Tuesday, September 04, 2018
Parent Lake site, Snowbank Trail, 8 miles (16 miles total)

We had frequent critter visitors last night that woke Colin and me up throughout the night. I thought I heard a mouse digging around in my pack. He heard something sniffing around our pots and pans at the fire grate. I heard what sounded like a dog padding up outside the tent, and in my half-asleep state thought it was our dog, Buddy, but he’s not with us. Wolf?

I got up around 6 a.m. and barely had time to make coffee before it started to rain lightly. I changing into my hiking clothing, making a racket in the tent, so poor Colin didn’t get to sleep in much. We ate breakfast quickly, packed up the tent, and skedaddled. The rain stayed light for about an hour as we clambered under and over more deadfall. South east of Grub Lake, once we got back to Snowbank Lake, the trail got really fun. It crossed high granite outcroppings with amazing views of the lake, and crossed another beaver dam where we saw fresh wolf tracks in the mud.

We took a mid morning break at one of the cliff sites the ranger at Kawishiwi mentioned. He said it wouldn’t have any water access, but it had better water access than Grub Lake. Colin pumped some water and we had a snack, but no coffee. The rain started to pour in earnest.

We made our first serious navigation mistake shortly after our lunch stop. We took a wrong turn at a trail junction and went about a mile or mile and a half down the old Pines loop, or the Disappointment loop, which actually would’ve taken us to a junction with the Kek even further down the trail, but the ranger told us to avoid this loop as they’re still working on getting it cleared and Colin and I were both wanting to get back to Snowbank Lake. I’m not sure why he wanted to come back to the lake, but I was feeling like crap for most of the morning, so bad I was worried we’d need to head back to the car instead of continuing onto the Kek. It turned out, I just needed a lot more calories. These rugged wilderness trails push me to my physical limits fast. As soon as I ate another snack, I felt better.

We had a hard time finding the Snowbank Trail again. We looked around a huge cairn for a good 20 minutes. Colin thought big cairns indicate a trail junction, but we couldn’t find any other trails. I kept looking at the maps and GPS, and finally decided we just hadn’t backtracked far enough yet. We found it a quarter mile further down the trail. I understood why we missed the trail south the first time. A huge cairn and marks the old Pines Trail, but a smaller cairn hidden by a spruce shrub marks the main trail. We built the main trail’s cairn up a little more and continued on to Parent Lake.

Holy blowdown, Batman! Snowbank Trail, a.k.a. Blow Down Alley. I want to meet whoever cleared this trail and kiss their faces because it was a Herculean effort. I can’t believe this trail is even open. It got obliterated in that 2016 storm. We made it to Bird’s Eye Lake, then Disappointment lake. I started to suspect part of the reason this trail is so rugged is because the old tread was destroyed, or is lying somewhere under thousands of blow down trees. I also suspect this is why Gaia never shows us on the USFS map trail. Maybe after the 2016 storm, the Snowbank Trail literally shifted 100-200 feet of the original trail?

We knew to be more careful navigating a couple portages crossing the trail, but they really are a whole different class of tread and easily recognizable. We got to hike down a portage to Parent Lake and it was a dream! And the Snowbank Trail south of the portage was also the best tread we’ve hiked this whole loop. Maybe that little section wasn’t as damaged by the storm?

We’re camped now at Parent Lake. We’re just a half mile from the Kekekabic Trail.

I’m relieved to be in camp, even if it is a mosquito pit. I’m relieved to be out of drenched clothing. Colin’s sleeping bag got soaked on the hike today. I’m relieved I feel better, and capable of hiking the Kek instead of turning back for the car. I’m sure we have more adventure, more getting lost, more having fun, and being miserable in store for us on that trail too.

Blowdown from the 2016 storm that obliterated the Snowbank Trail. Whoever cleared this trail, I want to buy you six drinks and kiss your face. You're a hero.