See related pages: Canadian Rocky Mountains ~ Bicycling Icefields Parkway, Jasper to Banff ~ Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park ~ Garibaldi Provincial Park ~ Bowron Lake Canoeing Tale
Above: Needles of larch trees turn a beautiful yellow in the fall
alongside the spectacular Bugaboo Glacier.
Left: Sunset light on the Rocky Mountains seen from Conrad Kain
Hut, Bugaboo Provincial Park.
Bugaboo Provincial Park lies in the Purcell Mountain Range south of Golden, British Columbia. The ancient Purcell Mountains formed 1.5 billion years ago, a time on earth when only algae grew. Not until the age of the dinosaurs did the much younger Rockies appear to the east. Near the end of the Rocky Mountains creation 70 million years ago, masses of molten rock pierced the old metamorphic rocks of the Purcells. Glaciers and water chiseled away weak overlying rock and revealed spectacular granite spires in the Bugaboo region. Mining peaked in nearby Bugaboo Falls around 1906 and apparently, the name Bugaboo came from the use of that word by miners to describe a deadend mineral lead.
Today, the stunning beauty of the Bugaboos attracts climbers (and hikers) from around the world. Luckily, Bugaboo Park is lightly visited and has the best fall colors when I visit in late September. Also, most potential visitors are distracted by many nearby beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountain parks and never make it up the rough gravel logging road. From Spillimacheen or Brisco, you drive west 30 miles in 1.5 hours on a gravel road (very rough for the last few miles), to a parking lot with a great view of mountains & glaciers. Curiously, you will find every vehicle in the parking area barricaded with chicken wire fencing. Apparently, local porcupines have developed a taste for wiring and anti-freeze fluid! The view gets better and better as you hike the trail 2400 feet in 3 miles towards Kain Hut, which has a breathtaking view of the Bugaboo Glacier, soaring granite spires, and the sedimentary Rocky Mountains. This trail makes a fantastic day hike and awesome overnight hike, with convenient shelter in Kain Hut (which for a fee, provides propane stoves and reservable space for people with a sleeping bag).
Left: Carol climbs a ladder on the trail to Kain Hut, which
is steep and
exposed. This trail is not recommended if you suffer from fear of
heights!
Above right: The parking lot at Bugaboo Provincial Park provides
wire fencing
to protect your car from porcupines, which have developed a taste here
for plastic wiring and anti-freeze fluid.
Left: Fields of fireweed leaves turn red in the fall. The
Bugaboo Glacier
tumbles around the Hound's Tooth (9,250 feet).
Snowpatch Spire (10,050 feet) looms as you approach Kain Hut.
Left: Red fireweed emerges from other colorful foliage.
Above right: Anemone seed head.
Left: Needles of larch trees turn a beautiful yellow in the
fall near
the spectacular Bugaboo Glacier which flows around the Hound's Tooth
granite
spire.
Left: Sextet Ridge Glacier and larch trees in the fall.
Left and below right: Bugaboo Glacier flows around the
granite spire of the Hound's Tooth
(9,250 feet).
Left: Howser Spires (11,150 feet) reflected in a pretty tarn
(mountain
pond).
Left: Sunrise on Snowpatch Spire (10,050 feet) reflected in
a tarn
Snowpatch Spire rises 1200 feet above Crescent Glacier.
Left: Tarns above Kain Hut.
The wild Purcell Mountains, seen from Bugaboo Provincial Park.
Copyright 2001 by Tom Dempsey. Photographs may not be copied without permission.
See related pages: Canadian Rocky Mountains ~ Bicycling Icefields Parkway, Jasper to Banff ~ Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park ~ Garibaldi Provincial Park ~ Bowron Lake Canoeing Tale