On my drive from Prince George BC to Edmonton I decided to stay over at the Tete Jaune Lodge in Tete Jaune Cache, BC (http://www.tetejaunelodge.com/). I wanted to do a some skiing or a hike the next day before continuing on to Edmonton. My last hike in Robson Park was on July 2, 2012. I have driven through the park on other trips but I have never stopped to do a hike. I was pleased to find the road up to the Berg Lake trail head had the snow plowed so I proceed to the trail head. At the trail head I find someone has skied the trail the day before so there was a ski track set. It wasn't long until I was on the ski track with a goal of skiing as far as Kinney Lake.
What a contrast between skiing on this day and hiking the trail on July 2, 2011. Today my vehicle was the only one in the parking lot and I was the sole occupant of the trail, compare that to a full parking and the hussel and bussel I had encountered in July, 2011. The sounds of the traffic on Highway 16 reached me as I started my ski but even that was soon gone. The trail to Kinney Lake follows the Robson River and sound of water tumbling and cascading over rocks soon drowned out any sounds of the outside technological world. The trail starts out in the BC Interior Rainforest as I ski among mature Red Ceders. As the trail increases in elevation the Douglas Fir become the dominant tree cover. The trail leaves the river for a while and the world I am in takes on a primal silence.
In about an hour and a half I reach Kinney Lake in a landscape now cloaked in snow. Most of the lake is covered with ice. The white cloak on the landscape subdues the greenery of summer and everything, trees, mountains and sky, have become the shades of gray. The air is calm and some open water, where the river exits the lake, is like a mirror reflecting the distant mountains.
The ski out is quick and fun. All of the elevation I gained during my ski in is now being 'burned off' with long glides. I am exhilarated by the quick pace but it seems I am back at my vehicle too soon. I am still the only person in the parking lot.
