Home»All Photographs»2016 Hikes»Brazeau Loop 07-08-16

Peter Jakobs and Myself went on a wonderful 5-day backpack called the Brazeau Loop. We covered 81 km through this pristine and remote area of Jasper National Park. The weather forecast called for rain throughout the trip, but I've found that it's best to just go and check things out. It played out that we got our first rain shower at the 30 km mark, and most rain thereafter (save for the fourth day) came when we were asleep in the tent.
The first leg of the trip took us up over Nigel Pass, then descended through a verdant river valley to Four Point Campground. From this point, the route would be a clockwise 52 km loop.
Day two was the focus of the trip - Jonas Pass. I was really pleased that the weather held up here, so that we could see the peaks and get a feel for the character of Jonas Pass. One tends to feel very tiny and insignificant in this vast stretch of alpine meadow. It is easy to underestimate how long it takes to get to a specific feature up ahead. After the grunt up Jonas Shoulder, we were greeted with a short, cool rainshower for our descent to Jonas Cutoff Campground.
Day three saw us hike up to and through Poboktan Pass. Both Peters agreed here that this was the most feral and interesting landscape along the entire hike. There were shelves of limestone interspersed with rushing streams. Wildflowers were at their peak. And we were in the middle of a stretch where we wouldn't see another person for a day and a half.
We then descended to the John-John Creek valley and had lunch, before continuing to lose elevation down to Brazeau Lake. The lake is a fetching turquoise color and exceeded my expectations. We pitched our tent at the infrequently used Brazeau River Campground (the tent pads were covered in soft lichen) which was a our favorite camp spot on this hike. In the evening, we explored downstream an found a rather elaborate warden cabin. There was a rustic wooden fence around a large plot of land (to keep the horses in I guess), and inside there were a few outbuildings along with the cabin. A feed shack, wood shed, radio tower and a hand-operated water pump were among the sites furnishings. All this in a sea of wildflowers and nobody there. It felt like Little House on the Prairie.
Day four saw an interesting start through rocky outcrops reminiscent of Muskoka in Ontario. Soon, however, the trail narrowed and the rain came in for a few hours. Brushing through overgrown willows made waterproof pants mandatory. A 6 km long section of the trail here has been re-routed following floods that took out a bridge. Rather than repair the bridge every so often, the National Parks Service has decided to keep the trail on the west side of the river. Soon we were back at Four Point Campground, where we had spent the first night.
Day five was our hike out day. We had lunch at the Brazeau River ford, and hiked back to the truck under sunny skies. Beer, a fire and barbecued lamb awaited us, and we had a great celebration dinner at Rampart Creek Campground on the Icefields Parkway.