Saturday, September 27, 2008

Border Crossing

What did you do today? Oh...we went for a little hike...we started out in Alberta and somewhere along the way took a turn and ended up in British Columbia! Both R and I displaying our patriotism today in our dress, our main goal was actually to border cross and where ever else we ended up or what ever else we saw would be an added bonus. The total distance trekked today amounted to 24 kilometers and we are not exactly sure of the elevation gain. I need a new toy, a GPS! We do know the Elk Pass Trail took us to the Great Divide Trail where part of it is the Alberta/British Columbia border. The Great Divide Trail separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from the river systems that drain into the Atlantic. I found this bit of geographical trivia to be interesting and to be able to say we actually stood on the divide!At the border crossing we followed a sign to Fox Lake. It was a very narrow, closed in, quiet, secluded, treed trail that led us to an open marshy area surrounding this little colorful lake. It was shortly after noon, so a good place to dine. We settled down on a log in the middle of the marsh where we could find a drier spot. We had the emerald lake in front of us and a view ahead that we thought could possibly be another destination for today. It looked far off!
But R and I do far off very well! This next destination was part of the few words of advice we received. It would be 3.5 km to Frozen Lake and this is where we made significant elevation, with parts of the trail being straight up. At times we were bent over leaning to the ground to maintain our balance and almost in a crawl-like posture to make progress up the side. At the end of the hard part the colorful larch trees spread apart and presented us with a most beautiful turquoise Frozen Lake at the base of Mount Fox. Mount Fox was named by John Palliser for a member of the Royal Geographic Society in the 1800's. The sun shone at times on the water to make it look sparkly and crystally! What a feast! Not only did we experience a feast for our eyes, what is a hike without a coke and two bite brownies!

Today I took a tumble and many stumbles. I came away with scratches and scrapes and a bent pole and without my camelbak sipper and pole baskets. I have no idea when along the route they went missing! We came away with the experience of a new adventure along a new trail, with a sense of peace and serenity never seeing another single soul during the whole six hours and thirty minutes. How often do you get to stand in two provinces at a split second in time! We did today! With only a map and R’s map reading skills and her great sense of direction, with a few words of advice, we were able to unbury a hidden treasure!

3 comments:

  1. Another excellent adventure! What a privilege to be able to go out and explore in such solitude. I don't think you can go longer than about six minutes around here, without seeing somebody!

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  2. It looks fantastic out there! I love the pictures. I want to be able to be in two provinces at once!

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  3. Now this is what I call COOL!!! You were in 2 provinces at the same time!!!!!!! This is totally awesome! What a great hike, 24K is pretty intense!!

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