking for 1hr 45 min and had covered 4 km.

Crossing a snowfield.
A waterfall on Tumbling Creek.
The cracks in the dirt is the bank along the trail slowly falling into the creek.
Indian Paintbrushes.
We have to get down to the bridge.
This is a well made bridge.
Snack time.

We headed back down the trail after a 10 minute break. The trail went across a loose unvegetated slope. Did not want to slip here or it would be a rough ride into the creek. The trail cut back up into the forest where it was almost overgrown by the lush vegetation. After 5.5 km of going north-east the trail turned 90 degrees as the creek was deflected around a ridge coming down from Tumbling NES that extended almost due north. We then went down a steep slope dropping 95 m in just 0.4 km. This brought us to the confluence of Tumbling Creek and Ochre Creek. We had nice open views all around us. It was 12:30pm now it was time for a proper lunch. We only had 4.2 km to go mostly on trail we had already been on just 2 days ago.

Bit of an unstable side slope.
The vegetation is both thick and lush and is crowding the trail.
Lunch on a flood plain. Neil looks happy about the situation.

Lunch lasted a relaxing 30 minutes. We had some entertainment as there was a suspension bridge crossing over Ochre Creek. First a group of three, father and two adult daughters went across. We had met them on day two briefly. They hiked in a hurry and dad was having trouble keeping up. They piqued my interest at this point as there were some threatening skies and all three had ponchos on. Poncho is my primary piece of wet weather gear and always pleased to see others using this effective if inelegant piece of gear.

Ponchos on the bridge.

Then the three young ladies passed us by and went over the bridge. They were nearing the end of a successful trip and were quite full of enthusiasm as they went across the bridge.

Striding across.
Taking some time to enjoy the crossing.
Crossing with a sense of purpose.

We got going about 10 minutes after the entertainment had ended. Ken tried to provide a bit of his own entertainment by bounding on the bridge in an effort to set up a standing wave. It did not really work all that well. It was only about 400 m from the bridge to the junction with the Helmet Falls trail that we had hiked up on day 1.

Going across the bridge.
Back on the main trail. Pack covers ready.
Looking back up Tumbling Valley. The weather is a bit unsettled. We never did get any rain.

Back on familiar trail the pace picked up. Stopped to look for the pile of garbage I tidied up on Day 1. Could not find it anywhere along the trail. Figure someone must have picked it up. Next time I need to return to an exact spot I will use a feature of the Viewranger App and mark a Point of Interest (POI). In no time at all we were back at the Paint Pots. Even after three days of hiking we stopped to enjoy the geological feature which is fairly rare in the Canadian Rockies.

A short walk back over the boardwalk we came to the bridge over the Vermilion River and then we were back at the cars. It was 2:45 pm we had had a very relaxing 5 hr hike covering 11 km. Once back at the car there were refreshments and a salty bag of chips. Great way to end a fun three days along one of the best pieces of trail in the Canadian Rockies.

More balancing with poles.
Up and over the last bridge.

Rockwall North Home

bootwreckers

View looking West over the Tonto Platform from the View looking West over the Tonto Platform from the South Kaibab Trail.

This April will be our 10 year anniversary of our first trip to the Grand Canyon.

It is truly one of my happy places, have visited five times and camped below the rim three times.

Looking to get back sometime soon, but good things are worth the wait.

#nps, #nationalparks, #slotcanyon, #hiking, #hikingadventures, #familytime, #camping, #campingadventures, #outdoors, #outside, #nature,  #FIndyourpark #landscape #landscapephotography #optoutside #nationalpark #desertphotography #grandcanyon #grandcanyonnationalpark #grandcanyonassociation #100yearsofgrand #100yearsofbeauty #100yearsofgrandcanyon
Sunday morning sunrise! There are perks for getti Sunday morning sunrise!

There are perks for getting up early on a Sunday to go grocery shopping, and the mountain sunrises are one of them.

