Egypt Lake Family Hike 2025 – Day 1

Up and over a pass to a famous lake.

Day 1 August 10, 2025, Sunshine Village Parking Lot to Egypt Lake CG, distance 13.1 km, elevation gain 709 m, elevation loss 373 m, 4 hrs 53 min.

Day 1 Speed and Elevation Profile. Our speed dropped as we approached Healy Pass, guessing it got a little steeper.

Frosty and Margaux ready to go. Since this hike we now both have lightweight titanium coffee cups. The coffee mug hanging on my backpack has served us well but is quite heavy for its size.

In the parking lot at Sunshine Village. Everyone has their backpacks on and are ready to rock.

We left the parking lot just before 10:15 am. The day was beautiful and sunny and the following two days were foretasted to be the same. A stark contrast to the previous year when rain had us cancel our trip.

Due to the heavy used in the Sunshine Meadows area there are tight restrictions on exploring off trail. Simply put this is place where you stay on the trail.

Margaux is a blur as she charges down the trail.

The first section of the trail up to Healy Creek CG rises steadily but gently gaining 300 m in 6 km. The elevation profile shows that the trail kicks up after the campground rising 360 m up to Healy pass in just 3 km. We had a little stop in at Healy Creek CG to use the biffy and have a snack before tacking the hike to the pass.

Nice little campground. I have only stayed here once on a Friday night after work with Micah in 2016 on an aborted trip to Egypt Lake, it was forecasted to snow heavily overnight so we opted not to continue to Egypt Lake and just do an extended day hike on the Saturday. The weather forecast was indeed correct and we were very happy to have done a little hike but avoided waking up in a snow drift.

Laura looking pleased. Margaux looks a little warm.

The trail up to Healy Pass is always very busy and this day was no exception. There were small crowds of people heading up to the pass and already heading back to the car. We saw one other group of backpackers heading to Egypt Lake.

Laura and Margaux pause on a small bridge while a large group head down from the pass.

Trying to get Margaux to pose for a photo is not an easy task and usually ends in failure.

The trail contours nicely up to the Healy Pass. A group coming down warned us of a wasp nest off to the side of the trail that we were able to avoid.

The views are opening up and that is one Happy Hiker.

The colours are still vibrant but we may have missed the best of the flower season.

On a clear day you can see Mt Assinboine from Healy Pass but not today.

Our first view of the Egypt Lake area. The rounded brown peak to the right of center is Pharaoh Peak (2713 m) and the low rounded peak to the left of centre is The Spinx (2513 m). Scarab Lake is nestled nicely at centre below Scarab Peak (2918 m)

It was almost 2 pm as we arrived at Healy Pass. We only stopped for a brief look around before heading down the trail to Egypt Lake Campground. We had recently done a day hike to Healy Pass so on this day we were more focused on getting to the campground than lingering at the pass. It had taken us 3 hrs 45 min to hike the 9.7 km up to Healy pass while gaining 710 m of elevation and having a quick stop at Healy Creek CG.

Laura all smiles as we head down the trail to the campground. The trail quickly enters into the trees and while it nicely maintained the trail is quite unremarkable.

Laura on the final approach to the campground.

Where the Egypt Lake Shelter once stood. I really do not believe That Parks Canada has any intention of rebuilding it. I have contacted Parks Canada for an update on the project and have posted their response below.

The response from Parks Canada:

Hello/Bonjour Ian,

Thank you for contacting Parks Canada.

Major repairs have been identified for the Egypt Lake backcountry shelter. Parks Canada continues to work towards accessible designs, upgraded structures, and an improved visitor experience. Due to the scope of the project, the remote location and weather challenges, project timeframes remain fluid. Construction may be visible in the Egypt Lake area over the coming seasons. Unfortunately, there is no current set date for completion.

We hope this information proves helpful. Should you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us again. Please note: you can also reach the Parks Canada National Information Service toll-free at 1-888-773-8888 in North America or 819-420-9486 for international callers. We are open 7 days/week from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST.

With regards,

To summarize, nothing is happening, nothing is planned. My prediction is that there will be no replacement of the Egypt Lake Shelter.

We arrived at the campground at 3 pm. It had only been one hour since we had left Healy Pass. There were some tents already set up but we had lots of choices for spots. We ended up choosing the same camping pad that Volcano I had used back in 2019. The camping pad provided an unobstructive view of Pharaoh Peak.

Setting up the tent can be a little messy.

Looks like the same view as we had back in 2019.

Margaux having a quick snack before we head off to Talc Lake.

We stopped by the food storage to grab dinner before heading off to Talc Lake where we hoped to have dinner lakeside. There is a trail to Talc Lake but it is indistinct and the hiking was slow going. After half an hour I did some quick math on our predicted arrival time was going to be much later than we had planned making the decision easy to turn around and to head back to the campround. It had looked like a fun little adventure to head to Talc Lake but the late hour that we started at and the the condition of the trail just did not leave us enough time. Since we had dinner with us we headed straight back to the eating area.

The little adventure to Talc Lake also served as a reminder that hiking apps are not always accurate. The Gaia App that I used clearly showed a trail heading to Talc Lake from right behind our tent. We followed the trail which lead us down to a creek and promptly disappeared. It was a good reminder that apps are not to be trusted 100%. I need to and should always cross check trails with a second source, preferably a written guide. The Talc Lake trail is in the “Classic Hikes of the Canadian Rockies” guidebook and I had taken a photo of the route which included the trail we ultimately followed.

There is signage to Talc Lake. It is an official trail.

Our route in green. We were still a long way from Talc Lake.

Laura making her way along the Talc Lake Trail.

There were some intriguingly coloured rocks in Pharaoh Creek.

There is a trail but it was wet and soggy in places and it was getting late so we bailed and had dinner back at camp.

Our typical first meal when backpacking, fried rice with sausages always hits the spot. We upgraded our old plastic sporks for long handled titanium spoons. The spoons are such a big improvement when eating from bags.

A little wine with dinner is always a nice touch. These wine glasses were a great purchase back when we first started backpacking.

Apple Crumble for desert. It was very tasty.

After dinner we took the quick walk out to Egypt Lake. It is just a short walk from the campground and was a good way to stretch the legs after a good meal.

Good Parks Canada signage. Parks Canada has moved away from putting up distances on their signs.

Egypt Lake. The clouds made the scene a little moody.

Trying to figure out if Margaux is impressed by the view. Margaux definitely prefers streams to lakes.

Laura taking in her first view of Egypt Lake. She has her bug hat on but has lifted it up for a better view. I do not think the bugs were much of an issue on this trip

This is part of Egypt Lake but it is a little cove away from the main body of water.

As we wandered back to camp night started to fall signalling it was time to head to bed. The plan tomorrow was to day hike up to Whistling Pass and check out the Scarab Lake. I was looking forward to do some sightseeing without having to tear down and carry the tent.

Margaux wearing her fleece jacket. I was expecting a nice evening but it could still get fairly cool out overnight and the fleece just prevents Margaux from getting chilly.

Happy campers. It make not be the Chateau Lake Louise but we have made it pretty comfy.

Day 2 Egypt Lake Family Hike 2025

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