We recently took a 9-hour roadtrip from Vancouver into the north eastern part of British Columbia to celebrate the wedding of our good friends, John and Judy. This gave us an opportunity to explore the beauty, wonder and tranquility of Mt. Robson provincial park – home to our province’s highest peak.
Our first view of the mountain was absolutely breathtaking! The closer we got the more awestruck we became. We pulled into the visitor centre and walked out onto the viewing deck to take in the view. It was a beautiful sunny day with a few whisps of cloud over the mountain top. We were treated to a rare sighting of a black bear in the meadow in front of the visitor centre.
We snapped the obligatory “tourist” shots (of us, not the bear!) and then made our way to the info desk to finalize our arrangements for our 55km trail run on the famous Berg Lake Trail the next day. We felt giddy with the excitement of knowing that we were going to explore well beyond the visitor centre and imagined we were in for a special day, if our initial contact with the mountain was so mesmerizing!
Next we set off to find our campsite at the Robson Meadows campground and set up for our two night stay. We found ourselves in such a beautiful setting – we were already wishing we could stay longer! Mixing our run fuel was an interesting challenge, but we made it work and even had time to chill with a cold beer while watching the changing colours of the trees and mountains as the sun set.
We were up early the next morning to get a head start on the foot traffic, heat and bugs. The 23km trail starts off with an easy 7km groomed trail alongside the milky white Robson River and then the emerald green Kinney Lake. From there the trail begins to climb but you’re rewarded with waterfalls, mountains, glaciers and bright flowers as far as the eye can see.
Backcountry campgrounds populate the trail, and we encountered quite a few hikers and campers along the way. Most people were surprised to see us running the trail with not much but our hydration packs and fuel. We were chastized at one point by a hiker who thought we were being quite irresponsible running the trail in and out in one day. He obviously isn’t familiar with Team Attfield’s tenacity and adventurous spirit!
We decided to add on a loop from the last campground at Robson Pass which would take us up Mumm Basin and along the Toboggan Falls route. Although this added 11km to our day, we were so glad that we tacked this on! At the peak we were treated to what I consider to be the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen. Being in that place, alone with Richard, was truly breathtaking and so calming. I felt at peace for the first time since we lost Archer.
It’s really humbling to be in the presence of ancient landforms and such simple, striking beauty. I’m so thankful that I discovered running as it takes me to so many different places where I can experience such amazing sights and allows me to find a way through the heaviness in my heart by immersing myself in my surroundings.
As we continued back to base camp, we felt strong and accomplished! This was our last long training run before our goal race for the year – the Squamish 50 miler – and we both came through the training running feeling ready. We hungrily tucked into our bean and yam corn tacos along with another cold (and well earned!) beer at our campsite. It was a good day’s work with so many rewards.
It’s hard to truly describe everything we saw on our short visit here, and to fully do it justice. Needless to say, we’ll be back to explore more of this beautiful, invigorating part of our province on the North American leg of our epic adventure!
For more pictures of Mt. Robson and the Berg Lake Trail, visit our gallery page or click on the photo above.
For more information about Mt. Robson provincial park, click here.
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