Healy & Simpson Passes July 5, 2020

What season is it in the rocky mountains of Banff National Park?  It's definitely glacier lily season and it feels like summer yet looks like winter in areas! I love his time of year up at Healy Pass so we made that our main destination then tacked on the loop around Simpson Pass and a scoot out in the direction of Eohippus Lake.  We came away at the end of the day with a feeling of fulfillment after covering 25.3kms and 867m of gain. 

This summer the main parking lot is closed so an additional few minutes of hiking is needed to get to the trailhead from the dirt lot further back on the road.  It was fine for the start of our day but after covering many kilometres hiking throughout the day, this section on the way back felt not so fine.

We were very early on the trail and made good time along the forested section that was very wet with mud in many places.  Continuous conversation made covering this portion fly by.  When we exited the forest then crossed the bridge, we knew we arrived at prime time of the season for glacier lilies.

The glacier lilies carpeted the ground for as far as the eye could see.  

From here we could also see The Monarch and The Monarch Ramparts.  

In the wide open section, the trail was clear of snow and ice and it was dry.  

view of the lilies and the Ramparts 

view as we hiked our way towards Healy Pass

Just before Healy Pass we could see off to The Monarch and The Ramparts and lakes below.

We made it to Healy Pass which was snow covered.

This was our early lunch time view towards Pharaoh Peaks plus Egypt and Scarab Lakes.  

Our day was aligning quite nicely so we confirmed the Simpson Pass Loop was a definite to do.  The trail was very wet and muddy in places and in other places was an actual little running river.  There are numerous lakes and we invested time at each one.

We came to the detour that leads off towards Eohippus Lake which is in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park.  The trail is outside of the closed protected area so we strolled along for a couple of kilometres just to see some different sights.  This is one of the lakes on the way to Eohippus and we opted to make this our turn around point.

We descended down to Simpson Pass and here I expressed my love for Alberta!

We enjoyed the last of the views of mountains and glacier lilies then entered the forest for the final six, plus a little, kilometres back to the parking lot.  A quick snack before doing so gave us the fuel needed to now get this job done.

It is important to know where you can go and where is off limits.

We hopped in our vehicles and aimed for the highway to home. I am not quite enjoying the solo driving all the time especially after long hikes but you do what you need to do and what gets me through this is a cup of coffee while gearing down then rolling down the window and turning the tunes on for the drive.   I arrived home feeling fulfilled with a soothed soul and ready to face a little more of this summer's reality.

It is taking a bit of work but I am finding ways to.....