Berg Lake Trail and Okanagan Valley

After a night at the campground in Jasper, we drove to Mount Robson Provincial Park the next morning. Mount Robson, at nearly 4000 meters, is the highest mountain in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The provincial park of the same name offers a approximately 20 km long (one-way!) hike to the base of this mountain: the world-renowned Berg Lake Trail. Since we only had one day available and couldn't camp at one of the five campsites, we wanted to at least hike a portion of this trail. But the further we went, the more beautiful the path became and the greater the temptation to reach the end of the Berg Lake Trail. This end not only includes the turquoise Berg Lake at the foot of the snow-covered Mount Robson. But the impressive highlight is the Berg Lake Glacier, which extends from Mount Robson into Berg Lake. We took on the nearly 40 km long trail (with nearly 1000 meters of elevation gain) of the Berg Lake Trail for this breathtaking view - and all in just one day. After that, we were exhausted, but every kilometer was worth it. Overall, the Berg Lake Trail was the most beautiful hike we have done, especially because it was so diverse and varied. For example, the trail led through a beautiful valley, the Valley of a Thousand Falls, which was actually surrounded by countless waterfalls. Three other larger waterfalls were also located along the way. Due to these different sources, the water that flowed through the valley was two-toned at the points where different streams converged. This phenomenon was further enhanced by the approaching thunderstorm. We spent the night in a clearing at a forest service road outside the provincial park near Valemount.

The next day, we drove through Kamloops and Vernon to Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley - the fruit and wine region of Canada due to its Mediterranean climate. But even in this very dry area, it rained during our stay - the rain was simply our constant companion. After a night in a Walmart parking lot in Kelowna, we laid down on the beach in the city park the next day and took a walk along the shore of Okanagan Lake. Then we continued to Penticton, where we also spent the night in a Walmart parking lot. At Walmart, we also bought a small inflatable boat with which we wanted to float on the artificially created connecting canal between Okanagan Lake and Skaha Lake the next day. For this purpose, we parked our Trudy at the canal exit and walked the 7 km to the entry point with the inflatable boat and swimming gear in hand (floating on the canal is accessible and free for everyone). Normally, you can simply drift on the water downstream on the canal for 2 to 4 hours. However, due to the high water levels this year, our floating tour only lasted about three-quarters of an hour. After this brief enjoyment, we laid down on the beach at Skaha Lake after a swim in the very cold water. The next two days, we drove through Merritt and Hell's Gate to Hope and then to Abbotsford, a suburb of Vancouver. We had a overnight stop just past Merritt, where we parked next to a barely used road. The entire stretch between Merritt and Spences Bridge goes through the driest area of Canada. It felt more like Mexico than Canada.