Floe Lake Campground(320.1mi/515.1km)-Helmet Falls Campground(338mi/543.9)Daily Distance: 17.9mi/28.8kmCampsite Elevation: 5774ft/1760m
Elevation profile created by Zdenek on his 2014 GDT hike Thank you for allowing me to share these Zdenek!
Last night, there was a downpour for about an hour around 9pm. Fortunately, it wasn't windy, but it was cold out and it sounded like ice pellets at times. My tent was doing well except for the mist that flies in at random moments like it's always done where the mesh is. The problem I noticed was that the tent pad I was camped on was not very absorbent (rocks/mud) and puddles developed. A large one was at the foot of my tent and I could see the water rising up against the bathtub floor of my tent. I worried it might leak through and thought about getting out to dig a trench and divert the water. Then I noticed that I didn't have a pole to dig with because they were holding up my tent. I decided to stay warm and dry and figured it would just pool at the bottom if it did seep through somehow. I just moved everything from the foot of the tent and let it be. In the morning, all was good, except that when I rolled up my sleeping pad, there was a layer of water between the floor and my sleeping pad. I don't use a ground cloth and figure it was just the combo of the saturated ground and pressure of my pad that made it seep in. E has a separate pole for the back of her tent, so I found out this morning that she did get out dig a trench to divert the water and her tent faired well with a groundsheet.
We both slept in an were coincidentally ready to hike out at 7am. It was in the upper 30sF/3.3C and snow dusted the peaks around us from last night's rain. We hiked together for an hour or so before I cruised on down a long downhill. Before that, we had a climb up to Numa Pass and the morning views were great! We could look back and see where we camped at Floe Lake.
We also got our first look at what is called the Rockwall. We pretty much follow the sheer cliffside today and some of tomorrow. We rounded a corner and the sun was attempting to break through and there was a little bit of a rainbow. It showed up clearer in person, but you can slightly see it above my head and to the left a bit. I just loved the scene this morning with the lifting clouds.
After Tumbling Pass, it was back down into dense forest to Tumbling Creek Campground before it headed up to Wolverine and Rockwall Pass. It was raining steadily and I was beginning to think it was going to be a no lunch, all snack bars, kind of day when I came across an awesome dry spot under a tree in pine needles that wasn't muddy. Jackpot! I sat down and ate quick so I didn't get too cold. It was a rushed lunch, but I felt a lot better once I ate and the rain let up.
To distract myself from the discomfort of today, I listened to a lot of the Navigating Early audiobook and enjoy it. I can think of many kids that would enjoy it and it has many quality life lessons woven in there. A nice adventurous story with heart. The best part of the day was Wolverine and Rockwall Pass. Wide open relaxed hiking with great scenery. The rain even let up as I got to the end. Just a wonderful stretch.
From there, it was down, up, down to our campground at Helmet Falls, the second largest waterfall in Canada. Helmet Falls was visible and audible well before the trail even reached the campground. I did a side trail to see the falls closer and it was quite impressive. Again, one of those enormous things that can't be depicted in a photo.
As I was hiking from the side trail to the falls, dark skies returned and a steady rain fell. I was just a few minutes from the campground, but I knew the rain would pass and I didn't want to set up in the rain. I found a dry log under a protected tree and sat out the rain while I started blogging for the day. My fingers were barely functional because they were so cold. Waiting was a good and bad idea. I was dryer than I would have been had I gone straight to camp, but by the time I stood up to leave, I was shivering and quite chilled. I hiked over to the campground at 5pm, and right when I stopped at a spot, E arrived, smiley face poncho and all. She drew that on there in Banff. What a great idea! She loves that poncho and still uses the umbrella too.
All the sites are really crammed together here, so we found a spot a bit removed. It's right near a steam and is going to be just the white noise I need to sleep well. The sun came out just as we ate dinner and blue skies seem to be in order for tomorrow. Yay! Maybe it will be warm tomorrow! The food area was nicely placed within view of Helmet Falls. I was sooo cold during dinner that I almost couldn't keep dinner down. Now I'm wearing all my clothes and jackets except my rain pants (muddy) and long sleeved hiking shirt (too wet).
Speaking of too wet, my supposedly waterproof Delorme Inreach won't turn on tonight to send my tracking point and I don't know why. It's completely dead. My only guess is that water might have somehow gotten in it through the jack that is plugged, but used to charge it. That seems to be the only explanation. I'm hoping it magically works tomorrow! I'm pretty wiped out by the cold and might just go straight to sleep tonight. Maybe a short bit of shows if I can't sleep...