Our drive over was pretty uneventful, even though we arrived at the White Horse Hill Campground fairly early, it was a bit crowded and hectic. We were just looking to get a spot, and go for a bit of a hike.
We took off right from the camp through the glacier-carved valleys up to Hooker Lake. It is a spectacular hike, with lots of glacier-blue streams with dramatic cable bridges strung over them. It is a very popular hike, with literally hundreds of other people lined up. It was very hard not to turn the hike into a race since you are constantly overtaking the people ahead of you while looking out for the people that are passing you. We were still able to enjoy the view, and occasional drama of rocks exploding from the surrounding peaks.
The night was kind of exciting – we were awakened by a huge BOOM! which actually shook the van. It was followed by a huge gust of wind that rocked the van and we learned that it even knocked down a couple of tents in the park. Turns out, there had been an avalanche up the valley that was accompanied by a shockwave of wind that rocketed down the canyon.
The entire trip, we had been thinking about getting the boat on the water. We always had pretty good excuses for putting it off – windy, cold, and maybe we were a bit tired as well – but it was time. We briefly considered packing it to Hooker Lake, but it wasn’t a super easy hike, and we had already been there once. Tasman Lake was a bit shorter of a hike, and the weather was forecast to be calm throughout the morning.
The day was rainy and when we reached the lake, it was blanketed with a layer of fog, and there were numerous icebergs floating about. Hiking with the boat was pretty easy, and we had the boat set up and in the water in minutes.
When we hit the lake, it was covered with a thick layer of mist that was quickly burning off.
Back at the camp, we hiked around and checked out the lodge to get out of the rain in the afternoon. A pleasant evening was followed by a gorgeous morning.
Onward!