Shot off my phone from the parking in downtown Canmore.

#sunrise #sunrisephotography #sunrise_sunset_photogroup #earth #outside #outdoors #naturephotography #nature #naturelovers #sky #skyphotography #sky_brilliance
No doubt 2020 was a prickly year, and 2021 has sta No doubt 2020 was a prickly year, and 2021 has started out a little rough.

Just like hiking, if we keep going we will see beauty in amongst the prickles, but we need to stay on the trail.

Here's to good times ahead.

From our hike last year Emily hiking among the cactii towards the feature we affectionately named the Thumb, Passage 16 on the Arizona Trail

#teamzpacks #zpacks #zpacksduplex #aztassociation #aztrail #aztrails #hike #loveazt #desertphotography #desert #hikingadventures #hikes #backpacking #camping #getoutside #familytime #traillife #aztassociation , #hiking, #hikingadventures, #familytime, #camping, #campingadventures, #outdoors, #outside, #nature,  #FIndyourpark #landscape #landscapephotography #optoutside  #rightnow #goparks #aztrails #aztrail #loveazt  #azt #arizonatrailassociation
Looking at a fun trip last summer through Yoho NP Looking at a fun trip last summer through Yoho NP with @sio.mellors 

Lots of waterfalls to see in the park, Laughing Falls is a fun and loud falls right off the main trail located surprisingly, next to Laughing Falls CG.

We stopped by on our way to Twin Falls CG after spending the day hiking the Iceline Trail

Like this photo of Siobhan getting close to the falls for her own picture. 

#friends, #alberta, #parkscanada #backpacking, #yohonationalpark #yoho #friendsofyoho #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #mountains #naturephotography #travelcolumbiavalley #travelbcp #waterfall #waterfall #waterfallphotography #waterfallsofinstagram
Haiduk Lake, Banff NP. Haiduk Lake is just beyond Haiduk Lake, Banff NP.

Haiduk Lake is just beyond Whistling Pass as you hike from Egypt Lake to Balls Pass Junction.

Very pretty Lake. We were lucky enough to pass by early in the morning as we hiked from Egypt Lake to Floe Lake during our #gdt hike this summer.

#friends, #alberta, #parkscanada #rockwall #backpacking #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #mountains #naturephotography #alpine #lifeelevated #getoutside #lifeonthetrail #britishcolumbia #gdt #greatdividetrail
#kananaskis #kananaskiscountry
Chasing th Aurora on Friday night at Lake Minnewan Chasing th Aurora on Friday night at Lake Minnewanka in Banff NP.

Sadly it did not come right out to play,  but was obviously a lot of light coming from th North East.

Always fun to be outside in a dark place to see th glory of the night sky.

#outside, #hiking #camping, #backpacking,
#adventure, #adventureoutside, #nature, #landscapephotography, #nobaddays, #adventureholiday, #hikingadventures, #astrophotography, #milkyway #kootenaylife #kootenaynationalpark #nationalpark #nationalparks
#parkscanada #northernlights #aurora #auroras #auroramax
Hiking the GDT Day 1. I was almost completely sa Hiking the GDT Day 1. 

I was almost completely satisfied with or trip on the Great Divide Trail when on Day 1 we finished the uphill to Turbine Canyon and popped out of the woods and saw this amazing alpine vista.

I remember remarking to Emily "this is why I hike"

#friends, #alberta, #parkscanada #rockwall #backpacking #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #mountains #naturephotography #alpine #lifeelevated #getoutside #lifeonthetrail #britishcolumbia #gdt #greatdividetrail
#kananaskis #kananaskiscountry
Morning from Floe Lake with Floe Peak selection of Morning from Floe Lake with Floe Peak selection off the mirror smooth waters.

Another amazing morning hiking the GDT.

Never get tired of Floe Lake, was my third visit and just a year after my previous visit.

