Lake O’Hara Alpine Circuit€™Hara-Alpine-Circuit.pdfon the ledge above the stream for a short...

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Lake O’Hara Alpine Circuit Full Circuit: Wiwaxy Gap – Huber Ledges – Yukness Ledges – All Souls’ Prospect – Grandview Prospect The Alpine Circuit at Lake O’Hara is boasted by many to be the most impressive day hike in the Canadian Rockies. The beauty of the Alpine Circuit is the opportunity it offers for hikers to complete it in small sections, linking as few or as many legs as their heart and lungs desire. Although the circuit can be hiked in either direction, here it is described clockwise.

Transcript of Lake O’Hara Alpine Circuit€™Hara-Alpine-Circuit.pdfon the ledge above the stream for a short...

Page 1: Lake O’Hara Alpine Circuit€™Hara-Alpine-Circuit.pdfon the ledge above the stream for a short distance before descending to the stream and crossing it. Yukness Ledges Alpine Route

LakeO’HaraAlpineCircuitFullCircuit:WiwaxyGap–HuberLedges–YuknessLedges–AllSouls’Prospect–GrandviewProspectTheAlpineCircuitatLakeO’HaraisboastedbymanytobethemostimpressivedayhikeintheCanadianRockies.ThebeautyoftheAlpineCircuitistheopportunityitoffersforhikerstocompleteitinsmallsections,linkingasfeworasmanylegsastheirheartandlungsdesire.Althoughthecircuitcanbehikedineitherdirection,hereitisdescribedclockwise.

Page 2: Lake O’Hara Alpine Circuit€™Hara-Alpine-Circuit.pdfon the ledge above the stream for a short distance before descending to the stream and crossing it. Yukness Ledges Alpine Route

Warning:Thealpineroutes,whilespectacular,arealsomuchmorechallenginganddifficultthanthelowertrails,andarerecommendedforexperiencedhikersonly.Theroutescrossrockyterrain,haveperiodic

exposuretoheights,andaresometimeshardtofollow.Somescramblinginvolvinghandsmayberequired.Hikingthesetrailsduringinclementconditionssuchasrain,snow,andsleetwillsignificantlyincreaseanychallenges.Blueandyellowpaintedtrailmarkersmarkthesetrails.

ExposureandsnowyconditionsonWiwaxyGap/HuberLedgesTrail.

Page 3: Lake O’Hara Alpine Circuit€™Hara-Alpine-Circuit.pdfon the ledge above the stream for a short distance before descending to the stream and crossing it. Yukness Ledges Alpine Route

WiwaxyGap

Hikingtime:1.5to2hoursLength:1.5kmElevationGain:495mThesteepgrindtoWiwaxy(wi-WAX-ee)Gapmayleaveyourheartpumping,butitwillalsoleaveyoureyespoppingatthestunningviews.Don’tforgettotaketheoccasionalmomenttoturnaroundandadmirethesights.Bekindtoyourkneesandhikeupthisroute,notdownit.ToaccessWiwaxyGapAlpineRoute,startattheWarden’sCabinontheLakeshoreTrail,andheadtotheleft(north)asyouarefacingthelake.Turnleft(northeast)atthetrailjunction0.2kmaftercrossingthebridgeovertheoutletstream.Aseriesofswitchbacksfindsyouquicklygainingelevationbeforetraversingthroughthetreesunderasmallcliff.Onceabovethecliff,youcomeacrossahugetree,whichisaperfectreststop.Theroutethenclimbsuptheslope,crossingacoupleofstreambedsbeforeeventuallybreakingoutontoaheather-andscree-coveredslopejustbelowthegap.Acouplemoreswitchbacksandyouwillarriveatyourdestination,withwonderfulviewsinalldirections.

Page 4: Lake O’Hara Alpine Circuit€™Hara-Alpine-Circuit.pdfon the ledge above the stream for a short distance before descending to the stream and crossing it. Yukness Ledges Alpine Route

HuberLedgesHikingtime:WiwaxyGaptoLakeOesa–50min.Length:1.7kmElevationLoss:260mThehikefromWiwaxyGaptoLakeOesaviaHuberLedgesAlpineRouteprovidesmoreastoundingviewsoftheincomparableLakeO’Haralandscape.Allfouralpinelakesinthehangingvalleyliebeneathyou.Mountaingoatscanoftenbespottedlazingonthegrass-coveredpatchesthatpeppertheslopesofMt.Huber.

AsyougazedownatLakeO’HarafromWiwaxyGap,headtotheleft(east)andfollowthesometimes-indistinctrouteasitslopesgraduallydowntowardLakeOesa.Keepyoureyespeeledforthealpineroutemarkersthatwillguideyou.Shortlybeforereachingthelake,youcometoajunction.Turnright(south)here,andabout100metreslater,youwilljointhetrailcomingupfromLakeO’Hara.Left(southeast)willtakeyoutotheshoreofLakeOesa.

