Mount Robson and Valemount
Back in June when we were in Jasper, we took the Jasper Whistlers Mountain Skytram and I remember our guide in the tram pointing out Mount Robson in the distance and telling us that it’s the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. Mount Robson Provincial Park was our next stop. It was a lovely provincial park, and had a very nice attendant that would come around to your site to sign you in and deliver wood, if needed. He was a student from Nuremberg, Germany. Both he and his girlfriend were working at the park for the summer, saving up their money to drive east across Canada to the maritimes in the fall.
Mount Robson is a popular destination for people. The park was very busy and there was a constant stream of people in and out of the visitor’s center. It was clear why it’s so popular, it’s stunningly beautiful.
There was a small museum in the Visitor’s Center that spoke of the founding of the park in 1913, the same year as the first ascent of Mount Robson. This makes it the second oldest provincial park in BC (the oldest being Strathcona Park on Vancounver Island).
We arrived at the park on a Saturday and while we loved our time there, the tree coverage made it a challenge for our Starlink to connect to the satellites. Usually this isn’t a problem as we tether to our phones as a back-up so we can work, but we had no cell phone coverage. After trying to work from the patio of a closed coffee shop in the nearest town of Valemount on the Monday, we decided that we had to relocate for the rest of the work week. So, we said good-bye to the Mount Robson Provincial Park and relocated to iRVin’s RV Park and Campground, just outside of Valemount. And yes, that is how they spell it.
We quite liked the town of Valemount. It had a lovely little museum complete with a miniature train installation (which was unfortunately not running while we were there) but its track goes right through the washroom!
They also had a very interesting model of the spiral train tunnel, at the Kicking Horse Pass in Yoho National Park.
And how can you not be intrigued by a photo of moose pulling a wagon!
According to the caption, the moose were raised, and owned, by “Peachy Prouden”.
Valemount is very popular with mountain bikers as it has an enormous Mountain Bike Park, with a shuttle that runs from the town to various destinations in the park. Here’s a map of the trails to give you a sense of how many there are.
Some of the trails are hiking trails, as well as biking trails, so we drove up and did one of the hikes.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Valemount. There is a potential large development planned for the mountains just outside of the town, Valemount Glacier Destination. If it proceeds, how will the town react, and will that development add, or detract from some of the burgeoning businesses in the area? Only time will tell.
We also did a hike to the Rearguard Falls, which are on the Fraser River. The falls are beautiful, and we learned that they are the “upper limit” of the 800 mile migration of salmon from the Pacific Ocean (not while we were there though). According to the sign, only the largest, and strongest, of the Chinook make it that far up the river. Looking at the falls, it was astounding to me that any of them could swim this far against the current.
There is a trail that you can take that goes along the endge of the ravine next to the falls. The colour of the water, with its Glacial Flour is such a brilliant turquoise.
After the Rearguard Falls, we also did the walk to the Overlander Falls (also on the Fraser River) which are in the Mount Robson Provincial Park.
Thanks to a plaque at the falls, we learned that the falls are named after a group of 175 men and women who, in 1862, travelled “overland” from Ontario, to central BC, in search of gold. At that time, the typical route was to go around the southern tip of South America, which is why this group was called “The Overlanders”. They pased by this spot in August 1862. They made their way to Tete Jaune Cache, where they split into two groups. One travelled by land and water to Kamloops along the Thompson River Valley, the other continued along the Fraser River to Quesnel. Apparently, after their long journey, and the stories of the hardships in the goldfields, many stayed in Kamloops, some travelled back home, and few of them actually made it to the goldfields of the Cariboo. Speaking of Tete Jaune Cache, we did drive there so we could swim in the Fraser River.
One of the last things we did while we were there, was the hike to Kinney Lake, which is also in Mount Robson Park. The hike was just over 4kms and the lake is beautiful.
We were some of the only people there that took a plunge in the lake, but how could we not?
We really enjoyed our time in Mount Robson Provincial Park and Valemount. Some of the places we frequented in Valemount were: Vale Coffee (our preferred coffee place with delicious breakfast tart things and a lovely outdoor seating area, but only open Thursday through Sunday), The Gathering Tree (the runner-up coffee place when Vale Coffee was closed); and Valemount Bakery (which now seems to be temporarily closed, but delicious bread and only opens Thursday through Sunday).
I will leave you with some photos from our wanderings of that area. You never know what you will find when you take a path less taken.
And, remember to look up, and look down, every now and again, you might be surprised at what you see when you aren’t looking straight ahead.
