Welsh Lakes - Oct. 18, 2022

 We took the wrong turn at a four way stop and had driven about a half-hour up the road to the Lake of the Hanging Glacier when I stopped to talk to a dude in a 4x4 pickup wearing camo gear probably hunting. He said he'd lived in the area all his life and this wasn't the way Welsh Lakes. We were on Horsethief Creek Road and we needed to go back to kilometre 13 and take Forster Landing Road at the gravel pit. Which we did. But, we lost about an hour of hiking time that would have allowed us to get to Middle Welsh Lake, about 15 minutes from Lower Welsh Lake. 

Stats - Length - 11.24 km, Elevation gain - 646 metres, Time - 6 hours     

Trail  - We parked at the turnoff to the 1.5 kilometre road that leads to the trailhead. We were told that without a high clearance, 4x4, driving this road would be inadvisable. The road was steep but without potholes so I think our car could have made it. But, better safe than sorry. 

The first portion of the hike was relatively easy as we followed an old roadbed through the trees. Then, we hit the rockslide, also called talus. Each step must be navigated for fear of twisting an ankle on the loose gravel or scrambling over large boulders. Far below, we could see Welsh Creek rushing along and sometimes falling for great distances. We didn't like it and are unlikely to attempt the same again. 

People - None, nada, no one which might tell you something about the popularity of the hike. Lower Welsh Lake is beautiful, but the trail is no fun and there are lots of hikes in the area that don't require jeopardizing your health the way this trail down. 

Flora and Fauna - We passed squirrels in the trees but came across no pica of marmots among the rocks. Unfortunately, the needles from the larch had all blown off so we weren't able to witness the lake in all its fall glory. 

The rockslide or talus 

Nicola walking up the rockslide

Welsh Creek far below in the valley 

View down the valley from the top

Our first view of the lake that required descending through more rock to get to

Another view of Welsh Lake 

Finian trying to find a way into the water 

Muskeg just before the lake. 

Pippa hoping for vermin 


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