Backpack: Banded Pk via Big Elbow + Cornwall Ck Off-Trail hike on 29-
The long weekend was looking too nice to stay in the city, and I was fortunate to find two Rambler friends to join me on a last-minute backpacking trip.
Participants: Ulrike, Ingrid (coordinator), Deborah
Day 1: The walk to the campground isn’t exciting, but it went quickly and we set up the tents before having lunch. The campground was redesigned/rebuilt in 2024 and is very nice, with private tent pads and very nice eating spaces.
It was hot, plus we wanted to save energy for the next day’s expedition. We decided to explore up Cornwall Creek, and followed an excellent and scenic trail to a high outcrop for excellent views of Banded and Outlaw and beautiful cliffs and ravines.
Hiking up Cornwall Creek valley
Cooling off at the creek
Day 2: We were on the trail at 6:50, and enjoyed cool shade for the first couple of hours. By this point the great views had already started… along with the kilometres of steep scree (including a few nasty hardpan sections).
The upper half of the screen-filled valley is unexpectedly gorgeous, with waterfalls and vast meadows in between fantastic rock. Finally we were at the col marvelling at the views and flowers before starting the steep, rubbly climb to Banded Peak.
You’ll notice that there are no summit photos - I didn’t get to the top, but turned around only 100m away for a couple of reasons which I won't describe. It was the right decision (I’m now zero for two attempts on this peak), and even without summiting it was still a perfect day - views and the hiking experience were top-notch!
The toughest part of the day was marching back along the inferno of the Big Elbow trail in full sun… dinner sure tasted wonderful after washing up a bit.
Morning snack after over 2.5 hours of walking; Outlaw in background
Alpine goodness
Fascinating landscape up high
Finally getting closer to the col
Looking up Banded Peak
Thousands of purple locoweed
Climbing up Banded Peak
Easiest steps of the day
Getting ready to leave the col
Leaving a waterfall oasis
Looking back - that's a lot of scree...
Backpackers with matching hats
Some of the more interesting flowers, clockwise from lower left: 2 variations of alpine spring beauty, alpine lantern, dwarf alpine hawksbeard, sawwort, yellow mountain saxifrage, butterwort (centre)
A rescue helicopter landed at camp in the evening to evacuate a camper (not us). Other than that, the overall camping experience was great and quiet, with many, many birds singing from 04:30 until about 22:00.
Rescue helicopter at the campground
Day 3: We packed up and walked out early, arriving at the parking lot at 9:15. Fortunately we were driving against the huge volume of Canada day traffic heading out of town! About 50 km and 1800m elevation gain in almost exactly 48 hours.