#friends, #alberta, #parkscanada #rockwall #backpacking, #kootenaynationalpark #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #mountains #naturephotography #travelcolumbiavalley #travelbcp #flowers #getoutside #lifeonthetrail #britishcolumbia #gdt #greatdividetrail #goldenhour #goldenhourphotography #mirrorphotography #lake
Golden hour! Morning sun shining off of Tumbling Golden hour!

Morning sun shining off of Tumbling Glacier and the Rockwall. 

Waking up at Tumbling Creek Campground during my Great Divide Hike this summer. 

#friends, #alberta, #parkscanada #rockwall #backpacking, #kootenaynationalpark #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #mountains #naturephotography #travelcolumbiavalley #travelbcp #flowers #getoutside #lifeonthetrail #britishcolumbia #gdt #greatdividetrail #goldenhour #goldenhourphotography
Flower Field, Tumbling Pass, Kootenay NP. From la Flower Field, Tumbling Pass, Kootenay NP.

From last summer's Great Divide Trail hike. At th top of Tumbling Pass on the Rockwall, treated to a visual feast of colour.

Awesome day, epic hike.

#friends, #alberta, #parkscanada #rockwall #backpacking, #kootenaynationalpark #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #mountains #naturephotography #travelcolumbiavalley #travelbcp #flowers #getoutside #lifeonthetrail #britishcolumbia #gdt #greatdividetrail
As we head into winter, a shot from last spring at As we head into winter, a shot from last spring at the end of winter. The snow was just clearing from the trails, and flowers poking through to greet the warmth.

Heading out over Rockwall Pass, Kootenay NP, with @kbsymington  and @neil.real.deal .

Had some snowfields to cross, good day out on th trail

#friends, #alberta, #parkscanada #rockwall #backpacking, #kootenaynationalpark #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #mountains #naturephotography #travelcolumbiavalley #travelbcp #flowers #getoutside #lifeonthetrail #britishcolumbia
Fun photo from Twin Falls Campground in Yoho Natio Fun photo from Twin Falls Campground in Yoho National Park.

As night fell I was able to take some long exposure shots of Twin Falls Creek as it tumbles through the campground.

Fun 3 day trip with @sio.mellors.

#friends, #alberta, #parkscanada #backpacking, #yohonationalpark #yoho #friendsofyoho #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #mountains #naturephotography #travelcolumbiavalley #travelbcp #waterfall #rainbow #spectrum #hikingadventures #longexposure #longexposurephotography #river
Top of Guinns Pass, Kananaskis Country 2016 Guinn Top of Guinns Pass, Kananaskis Country 2016

Guinns Pass connects the valley with Ribbon Lake and Ribbon Creek and the valley with Lillian Lake and Galetea Creek. Stunning views in all directions from the top of the pass.

There is also a scramble up the connecting ridge to the east up to Guinns Peak and onto Mt Kidd South.

Great two days hiking with @emilysjumpinginpuddles

#hikingwithdogs, #hiking, #hikingdogsofinstagram, #outside, #kananaskiscountry, #kananaskis, #spcacanmore, #spcarescue, #snowyowlsleddogtours, #snowyowldogsledtours, #retiredsleddog, #retiredhusky, #backpacking, #tongueouttuesday, #canmore, #canmorealberta, #adventure,
Larch season is coming to an end in the Rockies, b Larch season is coming to an end in the Rockies, but last weekend we were treated to quite a display near Taylor Lake in Banff NP

#outside, #outsidethebox, #liveoutdoors, #liveoutsidethebox #naturephotography, #naturelovers,  #retiredhusky, #rescuer
#parkscanada #banffnationalpark #banffalberta #banffcanada #larches #fall #autumn
Amazing sunset over Floe Lake. An early evening s Amazing sunset over Floe Lake.

An early evening storm and the setting sun shining up and reflecting off the clouds. Completely surreal. 

