At 11:30AM, seven Ramblers set off from the Helen Lake Trailhead. It was a glorious day, with bright blue skies and just an occasional wisp of cloud. Soon we looked across the Valley onto the Crowfoot Glacier and Bow Lake. We steadily made our way up to Helen Lake’s valley, encountering a few Oriental Tourists on the way. We took a break at Helen Lake. On the ridge above Helen Lake we enjoyed the magnificent 360 – degree view. We descended to Katherine Lake, for another break at the large boulders, just above and NE of the Lake to luxuriate in the warm sun. Soon after we left the Boulders, we encountered a young family from Oregon with two young kids (a boy of 10 and a girl of 8) swimming in the no-name tarn. We said hello and explained them where we were going. As we started our ascent to the Southerly Dolomite Pass, we saw they were following us, so we waited for them to catch up and decided to “adopt” them to ensure their safe passage down to Mosquito Creek. It was soon evident that the kids were very strong hikers, bounding ahead of us. The previous days they had hiked Paradise Valley – Sentinel Pass and Yoho’s Whaleback! The descent down the S-slope of the pass was exceptionally easy, for the usually tricky, slippery and narrow gully was still filled with hard-icy snow. We walked / slid down with ease to the alpine meadows below. The view was magnificent. At the end of the meadows, we started our bush-whack down to Mosquito Creek, keeping the kids in the group. We were back at the shuttle-car at 6:45PM, after a wonderful day. Please view the pictures below to complete the story (click on them to expand the size).

Crowfoot Glacier from Helen Lake trail. Following day photo from SE-end of Bow Lake.

Rambling towards Helen Lake, Cirque Peak (2993m) in the background.

Skipping across Helen Creek

Cirque Peak reflections in Helen Lake (2405m)

Sweeping view from NE to SW from ridge above Helen L.; Watermelon Peak (left), Dolomite Peak (centre-left) & Bow Peak + Crowfoot Glacier (centre-right).

Pillow-shaped limestone erosion textures, just below the Ridge between Helen and Katherine Lakes (E-slope).

Sweeping view taken just above & NE of Katherine Lake, standing on one of the large boulders. Cirque Peak left centre, Watermelon Peak at right. Dolomite Creek runs North in-between.

View on the NE facade of Dolomite Peak, while climbing up to the pass.

Descending down the pass towards Mosquito Creek. The descent was easy thanks to lots of strong snow filling the gully.

Below, on the SW side of the pass, a creek runs through an isolated alpine meadow to Mosquito Creek. Mt Hector is visible in the centre back-ground.

Participants: Waheed and Ghulam, Larry, Rita, Barb, Douglas, Cornelis (Coordinator, Photos, Scribe and GPS Maps). Thanks all of you for making this a wonderful day!

Dolomite Circuit (19.2km) & Bow L. canoe circuit (13.2km). Click on the map to expand.

Trip Statistics: Dolomite Circuit Ramblers' Hike 30 July 2011 (red track on above map). Total Distance 19.2km. Elevations: Helen Lk Trailhead 1977m; Helen Lk. 2405m; Ridge above Helen Lk 2558m; Katherine Lk 2375m; Before ascent to Dolomite Pass 2385m; Dolomite Pass 2575m; Mosquito Ck Parking 1848m (end). Effective climb from trailhead to Dolomite Pass 600m. Total climbs 925m. Total descent 1055m.

Note: Coordinator suggests calling the Bow Lake Circuit Canoe Trip (blue track on above map), 13.2km; 1960m elevation. Fantastic views! There are two shallow sets of rapids around an island below Crowfoot Glacier where the canoe needs a little lifting to get through. The window of opportunity is short during our Alberta summers, so call me if you would be interested!