This past weekend our little hiking/climbing trio decided to head out for a snowshoe/skishoe trip out to Jacques Lake. This seemed like a perfect hike for this time of year with little elevation change, super low avalanche risk, and nobody around like there would be in the summer. Sure enough it was an excellent choice and we had a great time. Shaun brought his 5 month old German Sheppard puppy named Elliott on his first ever backpacking trip.

The trail itself was between 12.2 and 13 km one way(depending which maps you believe) with an elevation gain of 240 m (more undulating than gaining and losing).

The trail starts at the north end of Medicine Lake which we arrived at about 3 hours later than planned because our driver slept through his alarm clock! Once we started after lunch we quickly found that the trail was packed hard and snowshoes or skis were not necessary until we got to First Summit Lake. We followed the summer trail almost the entire way except for short cutting across the lakes.

First Summit Lake was where put on our snowshoes/skis, 5 km in.


Elliott enjoying his first every hiking trip.


It took us 5 ½ hours to make it to the campsite and we arrived to some gorgeous views, a campsite that smelled of sour gas, and the whole place to ourselves. The logbook at the campsite had only two other groups being there in 2017. A big thanks to the group that came a couple of weeks ago and set a track that made the trip much easier.

Appreciating the track set. This was only my 2nd time doing a back country skishoe trip (I only fell 3 times!)


Shaun and Elliott at the end of Jacques lake nearing the campsite.


We enjoyed chilling around the campfire, hanging out, and chatting while tending to camp. The puppy seemed a little on edge and a little chilled but eventually relaxed and I think he will get the hang of camping. Glad he is now a part time member of our group.

Setting up the campfire and trying to keep the dog warm.


Shaun enjoying his pipe after a job well done with the fire.


My one complaint was that after trudging through 50 feet of snow drifts to the outhouse I discovered that it was a green throne that was frozen and buried in snow. Thank God for learning to squat while in Asia!

Green Thrones are evil, does anywhere other than Jasper have these stupid things?


The views of the area were awesome. This is my favorite shot.


We wandered out onto the lake and enjoyed the stars before heading to bed. The weather was great at night only dropping to around -8 and I had one of the best sleeps I’ve had in weeks. I don’t care what other say, camping is great at any time of year with the right gear!

More stars than we could count!


On the way back we took a shortcut across the lake rather than follow the summer trail and after some initial reservations about the thickness of the ice we were very glad we did as it cut at least 30 minutes and 3 hills off the summer trail.

Crossing Jacques Lake and heading home.


Group shot!


We set a blistering pace (for us) and made it back in 3 ½ hours with plenty of time to be back in Edmonton before supper. All in all an excellent trip and a perfect early season warm up. At this point I am super pumped for summer and can’t wait to be out more.

Attached Images

           

Actually, squatting is a natural way of going according to science. I hate those toilets also; looks like you can freeze your ass on this one. I saw one up on Gimli Ridge in the Valhallas which was situated on a flat boulder. There wasn't much depth so what happens when it gets full?
BTW, I like the reflection pic also.

Ya those toilets suck in the snow or rain... How you like those skishoes? My wife is considering a pair. Do you put skins on them? What are they like downhill?

+1 for squatting

I like "Shaun with his pipe deep in thoughts by the campfire" pic the best.

Jacques is good destination. I did half-day hike few years back in September and it was just so calm and quiet. Looks quite different in winter though

Honestly, I'm still making up my mind on them. I have the Atlai Hoks with the universal bindings and I am finding them a bit hard to control. I find that they don't have as much grip uphill as snowshoes, nor the control downhill of skis. Might just be that I suck at them and am still learning to bend my knees enough.

That being said they are a lot cheaper and more maneuverable than an alpine touring set and more fun than snowshoes going downhill. I think they are just going to take some time to master.

Agreed, I'm not sure I'd want to head there in the summer when other options are available. Although I did find myself wondering if any of the peaks in the area had been scrambled, looked like some fun rock to climb on. Hopefully that new Peakbaggers guide coming out will have some of the peaks in the area listed!

I m pretty sure Sirdar Mountain will be in; Ben (co-author with Eric) did it with Steven Song -- see Steven report: https://stevensong.com/canadian-rock...rdar-mountain/

Yuck! That doesn't look like a particularly fun route. But hey, sometimes its worth the sufferfest.

I was most interested in the sharp ridge on the east side of the trail as well as this peak to the NE of Jacques Lake. Both are certainly shorter than Sirdar but look like they could have some enjoyable routes.

Attached Images

 

Those green thrones are a five star luxury compared to what's available in the remote Jasper backcountry. That would be a log across two trees and a hole behind it. I had a problem with flying squirrels many years ago at JL. They would glide over to our food when it was suspended off the hanging food contraptions. Not sure if they are still there but I did my best to eliminate a few of 'em. I can't remember if I was successful or not.

I was wondering why the bear hang had upside down buckets hanging over the hooks. Now that makes sense!

Personally, I would prefer a log to crap off of. Doesn't come with the illusion of privacy or that cold plastic feel....