August 17th

Kootenay NP

Part of a 10 day hike along the Great Divide Trail, from Upper Kananaskis Lake to Field, BC

#outside, #outsidethebox, #liveoutdoors, #liveoutsidethebox #naturephotography, #naturelovers,  #retiredhusky, #rescuer
#parkscanada #banffnationalpark #banffalberta #banffcanada
#sunstar #sun #lake #sunrise #alpin #scenery #reflectionphotography #reflections #sceneryphotography
Well, my epic 15 day hike became a totally epic 10 Well, my epic 15 day hike became a totally epic 10 day adventure.

Lots of photos, but I will start with a picture of the adult wolf I saw just outside of Egypt Lake Campground.

I was luck to see probably the entire pack, 6 wolves, they were coming out of the woods and crossing the trail to Egypt Lake, and I just happened to be there with my camera.

#friends, #alberta, #parkscanada #rockwall #backpacking, #banffnationalpark #banffalberta 
 #egyptlake #wolf #wolves #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #mountains #naturephotography #wildwolf #wildwolves #gdt #greatdividetrail
Bathtub full of gear and Frosty Paws. Must mean ad Bathtub full of gear and Frosty Paws. Must mean adventure is near.

Leaving Tuesday for 15 days on the Great Divide Trail with daughter Emily. 

Hiking from Kananaskis Lakes to Saskatchewan River Crossing. 

1st stage is 7 days to Floe Lake, looking like th backpack will be around 45lbs, with tent, food and camera.

Should be a grand adventure.

#outside #liveoutsidethebox #naturephotography, #naturelovers,  #retiredhusky, 
#parkscanada #glaciernationalpark #bctourism #earthexperience
#sunrise #alpine #scenery #reflectionphotography #reflections #sceneryphotography #alpinelake #amazingearth #morningmotivation #travelcanada #explorerockies
#travelcanada #mountainstories #explorecanada #theearthoutdoors #paradisecanada #gdt #greatdividetrail
Amazing backpacking trip through Yoho NP with Volc Amazing backpacking trip through Yoho NP with Volcano (@senioradventurepups)

Volcano is turning 13 the first week of August but still crushed the 12km from Laughing Falls CG to view Twin Falls and back to the car via the connector.

Volcano not a big fan of water falls, or me sticking the camera in her face, her expression says it all. But Twin Falls is beautiful and I caught a small rainbow at the bottom.

Had a blast with her, she is always keen to go, jst not as far as before.

#friends, #alberta, #parkscanada #backpacking, #yohonationalpark #yoho #friendsofyoho #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #mountains #naturephotography #travelcolumbiavalley #travelbcp #waterfall #rainbow #spectrum #hikingadventures #hikingwithdogs #backpackingwithdogs #retiredhusky #retiredsleddog #alaskanhusky
Milky Way over Brachiopod Mt, Baker Lake, Banff NP Milky Way over Brachiopod Mt, Baker Lake, Banff NP. Super happy to get the reflections on stars in the lake.

Amazing trip to Baker Lake. The resident porcupine chewed a small hole in the fly.

Got up at 2am to take photos of the stars. On the way back, the porcupine was guarding my tent, had to gently shoo it away.

#outside, #outsidethebox, #liveoutdoors, #liveoutsidethebox #naturephotography, #naturelovers,  #retiredhusky, #rescuer
#parkscanada #banffnationalpark #banffalberta #banffcanada
#sunstar #sun #lake #sunrise #alpin #scenery #reflectionphotography #reflections #sceneryphotography
The light favours the early risers. The low angle The light favours the early risers.

The low angle morning rays from the sun makes a rainbow on Helmet Falls, Kootenay NP

#friends, #alberta, #parkscanada #rockwall #backpacking, #kootenaynationalpark #nationalpark, #nationalparks, #mountains #naturephotography #travelcolumbiavalley #travelbcp #waterfall #rainbow #spectrum #helmetfalls
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