Lake Magog Via Mount Shark
Completed in early fall as the first part of a 4 day backpacking trip. This is the easiest way to access the core area of Assiniboine from the Alberta side, but the least scenic in every aspect. This is a perfect start to a trip since there is minimal elevation and you can blow through through it very quickly and have plenty of time to enjoy the afternoon. The trail is very well marked and travelled, with plenty of signs and can be completed in any conditions (even winter). There is a seasonal closure (August 1 - September 30) that the hiking trail passes through, but the horse trail does not. The sign makes it very obvious which one is closed. Thankfully, the horse trail isn't too bad and is a shorter distance than the hiking trail. Reservations for Lake Magog are mandatory from June 21 - September 30, with backcountry registration available from October 1 to December 31. Booking Assiniboine Lodge or the Naiset Huts is available at assiniboinelodge.com. It is important to bring a paper copy (written or printed) of your booking to display at your site.
The Assiniboine Pass Trail may be the simplest an easiest access to the Mount Assiniboine core area other than by Helicopter. The many campgrounds along the route, as well as the ease of travelling this trail makes it and Wonder Pass extremely popular ways to access Lake Magog. There aren't any crazy views until you get just over Assiniboine Pass, where you will be greeted with a view of how massive Mount Assiniboine is. It is a sight to behold. The trip continues past Assiniboine Lodge, built in 1928, where a pricy stay has been available since Strom and Albizzi began bringing guests up in the winter of 1929. Assiniboine Lodge was the first backcountry ski lodge in the Canadian Rockies. Continuing to the campground, Lake Magog Campground is situated roughly 1.5 km from the lodge on the northwest flank of the lake. This may be one of the largest backcountry campgrounds ever, at a whopping 40 total sites, however the campground space is very well planned.
The Mount Shark parking lot is situated at the very end of the Mount Shark Road, which is essentially at the furthest point on the Spray Lakes Road (Highway 742). From Calgary, both the south option and north are similar in time, although the north section of the road has a slow speed limit and can get quite bumpy. The road is all gravel, but a high clearance vehicle is not required. The total driving time from the Calgary city limits from either direction is just under 2 hours.
From the parking lot, find the Mount Shark trailhead and begin walking/cycling on the dirt road. There are rolling hills before descending below Watridge Lake. After a while of continuing straight on the road, a no bike sign is apparent and this is where you must leave any bikes (lock up in the forest). Continue walking straight on the trail for what may feel like forever, before passing a couple campgrounds. At a main intersection near Marvel Lake, there is an option to turn off to access Magog via Wonder Pass, which it is recommended to visit at least once in your trip especially in larch season. If you choose to head that way, it is a bit more elevation. For Assiniboine Pass, continue straight and at the scary bear sign, make sure you take the left option (depending on the time of year). Walk up a good trail to the pass, gaining the most significant portion of the elevation for the day. There is a nice bench at the pass, which is perfect for a break. After this, continue the last 3.5 km to Magog Lake Campground following the very good signs at every trail intersection.
As we got through to the end of summer, I kept thinking that each trip planned would be our last trip of the year. I was incorrect multiple times, although I think this big one will likely be the last (we still may sneak one more in though). Having the fall off from school has made me realize how great it is for hiking and I think I've fallen in love with the larches this year. It also means that I had plenty more time, so since my dad took a week off work to recover, we were doing this big trip and unfortunately, the recovery would have to wait till after.
Honestly, doing this trip the day after Taylor Lake was not the absolute best idea, and unfortunately for us, both my dad and I noticed a slight bit of soreness in our throats and chests, a warning for what would come. I also noticed that my feet were sore in the morning, which wasn't the best sign...
We had to rush the night before to pack everything, meaning not the most ideal sleep, a product of a very unpredictable weather system that kept moving around. We ended up deciding to move the trip a day earlier (switch around the first and last day) and switch the access point from Sunshine to Shark. We ended up grabbing Magog for the Monday, Og for Tuesday, and Magog for Wednesday, but ideally we would've had Magog for all 3. This is how booking from cancellations goes I guess, but we were still happy to even get spots to begin with.
As much as we tried for an earlyish start, we weren't on the bikes until about 9:30 but we made short work of that and the whole hike in and still had time for Nub Peak later in the day.
Hopping on our bikes at the trailhead.
Walking our bikes for an unknown reason after a gruelling descent from Watridge Lake (30min in).
We dropped our bikes a bit before this section after never ending comments of how glad we were to have biked in.
Grouse? Prairie Chicken? Dinner?
It is never ending. Really would've enjoyed biking this whole section too if they allowed it.
Marvel Peak from somewhere around the Wonder Pass turnoff.
The final left turn around McBrides campground.
For some reason, we only ever saw Big Springs campground on the way up, almost like the others didn't even exist. I'm sure that the Marvel Lake one is a thing, but the other two I'm not so sure about, nor have I really heard anything about people staying at them. Anyways, we pushed on, continuing our minimal stopping and fast walking. This meant all food was to be consumed while on the go. Very efficient.
We soon came out into a clearing that we would hike beside for a while.
There's a warden cabin here too.
Looking back at the Mount Turner (left) and Marvel Peak area (right). I'd like to bag all of those guys eventually.
As we walked I often had brief stops to take pictures of mushrooms and at one point, I saw this very, very unusual thing. Did I discover a new species?
Finally starting to get somewhere. Up ahead is Cave Mountain and to the left is the Cautley Massif.
Make sure to keep right here!
A bit of a confusing area, but the signs guide you through.
We wandered into this scary sign. Definitely not the way to go.
Instead we crossed this bridge to get on to the horse trail.
There were a ton of muddy sections which we avoided to the sides of the trail. We also saw a few people coming out that seemed very optimistic for our weather (we were too!) but slightly unhappy with their trips, since Assiniboine had hidden in the clouds the entire time.
As we started gaining the first real elevation of the day, we slowed down just a little.
I found a very good looking mushroom on the way up.
A small creek crossing on the trail.
And a bit of a view.
The trail steepens for the final grind to the pass.
Some tiny hills just before the pass. The forest honestly hasn't really changed from the start other than the fact that I was getting less fun mushrooms to take pictures of.
Stepping into BC. We finally took a well deserved break at this point and pounded back some sandwiches. We hadn't forgot any food this time!
A first glimpse at Mount Assiniboine from after the pass (the photo does not show the scale very well). