This trip has been on my bucket list since my first summer in Canada. The views of the towering Rockwall with the hanging glaciers had got me hooked and I was lucky to secure a cancellation booking that lined up with our last night being spent at Floe Lake (aka the most beautiful campground ever!)
My friend Lauren and I didn’t have 3 nights spare to hike the full Rockwall so with the bookings that I had we decided to do a slightly shortened version and only do 3 days and 2 nights. We took both of our dogs and the trip will always be described as ‘two girls, two dogs in a two-person tent’. We parked my car at the Paint Pots trailhead and we knew that we would finish at Floe Lake trailhead, so one of us would hitchhike back to my car and then come back and collect the other person and the dogs.
Day 1 - Trailhead to Helmet Falls Campground - 10.7km 440m elevation gain
The ‘normal’ route is to hike via the Ochre Creek and stay at Tumbling Falls campground. Because we didn't have as much time available we hiked directly to Helmet Falls Campground. The wildflowers were so beautiful at this time of year and we got to the campground quite early. We sheltered from the rain for a bit and once it cleared up we hiked up to Wolverine Pass to check out the views.
Day 2 - Helmet Falls Campground to Floe Lake Campground - 16.2km including climbing over two passes (lots of elevation maybe 800m ish)
The hike towards the Rockwall was steep but the views were getting more and more impressive as we climbed. The view of the Rockwall just keeps on getting better. The second day of our trip included climbing over two passes. You can have climb up to then head down towards Numa Creek campground.
This is where the most disgusting thing that has quite possibly ever happened to me happened. We always have our dogs on leash and for some reason, there was a huge human turd within Lauren’s dogs reach. Why someone would poop right next to the trail is beyond me! Her dog Crux grabbed some of the human poop and ate it. Gross, I know! But shortly after the poop incident, I was kneeling on the ground to read a sign and Crux comes up to me and licks me on the FACE! Yes with the same poopy mouth that had just eaten human poop! Here I am in the middle of nowhere frantically cleaning my face with as many baby wipes as I can get my hands on.
Once at the Numa Creek campground, we had lunch and chatted to the girls who stayed at the previous campground with us. The campground is right next to the river but sadly there are no views there. We then had to hike up Numa Pass, my blister popped right as we got to the top of the pass but nothing could ruin my day because the views from Numa Pass were *chef kiss* incredible. The view of Floe Lake and the huge mountain behind it makes all of the suffering and poopy kisses worth it.
We did a mini photo shoot on the top and then continued down to Floe Lake campground. This section felt like a breeze, not only were we close to camp but the views just keep on getting better. The campground at Floe Lake is very well established and some of the tent pads have views of the lake so if you can get there early to snag one of those sites it would be worth it. We set up our camp and then went to cook dinner right in front of the lake. There was another dog staying there and my dog Finn decided to swipe the kibble that was left in her bowl. He is always hungry even if he’s hiked all day or not.
Drinking fireball and playing cards with our dogs on the shore of Floe lake was one of the best evenings in the backcountry.
Day 3 - Floe Lake to Trailhead - 10.5km
We knew we had a chill down as the trail was downhill the whole way down to the trailhead. It was hot going out and seeing everyone red-faced and puffing on the way into Floe Lake made me happy that we did the trip in the direction that we did it in. Once getting to the trailhead I left Lauren and the dogs to wait while I hitchhiked back to my car. It took maybe 15 mins to get a hitch and there was another couple waiting to get a hitch so I said that instead of them waiting for a ride I will pick them up once I come back with my car. We all piled in, Lauren, 2 dogs and 2 strangers and I took them back to their car. New hiking friends are the best kind of friends.
For any reservations in Kootenay National Park head to the reservations system to check for availability.