Find apps that show updated times and other good tips. At 2:20, we finally started back, reaching the parking lot at 5:45. Floe Lake beneath Floe Peak To return back to the trailhead you follow the same route back, it takes quite a while so it’s a good idea to stop along the way. I was enchanted by the way little bits of ice sounded like wind chimes as the waves pushed them towards the shore. The first part of your morning will be spent hiking through the trees, and eventually climbs up and over Numa Pass, the highest point of the Rockwall trail. Leave your overnight gear at the campground and day hike up to Numa Pass either the day you arrive or the following morning, then hike back out to the trailhead. Begin your hike at the Floe Lake Trailhead right off the highway near the east side of the park. Many of the pads lie close to the shore. updates, images and resources. …. Numa Pass was our final pass on the Rockwall Trail and we could look back and see all the landmarks from the past few days. Floe Lake is one of the most photogenic lakes in the Rockies and the backpack to it and beyond to Numa Pass is one of the most colorful as wildflowers bloom in the summer and larch trees below the pass turn brilliantly gold in the fall. Our driving time from Canmore was approximately one hour, starting on the TransCanada Highway and then turning onto Highway 93 at Castle Junction. Mount Hungabee (left) and Deltaform. Trekking poles are a must for this one!Total hiking distance = 27.3 kmTotal elevation gain = 1338 meters (1028 net)Total hiking time = 10 hours 15 minutes (including 3 hours for lunch, snacks and photography). Floe Lake and The Rockwall. Kevin on a remnant patch of snow. When we pulled in at about 7:30 on a weekday morning, we noted about 30 vehicles in the parking lot, all but 3 with Alberta license plates. Take a look back at the valley, you've just been at the bottom of. Visitors 235. I would however love to see Floe Lake and the "classic" views of the peaks behind it. Numa Creek Trail, access via Numa Falls trailhead (Closed until further notice) Floe Creek Trail, access via Floe Lake trailhead; Recommended time of year to hike this trail: Mid-July to early October. Kevin at Numa Pass; Foster Peak to the left. Read More. 19 August 2012 Running to Healy Pass from Rock Isle Lake. Floe Lake and Numa Pass larches We did a weekend backpack trip to Floe Lake / Numa Pass this past weekend to wander among the larches without the crowds. It's been on my list on a while. From there, hikers can enjoy a day at the lake and hike back out. It turned out to be a tree that, after the second crack, fell over about 50 meters behind us, with a loud crash that sent up a cloud of dust and detritus! The trail to Floe Lake and Numa Pass is a well defined trail. Surprise Falls; Numa Pass. Pulsatilla Pass 2345m via Forty Mile Creek Trail and Mystic Lake Trail. After you've conquered the Numa Pass it's not too much further to Floe Lake. This was our first backcountry trip. If you need any back-packing gear, for your trial, Rent-A-Tent can fully outfit you. Habitat: Regenerating, post-burn forest. junction with Numa Pass and Tumbling Pass trails. Begin your hike at the Floe Lake Trailhead right off the highway near the east side of the park. This trail is well worn in and really worth heading up for the views, which a lot of people seemed to be doing before heading back the campsite to hike back out. Yes, a grind, made more challenging by three or four more missing sections of trail, like this one. Nope! Life Flows at Floe Lake I have owned my backpacking gear for 19 months now, all the while waiting and having faith that my stars would align and a right time would come when I could put it to use and experience a true backpacking adventure. Indulge your photography or painting while enjoying stunning landscapes with towering Vermilion Range peaks among golden alpine larches in early autumn or expansive wildflower meadows in mid-summer. Day 2 – Floe Lake to Numa Falls Parking Lot, 17 km, 279 m Elevation Gain, 955 m Elevation Loss, 6 hrs 45 min. 2. Floe Lake and Numa Pass backpacking trail Map Looking for an amazing hiking adventure? Thirty three years later, in 2010, I completed the hike with my 22 year old son. It would be easy to get bogged down on this stretch, taking all kinds of photographs, but we knew we were in for a long day and kept up a reasonable pace to the second bridge, which crosses Floe Creek. We physically prepared for … Numa Pass has really fantastic views, both down towards Floe Lake and further along the Rockwall Trail in the other direction. Then we were climbing through the forest, up multiple switchbacks. link Copy Link. Floe Lake & Numa Pass A moderate backpack along the southern end of the spectacular Rockwall Trail in the Canadian Rockies. This day was going to be longer, 17 km, but after a quick climb to Numa Pass, it was all downhill. Tagged: Kootenay Nat Park, Numa Mountain & Floe Lake., Numa Pass, Scramble Numa Mountain, The Rockwall, Tumbling Pass Resources Alpine Club of Canada Numa Mountain is only a short distance from Numa Pass. Hiking and Trail Running; 2012 Trail running Canada. Bench at the turn up to the avalanche slope to Numa Mt Day 3: Numa Creek Campground