August 16 – 19, 2025
~ submitted by Wendy L & Julianna W
Plan A was Augerpoint Traverse over 4 days, but when the forecast changed to rain and at least one -2C night, 3 of our 6 dropped out. Our original plan was no longer viable, as the shuttle cost would be too high for 3 people. Julianna reached out to see if anyone still wanted to go into Strathcona for a few days so 3 of us headed in. Plan B morphed slightly into Plan C to avoid potential heavier rain on the last day.
Saturday morning we headed out past the Ranger Cabin to Kwai Lake. We set up, had lunch, and went for a stroll to the Cruikshank Canyon Lookout. We took a beautiful meandering route to Whiskey Meadows and around back to Kwai Lake. We had only light sprinkles of rain during our walkabout, in spite of the rolling dark clouds over Castlecrag, Albert Edward, and the ridge above us. It was cold at Kwai Lake, so we turned in as it was getting dark for an early night.
Sunday we headed down to the Plateau Trail and out to Johnston Lake, with a little side jaunt up to the bluffs and plateau above the lake on the way. We explored the area after we had set up, grazing on blueberries and black huckleberries and enjoyed old trails, tarns, and stories about the area. Dry skies during the day kept us smiling, and it was warmer than our first evening.
Sunday night brought us our first rain, but tarps gave us shelter and kept tents dry. Monday after breakfast we headed up the bluffs behind Johnston Lake, getting in some mandatory shwacking (is it technically shwacking if you’re following a route? 🤷♀️) while heading down to Ball Lake on a faint flagged/cairned trail. After a short break, we skirted the bluffs below Croteau eventually coming out near Lady Lake.
When we reached the meadow above Kooso Lake we had lunch, stashed our packs and headed up Mt. Elma. Not fantastic views of the mountains with cloud cover, but such a nice little ridge, and a great overview of the area we had covered so far on our wandering weekend. Back down the hill and packs back on we headed to Lake Helen McKenzie for the last night.
We got the most rain overnight Monday and Tuesday morning while we packed up, but by the time we hit Paradise Meadows it was mostly blue skies. Our return to the parking lot was perfectly timed, with another down pour shortly after we all started driving our separate ways.
Considering the forecast we started with, we were so grateful to end up with such great hiking and exploring weather. The three of us had some great laughs, shared some great stories, and had a lot of fun.
Stats:
Total distance: 36km
Total elevation gain: 1,235m