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May 19, 2019 In Outdoor Edventures

Bourgeau Lake Hike

Where:

  • Bourgeau Lake

 

When:

  • May 18, 2019

 

Who:

  • Ed, Jace, Joey, Dave, Lorna, Geoff, Lynn, Peter, Lisa, Oggie, Chris, Finn, Winnie, Michael, Django

 

 

Trailhead:

  • the trailhead is 2.5 km west of the Sunshine Village turnoff on the south side of the road
  • the trail leaves out the end of the parking lot thru an elevated fenced gate

 

Degree of difficulty:

  • the trail is wide and well maintained
  • it climbs steadily but gently for 5.5 km to Wolverine Creek
  • another 2 km of steeper climbing gets you thru the 7.5 distance to the lake, so it is a 15 km round trip
  • 710 meters of elevation gain to Bourgeau Lake
  • the trail is of medium difficulty due to the steeper final 2 km and the overall distance

 

 

Interesting notes:

  • we chose this hike as we wanted a somewhat gentler and well-maintained trail however the north facing trail resulted in the snow on the trail starting about 2 km from the trailhead
  • we had to cross several avalanche chutes which are obviously quite dangerous especially without avalanche gear although the conditions would suggest we were relatively safe (reminder to only traverse ‘any’ avalanche chute one person at a time)
  • the snowpack increased substantially as we ascended the trail to the point that we were post-holing our way thru several areas and ultimately called it a day just shy of the Wolverine Creek bridge
  • the hike took us 3 hours but would have been 4 hours if we had made the lake and then another 2 hours if a person was to climb up to Harvey Pass
  • most of the trail up to Wolverine Creek is in the forest with limited views of the valley, but it opens up to the Bourgeau amphitheater beyond this point and is quite spectacular
  • you can continue on a steep ascent past the lake another 2.2 km and 300 meters to Harvey Lake and Pass for views south to the Healy Pass area
  • beyond this is a fairly easy scramble up to the peak of Mt. Bourgeau for panoramic 360 views of Banff, Sunshine Village, Healy Pass, and Mt. Assiniboine 30 km in the distance
  • the trail gets very busy in the summer, so it is best to do it during the weekday
  • Bourgeau Lake is named after Henry Bourgeau, a French botanist, who served in the Palliser Expedition in 1857-59

 

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