Myles Dawson

Since quite a young age I've made the pilgrimage up to Kokanee Glacier Park. Organized by some close friends and their families, the journey up to Kokanee Glacier, and the cabin, is always enjoyable, eventful and full of mirth.

This years trek proved to be the hottest, and the most challenging so far, with temperatures soaring into the 30s during the day. Wildfire smoke had recently travelled into the glacier valley as well, causing me to feel a bit lightheaded while journeying upward.

Access to the trailhead was straightforward and simple but you do need some clearance as there is a section of paved road that is damaged and partially washed-out. We started around 7am at the Gibson lake trailhead, gathering our hefty camping packs and battling mosquitos before leaving. Fair warning: this area often has dangerous flocks of skeeters. The start of the hike consisted of switchbacks on a well-troden path. It passes by several beautiful streams and rivers and eventually reaches a majestic meadow with fantastic views of the valley below. After 4.6km we reached Kokanee Lake, an excessively majestic lake with views and a waterfall rushing down the mountainside into it. The more daring amongst us decided to dip into the lake, I just went up to my knees and enjoyed the free ice-bath experience it provided.

The lake is about halfway to the campsite and most of the elevation so the rest of the hike was a breeze. We crossed the rockslide area surrounding the lake which can be nerve-wracking when covered in snow and ice but was luckily already melted at this point.

On the other side of the lake is a beatiful meadow and rocky Marmot habitat. Sometimes you can see these creatures roaming about, and if you are lucky, they might even come up and start licking your boot for salt. Past marmot meadow the trail continues through another beatiful area with streams running all around, the water is clear and looks delicious.

We reached the campsite and were greeted by what could only be described as an army of mosquitos. They had perfectly set a trap at the campsite and lay in wait until we started to setup our tents. They were relentless and continued to bite as we tried swatting them away while unfolding poles and setting up gear. It was a massacre with many bites and expletives thrown around.

Finn had brought his board up so we had been scoping up lines to hit and it appeared like Mount John Carter had some excellent snow patches just like it had had 2 years prior. We opted for the direct approach, hiking directly up from Kaslo lake. Scrambling was easy and route-finding straight forward. However, the heat was certainly giving us a beating, and it continued to do so for the next few hours.

Reaching the summit, we enjoyed the views, left a message in the logbook and proceeded to bootski and snowboard down.

It must be said that the bootskiing quality here is next to none, its the perfect incline for getting speed. We ripped back down, enjoying the scenery, mountain streams and bootskiable patches. Made it back just in time for dinner.