to Floe Lake. The Floe Lake trail parking lot is just off Highway 93 in Kootenay National Park, between Marble Canyon and Vermillion River Crossing. I hooked up with my friend who also wanted to see the larches in their prime. This is a good spot to pause and look back along the Floe Creek valley and really study how the wildfire affected (and is still affecting) the land. Here’s our … The lake itself is very scenic, but unless you are continuing to Numa Pass, I would not recommend this trail as a day trip. Thumbnails Info Categories & Keywords Category: Lifestyle and Recreation. Photo-oriented backpack to stunning scenic area on southern Rockwall trail in Kootenay NP. Hike the Floe Lake Trail 6.5 miles and 2,350 feet of elevation gain to Floe Lake camp. You may be able to save time by checking alternate border crossings. Eventually, I gave myself until 2 o’clock to reach the pass or turn around, knowing there was a long return hike to the parking lot ahead of us. Rockwall Pass and Tumbling Pass: Park at Paint Pots and hike in to Tumbling Creek Campground. A moderate backpack along the southern end of the spectacular Rockwall Trail in the Canadian Rockies. Home»Backpacking in the Rockies»Floe Lake and Numa Pass, Sept. 22-23, 2012. The Numa Falls parking lot is 2.5 miles (4 km) further north (4,595 ft / 1,400 m). Here’s our tent on the shore of Floe Lake, looking downright soaked and chilly: We ended up spending a lot of time in the tent, reading and playing Yahtzee: But when the rain / hail let up for a bit, we got out and explored around. If travelling south the ascent up to Numa Pass would have killed me as i was tired from the descent alone! After you've conquered the Numa Pass it's not too much further to Floe Lake. The switchbacks were a lot tougher this time around. Floe Lake Overnighter: Hike up to Floe Lake from the Floe Lake Trailhead. That made me a little uncomfortable for the rest of the downhike, especially where the trail goes through all those standing dead trees from the 2003 fire. Floe Lake Camp via Numa Pass Track . Hike up through a rejuvenated fire-ravaged forest to a scenic alpine lake Floe Peak reflecting in Floe Lake. The trail is primarily used for hiking and nature trips. Timed for golden larches. Description: A challenging day hike to a rocky, rugged pass providing access to the Shadow Lake and Egypt Lake regions of Banff National Park. The sight of Floe Lake will surely stop you in your tracks as the colour of the lake is unreal and the Rockwall that backs up against the lake is unlike anywhere else in the Canadian Rockies. Numa Creek Campground (#11) is less that 500 m to the left. Due to a forest fire along Numa Creek, the Rockwall Trail was closed north of Numa Pass. Photography at the bridge over Vermillion River was near impossible with the sun just rising over Hawk Ridge across the valley. Border crossing regulations are strict in both directions. Camping at Floe Lake provided a good opportunity to tag it. The Mountaineers®, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Trailhead: Floe Lake parking lot, 72 km east of Radium Hot Springs. Camps include outhouses or pit toilets, food hanging cables, and small tables. Trailhead: Floe Lake parking lot, 72 km east of Radium Hot Springs. Owner Log In. The wide open views across the valley are due to the 2003 wildfire. It looked to us like a winter of 2019-20 avalanche obliterated the previously well-established crossing, so it was fairly rough and ready for maybe 15 or 20 meters and then we were back on the boot-beaten track. ... British Columbia › Kootenay National Park › Floe Lake Camp via Numa Pass Track. Most itineraries describe it as a four to five day adventure, and recommend starting with the trail into Floe Lake. I guess I heard what I wanted to hear! Hiking to Numa Pass. You're one click away! I thought it might be a large animal, but Mr. GeoK spotted a hiker ahead of us and figured they were banging their hiking poles against a fallen tree or something. Yep, we sure appreciated the hiking poles, especially on the way down. Of note: Here I am looking a little fatigued, just before Mr GeoK pulled a chocolate chip cookie he’d stashed in his pack out to share with me – a little pick-me-up for the final push to the parking lot. Note: The higher sections of the trail are snowbound until early to mid-July. Kootenay National Park is celebrating its centennial with a “Kootenay Then and Now: Recreate the Photo” contest. Numa Pass; Down to Floe Lake. One of the things we did was to take a three-day backpacking trip to Floe Lake, in Kootenay National Park, British Columbia. The day starts with an early exit from the Floe Lake campground and an ascent to Numa Pass. Use this as a base camp for day hikes of 4-7+ miles and 1,100+ feet of elevation gain to Numa Pass and beyond. Roughly 2.5 hours (7 km) from the parking lot we came to a third bridge, this one less elaborate that the first two, and crossing a stream with no name, perhaps seasonal as it flows down the shoulder of Numa Mountain before joining Floe Creek. However, we intended to only go that far, just to enjoy the view. This is the toughest part of the trail to Floe Lake, gaining about 360 meters over 1.8 km. Rockwall Pass and Tumbling Pass: Park at Paint Pots and hike in to Tumbling Creek Campground. 