Grizzly Col Celebration July 1, 2018

Almost two weeks prior we knew some kind of something would occur on July 1, 2018 in honour of Canada's 151st birthday.  As the days went on brainstorming sessions took place and from that a plan evolved.  We would begin our day at the south end below Highwood Ridge, aim up valley then up hill to Grizzly Col where we would savour a potluck lunch Canada Day celebration.   A loop would be incorporated by ascending to Grizzly Ridge and hiking south along it back then descend down to our starting point.  A celebratory Canada Day potluck dinner would be enjoyed by a fire at a near by day use area.  

That was our plan!

We began at the cairn and headed into the woods following a trail here and there, with a little route finding here and there.  Our route involved one very easy creek crossing.  We worked our way through the forest, through meadows of flowers, then we popped out into the open with views galore.  

We admired the ponds and tarns as we passed by them.  

The ascent was gradual over grassy slopes at times. 

Other times we were traversing rocky slopes.

We were then afforded grand views.  

Upon our arrival at Grizzly Col, the sky turned blue and the sun came out.  Pocaterra Ridge was the greenest of greens.  We felt grateful that we would be having our celebration in quite nice conditions.

our potluck celebration setup

We settled in and began to dine.  The views were awesome, the food delicious, that paired with fun friends and sometimes crazy conversation filled with laughter made our lunch break enjoyable.  THEN.....everything took a turn for the worse.  It turned black then turned just as quick to a whiteout, the wind packed a wallop, food started to fly, words were spoken and we hastily set into safety mode.  There was no time for group photos but Malcolm captured this tell tale photo of us donning every single piece of clothing in our backpacks.  

After packing up, we layered up then descended as quick as was safely possible.  It snowed, it poured, it sleeted, it ?!?!?!!!  

We traversed a few steep snow slopes then aimed for Pocaterra Cirque.  It was one big massive snow field that was easy to slide down through and hike across.  By now it was spitting, it warmed up a tad too.  We reached a clear section then delayered.  I went down to two from my five layers.

 hiking over the snow field by Pocaterra Tarn

How lucky for us!  We watched Mom and her three babies from a safe distance.  At first she did see us and watched us for a minute.  We carried on but kept looking up.  It was the most beautiful sight.  

 My Gosh this melted my heart!  

Their dinner time!

When we were scurrying off Grizzly Col we already made the decision we would need to walk back along the highway to our starting point which was approximately 7 kms south of the Highwood Pass parking lot.  It was safety first which meant no ridge walking to complete our planned loop.  We would still have our loop though.

It was pouring the heaviest wettest rain for the first couple of kilometers of our walk.  We played hitchhiker yet deep down inside we hoped someone would take pity on us.  We saw blue ahead and a bit of drying out began but not near enough.

Maybe a flick of my pigtails might help but no luck.  Then along came JR in his truck! He was our knight in his shining white pickup truck.  A few minutes prior he passed us.  I noticed because I thought oh his back is covered he won't stop.  Then he came back and over to our side of the road.  He offered my friend a drive to his vehicle.  He explained he saw us this morning getting ready to hike.  He  passed us heading north on his way to hike Rae Lake.   Then when he saw us walking and saw the vehicle a few kms down the road, he knew what he needed to do.  Thank you JR, your true Canadian spirit shone bright for us today!  

And so our day continues!  We made a stop at a parking lot to change into dry clothes and then decide  what to do about our Canada Day dinner celebration.  By now, the rain stopped, the sun was out, it warmed up.  We drove to Wedge Pond and the best picnic site was available.  We took it over, spread out and made our selves at home.  We had a little champagne to toast our day and then lounged around waiting for the stove to heat up and the fire to get hot.

a little bit of work

enjoying our dinner celebration

We lingered long over dinner, going back for seconds even.  Feeling full we cleaned up and then relaxed by the fire.  The evening was turning into night.  It was hard to make the move to get up out of the chair but it was time to.

I took a stroll down by Wedge Pond.

We knew some kind of something would occur on July 1, 2018 in honour of Canada's 151st birthday. While our best laid plan did not fully come to fruition, we saved our day and turned that some kind of something into a fun day full of sharing in celebration.   Thank you for this day!

That was our day!