Sunday,
3/22/2020, Ink Pots – Moose Meadows TH, Hwy1A, Banff NP, AB
· Round Trip: 12.8km;
Elevation: 1758m; Elevation Gain: Net - 324m, accumulated - 550m; Time: RT - 4:00hrs
(11:55-15:55), ascent - 1:30hrs, descent - 1:20hrs; An easy busy winter hike
· Book:
Drive
From Calgary, drive west on Hwy 1 for about 141
km, take the exit for Bow Valley Pkwy/Castle Junction, turn right onto
Banff-Windermere Pkwy driving northeast to a T junction, turn right onto Hwy 1A
driving east for about 4.7 km, turn left and park into Moose Meadows parking
lot. Driving distance and time would
be around 164 km and 1:43 hours.
Hike
Even though it wasn’t a long weekend, we still decided to go out for
another hike probably because of the good weather we had been eager for a long
time. The second object of this weekend was the Ink Pots which shares the
trailhead with Johnston Canyon Trail in Banff and is very easy simply enough to
match our purpose of avoiding any injuries during the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, Johnston Canyon Trail is very popular, so we chose a different access
trail that usually has less traffic and starts from Moose Meadows parking lot.
When I drove east
on Hwy 1A towards Moose Meadows parking lot at about 80 km, both of us hadn’t
seen the speed limit sign and thought it would be 90 km within our memories of
driving experience on this road, we were stopped by a park staff for exceeding
the speed limit. After handing over my driving licence, the thought of getting
a big ticket dismayed us while we waited in the car. Much to our surprise,
fortunately, the park staff just gave me a warning when she reappeared and
handed me back my licence. After hugging ourselves for being so lucky, we then
kept driving to the trailhead with extra caution and big relief.
When we arrived at
the Moose Meadows parking lot, we found we were the first car there which was
exactly what we wanted and needed. The trail, as we expected, was quiet until
we passed the junction connects to Johnston Canyon. We started to encounter more
and more groups of hikers going up or down on the narrow trail and had to frequently
step out of the trial into knee-deep snow to avoid close contact. It did
bothered us a bit since we had thought causal hikers wouldn’t go this far.
Furthermore, most of them didn’t take social distancing seriously enough.
Even though the
approach was a bitter experience, the Ink Pots itself, however, was a scenic
destination with greenish shallow pools and snowy meadows surrounded by
mountains. By walking north through the less visited meadows, we not only extended
our trip but also savoured a few moments of peace and solitude.
On our way back,
we suffered even more than the way in for the become-more-crowded trail. I
swore that I would never do an official trail again, at least during the time
of pandemic. It seemed to be lightly sarcastic that the accesses to any trails
had been restricted just a few days after, and now, we are keen to go for any hike
on any trails including official trails after being stuck at home for
weeks. It teaches me a lesson for daring to complain.
My track
The trailhead
It was quiet before the junction connects to Johnston Canyon
Hiking on the hard packed trail with Hillsdale Ridge in the background
A close-up of Mt Ishbel
The landscape unfolded before us just minutes away from the destination
The Inkpots
Pools and creeks
Snowy meadows surrounded by mountains
Walking north through the less visited meadows with unsupportive snow in places
Looking east to Mystic Peak(L) and Mt Ishbel(R)
A pano of the meadows from north(L) to south(R)
Zooming in on Copper Mtn to the southwest
Going deep into the valley
We stopped our adventure here
One more visit to the Inkpots
Hiking back
Back to the parking with Pilot in the background
The end.
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