Kwai Lake

Kwai Lake In August my sometimes neighbour, Sandra, arrived from Manitoba to spend time next door in her summer cottage. Now Sandra is my age....(we aren't saying how old that is.) Have you ever wondered what becomes of those elegant types you see rushing to prestigious offices in the big cities when they get a little older? Well read on. Sandra can leave most people in the dust when she gets into her stride...one powerful walker that woman is. She loves our wild areas and is keen to explore them on foot as long as she can bring along her lip liner, mascara and nail polish!

We did some short hikes around home together . Having recently had my first experience with the Mount Washington trails, I was anxious to return. I proposed that we try the trail to Kwai Lake. That is an extension of the hike of the 6km loop that I have described already.. Sandra was game. We were trying to find a time we were both available. Her daughter, Jennifer was coming to visit. Sandra assured me that though Jennifer was not normally very active, she could usually be enticed. I said I would talk my daughter, Susan into coming with us! The plot was in place.
It was successful!

Mother Daughter Bonding I arrived next door on the morning of our hike to find both Sandra and Jennifer in a bit of a tizzy. Unaccustomed as they were to wilderness expeditions, they had been very worried about how to dress. Both had taken care with their hair. Their make up was impeccable. Sandra had packed the essentials...eyeliner, foundation, a mirror..... Still they bowed to my expertise...(based on my stories of doing the West Coast Trail ) They anxiously asked me if what they had chosen was okay. I was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and hiking boots. I had washed my face and made a superficial pass at my hair with a brush. I said they looked fine.
We stopped along the way to pick up Susan. She was wearing bike shorts, a t-shirt and hiking boots. She had stuck her hair back in a braid and there was no sign of breakfast on her face. We carried on with the two younger women who were new to each other chatting up a storm in the back seat. (We could not get a word in edgewise.) Thanks to the wonderful navigational skills of your webmistress, we missed the road to Mt. Washington. When apprised of the fact that I was lost, daughter Susan managed to break off her conversation with Jennifer long enough to give directions.

You can see a map of the trail we took. It starts out going through Paradise Meadows to Lake Helen McKenzie. We stopped at the lake for a bit of a rest and someone took out thier lunch. When I had done this part of the trail with Val a few weeks earlier I had not been able to understand why she had brought along a half a loaf of bread as a "snack". Suddenly this began to make sense. The moment food was produced, it was like a scene from a Hitchcock movie, (The Birds). We were dive bombed from all angles by whiskey jacks. Bold of brass they would land on an outstretched hand or a shoulder. 3 of us were delighted.

But then there were the wimps.

Jennifer gritted her teeth and tried to hold firm but when the birds descended she invariably flinched or panicked scaring them off.

The Trail After Lake Helen McKenzie

Not what you would classify as a groomed trail.
Some of us were taken aback by the mud. Sandra, in preparing for the hike had washed her runners and soaked the laces in bleach. Jennifer's shoes had never been dirty enough to require treatment. Here they contemplate the situation.

There were a few climbs but by and large this is an easy hike. It is about 16km long and took us about 5 1/2 hours with stops for lunch and bird feeding. There were lots of lovely, tranquil mountain vistas like the one pictured below.

Our destination was Kwai lake. This is a small alpine lake...still and quiet. There are raised platforms and designated camping areas here. It is a stop off point for those doing the back packing trips from or to other areas in the Strathacona Park.

For us it was a nice place to stop for lunch. I introduced all to the wonders of mole skin. Once a few blisters were tended to and Sandra had cleaned her runners with the wet wipes she had brought along for the purpose, we were ready to start our trek back.