The Joffre Jewels and the Granny Effect

Middle Joffre Lake

She moved gingerly across the log bridge, her silver hair dispersing flecks of sunshine into the air, tossing starlight in the shadowed realm of the trees. Her two grandchildren cheered as she came across to the side of the small creek that I was waiting at. A couple with humungous backpacks followed.

"Planning to spend the night up there?" I said cheerfully, realizing that it was more a statement than a question.

"Yes," the grandmother replied, with equal cheeriness. I smiled, wished them well, and hurried down the trail to the lowest of the three Joffre Lakes where my wife Margaret and our dog Baby waited. I had left them an hour earlier to quickly hike up to the Middle Lake. We had driven a long way from Richmond, stopping briefly at Shannon Falls near Squamish, and were absolutely blown away when we set eyes on Joffre Lake, barely five minutes' walk from the car park. Its blue-green beauty was enough to take one's breath away - "picture postcard perfect" was a good description, and I have absolutely no qualms about using this hackneyed phrase. Framed by dense evergreens, the lake formed the tranquil base for the glaciers that shimmered high above, hinting at greater treasures lurking a few thousand feet higher.

Lower Joffre Lake. 5 minutes from the parking lot!

I related my brief encounter with Granny to Margaret and as I did so, a seed was sown: hell, if a grandmother could contemplate going up to camp at the highest of the Joffre Lakes, what was stopping me?

It was already late in the afternoon in July and we planned to loop back to Richmond via Lillooet and Hope, completing a 600 km circuit. We had left home at 11 am and by the time we returned it was 3 am the next day. Though tired, the image of Granny moving nimbly on the logs and camping below the Metier glacier kept me inspired.

More than two months later, as I approached my 54th birthday (but not a grandfather!), I decided it was time to take destiny into my own hands. The afternoon of 26th September found me toiling up the trail with my paraphernalia on my back. It was a perfect autumn day and I sweated profusely as I hauled myself up to the Middle Lake, glad that the steepest bit of the hike was over. As I neared the campsite, a hiker cheerfully informed me that there were still a few vacant spots left close to the Bear Safe Food Cache container that the provincial park authorities so thoughtfully install at such places.

I pitched my tent dutifully where the young man had indicated and in a short while regretted camping so close to so much human traffic on such a busy weekend!

Campsite at Upper Joffre Lake. 27 Sept 2009.

Upper Joffre Lake
To compensate, I woke up at the crack of dawn the next day and set off up the trail to the foot of the seracs poised at the toe of the glacier which spilled down from the snowfields above. The effort was worth it as I could see all the three lakes, stacked one above the other. It happened to be my birthday and I could not have wished for a more satisfying gift than this vision of the Joffre Jewels!

Thank you, Granny!

The Joffre Jewels from below the glacier.

Giant ice cube for my birthday drink!

Map of area

Middle Joffre Lake

Peak above Upper Joffre Lake


 
Location: Squamish-Lillooet C, BC, Canada

Comments

  1. JOHN DENIS HORO30 April 2016 at 20:00

    Yes indeed. We all love your pictorial narrative Blog. The snaps are just too good.... learning a lot from them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sweet Nothings Crochet30 April 2016 at 20:53

    Perfect as usual.. and the pictures.. aaaah.. makes me want to join you there :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. test30 April 2016 at 21:05

    Good to see you getting out there! Looks pristine. We must do this hike once im back :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. test30 April 2016 at 21:06

    Good to see you getting out there! Looks pristine. We must do this hike once im back :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown1 May 2016 at 01:00

    Welcome back to your Accidental Blogging. Great Blog as always.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Unknown1 May 2016 at 01:31

    The lake is a beautiful sight, really wish I can do it some day!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Unknown1 May 2016 at 22:38

    Good to see you back here Aloke. Cheers

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Siddhgadh - Flash Flood

Image
The soft pitter patter of the rain falling on my head was like a comforting rhythm. My feet went squelching in the mud but it did not matter. We had been walking in the rain all day and by now we had adjusted to this wet wet world. We walked in silence in the rapidly approaching darkness. As we walked past the few huts that comprised the little hamlet, we heard a female voice cry out. She said something but the words were lost in the moist wind that cooled our faces as we hurried past. "What was that?" I asked Anil, who was a few paces behind me, "what is she saying?". His command of Marathi was marginally better than mine, or so I thought....thus my appeal to him for a translation. Anil shook his head. "I can't really make out what she is saying." The voice called out again, but we ignored it and kept walking until we were out of earshot. As we approached the little stream that we had waded across 8 hours earlier, an ever increasing roar fi...
Read more

Crisis at Chanderi - Part 1

Image
The sweat cooled off my shirt as we descended the gully between Chanderi and Mhasmal. I was glad for the respite from the heat of that November day in 2003. It was the first day of the month, but it had felt like a humid and sticky summer day all afternoon. The sun was now well hidden from us as we came down on the east side of the Chanderi hill and the light was quickly fading. Behind me I could hear Shreyas and Shruti and Shyama and Shridhar negotiating the trail : the sound of shoes slithering on the scree, the crack of twigs as they snapped beneath someone's weight, the rustle of dry leaves as tired shoulders brushed past, the occasional "ouch!" as one of them stubbed a toe. Shreyas Map by the late Arun Samant for Harish Kapadia's "Trek the Sahyadris" (5th Edition) The village of Chinchavli is spelt Chinchli on the map. I reached the point where the trail crosses a dry gully to the other side. It was almost dark and very quiet. I could b...
Read more

Basgadh - Child's Play

Image
This time it wasn't me who fell. You might be forgiven for assuming that I, like Julius Caesar, "hath the falling sickness" if you have been following my other blogs The Accidental Climber ( http://taccidental.blogspot.com/2012/06/mayhem-at-mumbra.html ) and The Accidental Trekker ( http://accidentaltrekker.blogspot.com/2012/08/life-begins-at-10000-feet.html ) Franklyn Silveira, my hiking friend over many decades, was the Fall Guy this time! Worse, he had slipped on a patch of wet rock while carrying tiny little Shruti piggyback on his shoulders. Miraculously, Shruti was intact but Franklyn's psyche was not. Shruti's mother Shyama was even more perturbed and relieved Franklyn of his babysitting duties immediately! It was June 1995 and this was my first taste of Basgadh. Over the next ten years, Basgadh steadily graduated to become one of my all time favourite destinations in the Sahyadri. Why am I so besotted with Basgadh? When you ...
Read more