A Wet Walk in the Woods

We walked the Earl Grey Trail from September 9 - 13th. It was pretty wet, although we didn't have a downpour of rain at any time. With the mornings so cool, even on the one morning when we didn't get rain, the bushes and grasses were so wet, we were all drenched within 5 minutes. This year the trail had been "brushed" and according to my friend Gerald it won't get done again for another decade. I'd hate to try it "unbrushed". The trail was challenging, but I generally had myself psyched for something worse. There were one or two fairly difficult hours of hiking, but overall, the trail was in good shape and easy to find. The avalanche slopes would be really tough to do if not brushed out, especially when wet!

We found the campsites in the West Kootenay to be really nice and had more facilities than we expected (like a toilet and a circle of stones and a few planks for sitting). On the "east" side of the trail there wasn't much at any campsite. However, that day, our rainiest, we created our own campsite in a patch of pretty dry woods not too far from a stream.

The biggest disappointment of the trip was not seeing the big peaks at Earl Grey Pass. We had glimpses of them from time to time, but not the big picture. I definitely plan to return by going to the pass via Toby Creek in the East Kootenays (17.5 km to the top of the pass). The greatest achievement, for me, was feeling pretty strong throughout the trip, and not getting depressed by the inclement weather. I even managed to cross a few wet logs, carrying my pack, by Day 5! The first 3 days are largely a "walk in the woods" and the old growth forest is magnificent. It's a worthwhile trek - at least once!