😉. Surprise Falls. The trail starts flat for a few minutes before losing a bit of elevation in the approach to a bridge over Vermillion River. Total distance: 27 km Total elevation gain: 1000 m Trailhead to Floe Lake (one way): 10.7 km, 690 m Floe Lake to Numa Pass (one way): 2.7 km, 310 m View map Download GPS track This is a long dayhike or easy backpacking trip into prime larch territory. From BC-95 at Radium Hot Springs, turn east onto BC-93 and drive 45 miles (72 km) to the Floe Lake parking lot (4265 ft / 1,300 m). As we were again first on the track, bear bellowing was again Anne's job, her coo-ees echoing from cliff to cliff. Then things generally level out, traversing the sloping north side of the valley carved by Floe Creek. Inspiration. This is a moderate one way trail to Floe Lake Camp in Kootenay National Park. A long and rewarding day, the Floe Lake backcountry campground has got us thinking about giving backpacking a try. Begin your hike at the Floe Lake Trailhead right off the highway near the east side of the park. Be sure to fill your bottles at the bridge over Floe Creek at km 1.7, as there is … Floe Lake is a little known day hike in Kootenay National Park with an impressive rock wall surrounding the lake. DIFFICULT 5.3 mi. It's 13 miles round trip with 2,350 feet of elevation gain to Floe Lake camp or a 10-mile loop via Numa Creek. for all ages and levels in the Pacific Northwest. 4. Several unnamed peaks of The Rockwall. Elevation Gains to Top of Numa Pass: 755 m (2475 feet) Elevation Loss from Top of Numa Pass to Floe Lake: 250 m (825 feet) After spending the start of the morning in the trees, this day ends by going up and over Numa Pass, the highest point along the Rockwall Trail at 2355 m (7725 feet). They were in full bloom in mid-July. Healy Pass - Elbow Lake/Rickert's Pass/Mist Ridge - Sunshine Meadows - Nigel Pass - Rockwall Trail - Citadel Pass - Lake Minnewanka - Ha Ling Peak. That brought our total number of other hikers seen over the entire day to somewhere around 45. Subcategory: Outdoors. Floe Lake and Numa Pass are part of the multi-day backpacking route between Marble Canyon and Vermillion Crossing in Kootenay National Park: the Rockwall. Taken 22-Sep-12. Since we’re strictly day hikers, we ascended the trail to Floe Lake for lunch, continued to Numa Pass in the early afternoon and retraced our route arriving back at the parking lot a little before 6 pm. The 55.6 km trail leads one under 30 km of an almost unbroken wall of limestone cliffs towering 900m (2950 feet) above their base in places. I may get back to this hike once again but next time I am taking hiking poles! trailtrash photos: Tumbling Glacier, Numa Pass, Floe Lake - 7 Trailtrash did the 38K semi-loop in Kootenay Park, starting at 7:45AM and finishing just after 3:00PM...to about 4:30PM as we eventually split into two groups. When he joined me at the windy pass, he exclaimed that he’d never meant for us to hike all the way to Numa Pass, just that the warden’s cabin was in the same direction of the Numa Pass trail. It’s hard to imagine a more scenic picnic area than this one. From Floe Lake consider day hikes to Numa Pass and beyond. 🙂, SUMMARY:Another fantastic, full-day hike – one that’s got us thinking about trying backcountry camping. While Larch Valley (Lake Louise) is slightly (and only slightly) nicer in larch season, the crowds number in the thousands and I have no interest in that whatsoever. We encountered at least a couple of dozen hikers between Floe Lake and the parking lot, including one group of 9 ladies at the rough and ready creek crossing. Note: The higher sections of the trail are snowbound until early to mid-July. Be sure to fill your bottles at the bridge over Floe Creek at km 1.7, as there is … Healy Pass - Elbow Lake/Rickert's Pass/Mist Ridge - Sunshine Meadows - Nigel Pass - Rockwall Trail - Citadel Pass - Lake Minnewanka - Ha Ling Peak. I reached Numa Pass at 1:50, and as I took off my pack for a bit of a break while taking photographs, I spotted Mr GeoK crossing the last big patch of snow below me, as he paused to take this photo of me at the pass. Laura, Links and I headed out July 16th, 2011. Photo-oriented backpack to stunning scenic area on southern Rockwall trail in Kootenay NP. PhotoDescr: On the third day of a Grant MacEwan Mountain Club dayhiking excursion, we hiked the Numa Pass loop from the Floe Lake Trailhead to the Numa Creek Trailhead (26 km), getting a good look at the south end of … updates, images, or resources. By the end of July, the budding fireweed should be in full flower. You'll start on a flat stretch, crossing two rivers (w/ bridges) before … tumbling Creek/helmet & ochre Creeks Circuit.38.3 km Follow the interpretive trail to the Paint Pots. Anyhow, we stayed at the pass for 15 or 20 minutes, shooting panoramas in both directions. charred stumps and standing dead trees. Know what you’re allowed to take and declare everything to avoid problems. Floe Lake is considered the park's "classic" hike and is a great way to sample what the park has to offer. Log in and send us Timed for golden larches. Tax ID: 27-3009280. 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