Burstall Pass (July 19, 2013)

Where: South of Canmore on the Smith-Dorien-Spray Lakes Road
Distance: 15-16 km
Recommended Time: 5-7 hours
My time: 6 hours
Recommended Rating: Easy - Moderate
My rating: Easy for the first 4.5 km or so,  then a more strenuous uphill section begins

Burstall Pass is beautiful! This was my first time hiking it, and I was so glad I did. Within minutes of starting the hike I was commenting to my mom on how much better it was than the C-Level Cirque.

The first 4 km of the hike are through trees on an old logging road. Burstall Creek was frequently heard alongside the path. The forest was full of wildflowers and many, many mosquitoes. Luckily, I brought my Deep Woods Off this time, and they were less of a pain. In fact, I think I got a grand total of two bites during the entire trip.

Soon, the trail passed by Burstall Lakes.

On the drive to and from the trailhead we saw a lot of destruction from the floods. Only one part of the trail was covered by debris, and it was easy enough to cross.

At the 4 km mark, we reached the dryas flats. The trail was marked by several signs to give a general idea of what direction to go in as we forded the ankle- to calf-deep creeklets. By the time we reached the forest on the other side, my feet were freezing cold from the water.

Once we were back in the trees, the uphill slog began. Again, there was a lovely little creek beside the trail and several waterfalls.

After climbing the trail for a kilometer or so, we reached a hanging alpine valley. It was nice and flat, full of wildflowers, and offered lovely views of the peaks surrounding the pass.

 

 And then the climbing began again. This section was steeper and rootier than the previous uphill section, and required many breaks. Cresting this part of the trail led to a spectacular view of the valley we'd just come through.

 
The trees grew sparser and thinned out as we neared the pass, and snow started to move in.

 

At the three hour mark, we reached the top of Burstall Pass and the boundary of Banff National Park. Snow still covered parts of the trail past this point and, like at C-Level Cirque, it was red-tinged. The only peak I recognised was the pyramid-shaped Mount Assiniboine, 20 km to the northwest.

 

The return trip took about two hours. My mom and I found that 15 km was almost too long, so we'll be aiming for a 10 km or so hike the next go round. Well, after I figure out how to tie my hiking boots better and my blisters heal.