Day hiking passes and lakes.
Day 2 August 11, 2025, day hike to Whistling Pass and Scarab Lake, distance 9 km, elevation 470 m, 6 hrs.
Neither Laura or I have difficulty getting up early and it goes without saying that Margaux is always ready to go. Breakfast on our family trips always takes a little longer than when I am solo camping since we cook a hot meal.
For breakfast we have quick cook oatmeal with dried fruit, bananas, blueberries and some raisins, added to provide some flavour and a bit of magic. It is always a treat to get a partially rehydrated banana chip in a spoonful of oatmeal. The banana chip just has a way of elevating the mouthful of oatmeal into a whole new culinary experience. Once the oatmeal and morning coffee are finished it would then be time to do the dishes. Before heading back to camp from the eating area we grab our lunch and snacks as the plan is to spend the majority of the day out of camp.
The trail is flat as it leaves the campground but just 10 minutes into the hike the trail takes a hard turn to climb the headwall forming the cliffs above Egypt Lake. To mount the headwall we had to climb 230 m in about 1.4 km. Luckily for hikers the trail makers planned the route up the head wall carefully and incorporated a number of switchbacks keeping the grade to a steady grunt. It would lake us about 30 minutes to make our way up to the top of the headwall which is signalled by a short drop through a debri field populated by marmots. The marmots really got Margaux’s attention and there was a bit of leash tugging to pull Margaux away from her new friends.
As we left the marmots behind we climbed a little cliff and entered a larch forest. This would be an amazing place to see larches in the fall but would be a bit long for a day trip. The trail contours around Pharaoh Peak then begins to climb up Whistling Pass.
Looking at Laura the day was already pretty warm and there was very little shade heading up to Whistling Pass. I was very alert for marmots during the climb expecting Margaux to try and go after them but despite the name of the pass we did not come across any marmots on the way up.
Haiduk Lake was named after the nearby peak of the same name and its exact naming history is somewhat uncertain. The peak and the lake may be named for the Haiduk district, Hungary, or the village of Haiduk, Romania. The name was noted by the Alberta British Columbia Boundary Commission Survey in 1913 and officially approved in 1928. The name stands out in contrast to the Egyptian theme of the local area.
After spending a few minutes taking in the views from Whistling Pass we turned around and headed for our second destination Scarab Lake. On our way to Scarab Lake I made a suggestion for a little detour up Pharaoh Peak to gain some elevation to get a better view of the valley.
We made a little dash up the approach to Pharaoh Peak we had passed by earlier. We made no attempt to hike all the way up just high enough to gain a view of the highest lake of the three Mummy Lake. Our little hike gained us over 80 m of elevation and got us high enough to be able to see Mummy Lake on the cliffs above Scarab Lake.
We spent about 10 minutes on our elevated perch above the valley before heading down and continuing our hike to Scarab Lake where we were planning to have lunch.
The three lakes, Mummy – Scarab – Egypt form what is known as a cirque staircase. A cirque is a glacial created depression typically at the base of a cliff, deeper on the side closest to the headwall becoming shallower as the glacier would have moved away. Sort of like an upside down baseball cap with the brim being the part furthest from the headwall. A glacier would have first carved out Mummy Lake before dropping over the cliff in the above photo and digging out Scarab Lake. A 90 degree turn by the glacier was necessary due to the position of Whistling Pass and Pharaoh Peak allowing the glacier to drop over the last cliff a form the basin that would become Egypt Lake.
It took us about 35 minutes to walk from our perch down to the waters edge at Scarab Lake.
Located in the area locally known as the Egyptian Connection, Scarab Lake was named for the sacred beetle of ancient Egypt because the outline of the lake resembles a beetle.
We followed the outlet stream for Scarab Lake to where it dropped over the edge of the cliff. We contemplated heading up to Mummy Lake that we had only really been able to catch a brief glimpse of. Talking to a family coming down from Mummy Lake they said simply that Mummy Lake was not worth the effort. Apparently the lake is rimmed by rocky rubble leaving not direct access to the lake. After deciding to pass on Mummy Lake we started out trek back to the main trail to then head back to our campsite. It was about 2:15 pm we had been gone from camp for 5 hrs.
We made our way back to camp. I remember going down the headwall we stood aside to allow an uphill hiker room to get by and the guy had a go pro type camera strapped to his chest on a little gimble. My guess was that he was hiking the Great Divide Trail and the camera was to collect video footage for a vlog.
In the above photo Laura has her bug net on and there is a can of OFF on the table. After this trip we invested in a Thermacell Mosquito repellent kit and we thought it worked really well using for both trailer camping and backpacking.
After dinner we tidied up our table and headed down to the creek to wash our pot, cutlery and glasses and collected water for tomorrows hike back to the car. On our family backcountry trips we use pills to purify our water. I know some people complain about the taste but I have never noticed the taste.
Day 3 Egypt Lake Family Hike 2025