I’m mostly a visual person while reading and writing is my default. So when a photo of Stanley Glacier flashed across my screen, I knew I had to see the glacier in person.
I’ve been feeling in a bit of a slump lately, and I needed something to light my fire again. Mountain peaks, big rocks and just being outdoors usually does the trick.
The Stanley Glacier trailhead is a two-hour drive from Calgary, just across the border into British Columbia in Kootenay National Park. Driving four hours round trip for a short trail may seem extreme, especially with today’s high gas prices, but sometimes a trail simply calls to you.
I arrived early because I am not a fan of creative parking in ditches and along highways. This is a fun fact. This area is home to Burgess Shale fossils, some of the oldest on the planet. Parks Canada runs guided hikes here in the summer. In fact, I walked past a group when I was beginning my run.
The well-maintained, run friendly trail starts easy enough winding through the forest. It was around the 2.5 kilometre mark that the views opened up and I caught my first glimpse of the main attraction.
A short climb through a tree stand brought me to the full glory of the scree-filled valley, amphitheatre and headwall. I could easily make out the trail from a far and followed the counter clockwise trail, which involved some climbing that took me to a cave and through a waterfall.
I followed the trail to a sign about 4.5 kilometres into the hike that indicated the trail was not maintained. I think this is where most people stop, have lunch and continue on the loop back to the parking lot. Surprisingly the trail was empty. The parking lot was full so I don’t know where all the people were.
I wanted to get closer to I hiked up the moraine to within about 300 metres of the glacier. The trail was very dry and I had to take out my poles for stability. Let’s just say it was fun coming down, and took much longer than it should have.
For a short run/hike, Stanley Glacier delivered big. It was just what I needed to clear my head and to recharge.
Trail details: 13 kilometres with 981 metre gain
What goes through your mind when you see how quickly the glaciers are melting? As always, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.