AlpineRouteMarkers(orangeandredareold,blueandyellowarenew)

Page 5: Lake O’Hara Alpine Circuit€™Hara-Alpine-Circuit.pdfon the ledge above the stream for a short distance before descending to the stream and crossing it. Yukness Ledges Alpine Route

YuknessLedges

Hikingtime:LakeOesatoHungabeeLakeonOpabinPlateau:1.25to1.5hoursLength:2.2kmVerticalelevationgain:50mThisisarelativelyflatroute,gainingonly50verticalmetresaboveLakeOesabeforedescendingtoHungabeeLakeviaYukness(YUKE-ness)Ledges.However,don’tbelulledintoafalsesenseofsecurity,astheroutehasafairamountofexposureonceyoupasstheVictoriaLakeCut-off.Thereafter,YuknessLedgesofferspellbindinganduninterruptedviewsacrosstoMountOdarayandbeyondDuchesnayBasin.FromLakeOesa,followthetrailtotheright(south),acrosstheopenslabsthatformtheshorelineofLakeOesauntilyougettothelake’soutletstream.Walktotheright(west)ontheledgeabovethestreamforashortdistancebeforedescendingtothestreamandcrossingit.YuknessLedgesAlpineRoutebeginshere.TherouteheadsstraightacrossthelowerscreeslopesofYuknessPeakandcontinuesacrossaseriesoflargeslabsbeforeenteringalandscapepunctuatedbybrokenboulders.Besuretofollowtherouteasittakesaquickright(north)anddescendsforashortdistance.Manypeoplehavegottenofftrackhere,mistakenlygoingstraightand

Page 6: Lake O’Hara Alpine Circuit€™Hara-Alpine-Circuit.pdfon the ledge above the stream for a short distance before descending to the stream and crossing it. Yukness Ledges Alpine Route

findingthemselvesperchedonaledgehighabovetheroute,tryingtofigureouthowtorejoinit.YousoonreachthejunctionwithVictoriaLakeCut-off.YuknessLedgesrouteturnsleft(west)here.Continuingstraight(north)offersashortcutbacktoVictoriaLakeanddowntoLakeO’Hara.TheroutemeandersalongarockybenchoverlookingYuknessLakebeforetraversingashortscreeslope.Youthendescendforashortdistancebeforeregainingelevationandroundingacornertoheadsouth.TheroutecontinuesintheshadowofalargecliffbeforeenteringatalusslopeandfinallydescendingtoHungabeeLakeonOpabinPlateau.TocontinueontheAlpineCircuit,crossOpabinPlateautoWestOpabinTrail,thencontinueonAllSouls’ProspectAlpineRoute.

AllSoul’sProspectHikingtime:WestOpabinTrailtoAllSoul’sProspect–45minutesto1hour,AllSouls’ProspecttoSchafferLake–30to60minutesLength:2kmfromWestOpabinTrailtoSchafferLakeElevationgain:245m

AllSoul’sProspectAlpineRoutestartsataclearlymarkedjunctionwithWestOpabinTrail,crossingasmallstreambeforeclimbingthroughaseriesoflargerocksandsmallcliffs.Afterlevelingoff,theroutemeandersbesideaseriesoflargerockslabscriss-crossedbytheflowingwaterofanearbystream.TommyLink,anearlyvisitortotheareawhohelpedconstructmanyofthetrails,calledthisplacethe“HangingGardensofBabylon”forthelittleoutcroppingsofplantsandmossthatgrowbesidethestream.TheroutethenrisesontothelowerscreeslopesofMountSchaffer,continuingtowhatseemslikethetopoftheworld-AllSouls’Prospect.TodescendfromAllSouls’toSchafferLake,youmustheadnorthwesterlyofftheprospect:asyoufaceLakeO’Hara,theroutedescendsslightlytotheleft.Donotheaddownthegully,whichisfarthertoyourleft.Theroutebecomesobviousonceyoubegintodescend.WhenyoureachthejunctionwithBigLarchesTrail,thecircuitcontinuestotheleft(southwest)towardSchafferLakeandLakeMcArthur.(Thetrailtotheright(northeast)leadsdownBigLarchesTrailtotheDayShelter.)

Page 7: Lake O’Hara Alpine Circuit€™Hara-Alpine-Circuit.pdfon the ledge above the stream for a short distance before descending to the stream and crossing it. Yukness Ledges Alpine Route

OdarayHighlinetoOdarayGrandviewProspect

Hikingtime:McArthurPasstoOdarayGrandviewProspect:1to1.25hoursLength:2.5kmfromMcArthurPassElevationgain:315mfromMcArthurPassTogettoMcArthurPass,seetraildescriptionunderLakeMcArthurviaSchafferLake.

InordertolimitdisturbancetothewildlifethatusetheMcArthurPassareaasamovementcorridor,ParksCanadarestrictsthenumberofhikingpartiesthattraveltheOdarayHighlineAlpineRoute.Checkthesign-inbookatMcArthurPasstoassesswhetheryourgroupshouldcontinueornot.Pleaserespecttheserestrictionssothatfuturevisitorscanusethisarea.

AlthoughtheobjectiveofthistripisusuallyGrandviewProspect,thehikealongOdarayHighlinehasitsownspectacularrewards.Slopescarpetedwithmountainheatherandalpineflowersmakethistriptrulyunique.OdarayHighlineAlpineRouteleavesthekioskatMcArthurPassandmeandersalongsideanalpinemeadowbeforebrieflyenteringtheforestandemergingintoadrawatthebaseofMountOdaray.

Page 8: Lake O’Hara Alpine Circuit€™Hara-Alpine-Circuit.pdfon the ledge above the stream for a short distance before descending to the stream and crossing it. Yukness Ledges Alpine Route

ContinuealongOdarayHighlineuntilyoureachitsterminus,indicatedbythetrailclosuresigns.Turnleft(west)upthehillontoOdarayGrandviewProspectroute.Youwillsoonreachthebaseofacliff.Continuetoascendbesidethecliff,whereyouworkyourwaythroughaseriesofrockstepsbeforeemergingontoabroadplateau.Fromhere,the270-degreeviewtakesinalmostallofLakeO’Hara’snumerouslakes.


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