Yoho – Iceline Trail (Canadian Rockies 5/5)

Complete series:

Intro

Yoho National Park is located in the British Columbia side of the Canadian Rockies. While much smaller in size compared to its siblings Banff and Jasper, it offers equally stunning views of glaciers, alpine lakes, and especially a high concentration of waterfalls with a less crowded atmosphere (although still very popular during peak season).

The Iceline Trail via Little Yoho is my last hike of the trip, and it is a signature circuit hike along the Iceline ridge with close-up views of glaciers and alpine lakes, followed by a pleasant descend traversing through meadows in Little Yoho and various waterfalls. With 20km in length and 1090m in elevation gain, this hike is moderately strenuous.

The Start

The drive to Yoho is pleasant with the mountains illuminated by the morning sun, I happened to also follow a (very long) freight train for a while as it emerged in and out of the woods, I never saw either end of it.

The hike then started near Takakkaw Falls, which is an impressive waterfall in its own right.

Almost the entire climb of the hike is done within the first 4 miles, with the first 2.5 miles being the most strenuous under the tree line. During the climb, the view of Takakkaw Falls provides a good reference in appreciating the scale of nature, as it gradually diminishes into a thin stream, although the sound is still audible even at a great distance.

Iceline

The path as I emerged out of the treeline took me through some rocky terrain and eventually reaching the glaciers to my left (West). The trail never climbs up into the glaciers, but instead traverses around the mountain which provides excellent views of at least 3 different glaciers at close proximity, as well as others at a distance. This provided the most concentrated and close-up glaciers views from my entire trip, and the glaciers are still sizeable even at the peak of summer. The color and texture contrast with the rugged rocks and cloudless sky offered a dramatic scenery.

Alpine Lakes

It would not be a complete glacier tour, without the alpine lakes, which resulted from glacier melt carrying minerals of varying types and color reflection properties. As the hike is mostly protected from wind and unpredictable weather, the lakes and provide excellent and peaceful resting spots for lunch and photo opportunities, while adding contrast against the rugged alpine terrain and distant lush forest.

Little Yoho

After traversing the Iceline, the hike descends through lush treeline forest into Little Yoho, a peaceful meadow towered by a glacier, and adjacent to the Little Yoho river. A warden station and a lodge are also constructed here, presumably making it a popular stop for campers.

The Return

Like many hikes I’ve done on this trip, the final section of this hike also traverses down through dense treeline. However, Yoho is unique for its many waterfalls and resulting creeks and rivers, and although I didn’t not visit them all, this provided a fun background soundtrack from the varying types of water flow. Of the waterfalls I did visit, the most remarkable would be Laughing Fall, the name of which I assume comes from the sonorous sound its voluminous water flow creates.

The final section brings me back to where I started, and provides view of Takakkaw Falls at a different angle and now under full sun, wrapping up the entire hike.

Bonus: lichen-eating and sunbathing marmot minding its own business #LifeGoal

Finale

The Iceline hike also concludes my trip across the Canadian Rockies (for this time).

Despite my best effort in journalling the trip via words and images, such expression pales in comparison with the physical and emotional awe that nature brought to my body and spirit with all of its beauty and magnitude.

It was, however, unrealistic of me to have expected (at least subconsciously) some sort of deep revelation/awakening/spiritual cleansing out of just a few short days in nature. But being confronted by the scale of nature and reality, nevertheless reconfirmed the insignificance of daily strife and discord in our times, that are often the sources of stress for many like myself.

Much of nature remain to be discovered, and I look forward to more frequent and regular sojourns. To quote Whitman:

After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, love, and so on—
Have found that none of these finally satisfy—
What remains? Nature remains.