Day 14, August 26

Day 14, August 26 — Shower Day!

Locations: Peyto Lake; Mt. Robson

Miles driven: 292

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I woke up at 5:55 and left the Overflow Campground at 6:05 for Peyto Lake. I headed for the rock pile beyond the main overlook at Peyto where I was a couple of days ago just seven minutes up the trail. The first light hit Mt. Patterson at 6:55 and very slowly made its way down. I shot the blue sky sunrise and had the place to myself until 11:30, when eight Japanese tourists arrived, presumably from one of the all-too-frequent bus tours. I started packing up when they arrived. I got back to the parking lot then headed north.

I fueled up in Jasper ($1.08/liter) then went over to Mt. Robson Provincial Park—the main attraction there, of course, being Mt. Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at 12,973 feet (3,954m). My plan was to shoot sunset over there, and if I could find a campsite easily enough, great, and if not, I’d head back over to the Jasper side and find a place.

After my folks returned from their Alaska trip in 2002, during which they passed through here, we were looking at their trip pictures and they were saying the pictures of the mountain do not do it justice, and that you could not begin to imagine the size of it. I thought, “Well, okay.” It looked like an ordinary mountain, and being that it isn’t a real craggy peak, it didn’t appear to be anything overly special other than having the highest peak title.

So anyway, here I am driving west on Trans-Canada Highway 16. On the approach from Jasper, I was expecting to be able to see its summit. Well, it isn’t visible from this route. After I descended Yellowhead Pass and had passed the Robson River Campground a little ways, I had looked in my driver side mirror, and I had seen what I thought was Robson. The mountain had a lot of snow on it at the summit and looked pretty large, but it didn’t look like what I was expecting Robson to look like. It was actually one of the peaks to the southeast of Robson. I kept looking in the mirror, and as the road was gradually turning to the left, I began to see part of another mountain. This time it was just a huge base of rock completely filling my mirror. I thought, “Maybe this is Robson.” I had scrunched down so I could see further up the face. Hmm. I didn’t scrunch down enough! I kept scrunching down further, and further yet. WHOA! UNBELIEVABLE! I could not believe my eyes! I was blown away. This thing is HUGE! H-U-G-E! It is the biggest mountain I have ever seen. I didn’t know at the time how tall this thing was, in terms of base to peak relief, but my rough guess was around 8,000 feet. After I got home, this was one of the first things I checked. Turns out it is 9,800 feet, and it is virtually all vertical as its relief is spread over only two miles. Incredible! Colorado isn’t known for its sheer, tall peaks, as its two tallest mountains are Pikes Peak and Mt. Sopris, measuring ~7,700’ and 6,450’ respectively. Pikes’ relief is spread out over about six miles and Sopris’ is three miles. I thought even if Robson has the same relief as Pikes, it is 100 times more dramatic. And, not only is this thing huge, but it had a sweet set of clouds overhead, and I knew if the clouds could just stay where they were for a few hours until sunset, it would make for an absolutely spectacular show.

Robson is an absolute must-see for anyone visiting the area. It’s only 40 minutes outside of Jasper. However, Robson is shrouded in clouds most of the time, so it can be tricky to plan for. I was fortunate enough to have seen it on my first try. I drove over here two more times, but the top half was covered on those attempts. You should be able to get a good idea a few miles west of Jasper if the mountain might be visible or not as there is a rather expansive view that opens up to that general direction. If there are some clouds (depending on the type), chances are it will be covered. A clear day would be the best bet.

I turned around and began the search for a river foreground. Right after the Robson River Campground, the highway crosses the river, so I figured I’d go into the campground to see if there is any river access that offers a more direct view of the mountain. There are a few sites right above the river bank which provides perfect access. I walked up the river a little ways trying to find a spot that would work for sunset. I ended up taking a few snapshots. I thought I’d camp the night here, but after going out to the entrance to pay for and reserve a spot, I saw that this campground didn’t accept credit card or check (the others to this point have taken cards), and I had yet to go to a bank to exchange some currency. I had no idea what I was going to do. I checked the campground on the south side of the road and it was the same thing. I headed up the road to check for other views of the mountain, and just up the hill is Robson Shadows Campground. I went in the office to check their pricing, and to see if they accept credit cards (they do). $14.50 a night—and they have showers! Hmm. This was my chance, and I had better jump on it! This was a no-brainer seeing as how I had yet to shower. I drove around the loop and decided on site #7 before returning to the office to make the reservation. “I’ll take it!” This was the third and last night I’d pay for camping on the trip, and the only time I’d take a shower the rest of the way.

After reserving the spot, I headed back into Valemount along Highway 5. WOW! What an awesome setting this is! The sharp, craggy, sawtooth peaks within the Caribou Mountains off to the west are the icing on the cake. It is a perfect mountain town. No doubt the late afternoon light was really making this place glow. Hmm, maybe I should check for land for sale! I ended up going about two miles south of town while trying to find an open view for a sunset spot of the peaks off to the west. I turned around and pulled off the highway right in front of the “Welcome to Valemount” sign on the north end as there was a dirt road that goes by an open field. This was the best open spot I found along my quick tour.

I headed back up to Robson Shadows Campground where Robson was only being lit at the very top. I had parked at the office and set up the tripod and shot the mountain that was now getting some sweet pink light. It wasn't quite the light show I was hoping for a little earlier, but it was still fair. After I put the camera away, I shaved and took a shower, and even put on a clean shirt afterwards! Now this is living the high life! I drove down to my site and was already looking forward to tomorrow’s drive, where I’d be heading south to Kamloops, through Mt. Revelstoke National Park, Glacier National Park (in B.C.), and on to one of the places I’d been looking forward to most, the Bugaboos.

7:24 AM — Peyto Lake