Giant stone pillars from a bygone era stand amidst the forest. The people who built these are long gone and so are the wooden trestles holding up the tracks which made up this bridge. These weren't constructed by the ancients, they were made in 1885 when the Canadian Pacific Railway first came through these parts.
The Loop Brook trail follows a figure eight that was made to lessen the grade so trains could make it through Rogers Pass. The Selkirk mountains are high, trains can't go up or down steep tracks without derailing or literally running out of steam so the track has to wind up the pass in a loop.
The loop was short lived, going over the pass was simply too dangerous. Trains would frequently derail or the tracks would be wiped out by avalanches. The speed was ridiculously slow and they had to shorten the trains just to make it up the loop. In 1916 a tunnel was opened which removed the need for this series of trestles a mere 30 years after they were built.
The trail is interpreted which means there is the odd sign explaining the history. Many people died building the tracks and traversing the pass so it's a fairly big part of our history. Hiking in the area can be as simple as following the tracks or as difficult as ascending to one of the many glaciers in the area.
Mountain streams converge into the Illecillewaet river which starts high up in this pass. The terrain is rugged and perfect for the outdoor adventurer. We are in Glacier National Park, if it wasn't so smokey you would be able to see mountain peaks and glaciers off in the distance.
The trail opens up in the middle of an avalanche path. They built shelters out of thick beams of wood so the snow could just spill over leaving the train and tracks unharmed. So much effort went into building the Loop.
The avalanche chutes look like ski trails. This would be an amazing place to ski as it gets a few meters of snow. Kicking Horse Resort is about 20 kilometers East of here and Revelstoke Mountain Resort is 50 Km West. The pass is very remote and there are half a dozen places to ski which are closer to Calgary.
We come for the hiking and the camping area is rather private. Loop Brook Campground has just a few sites, hardly any amenities and the raging river drowns out the sounds of the highway. Reservations for this park in British Columbia, Canada open on January 19th and the best spots on the Summer weekends would be taken quickly.
The trail is kid friendly and kids love trains. It's a popular stop for people driving across Canada and the only option without taking a detour a few hours North or South. Many trains now use the Canadian National Line North of here.
Steam Engines and snow sheds defined the pass. There are still many snow sheds you can drive through protecting the highway. The Canadian Pacific Railway does not have passenger service so unfortunately you can't experience Rogers Pass or Kicking Horse Pass which is equally as awesome.
The must have replanted the forest recently. Fires are frequent, as one can see from the smoke and so is logging. Now this is a protected park so hopefully these trees will grow into giants like some of their cousins further down the valley.
We will have to come back to this pass soon and are going to have to start planning our 2024 hikes. It's going to be minus 35 this week so there isn't much else to do. Thank you for reading and have a great week!
All photos taken with an s20 and are unfiltered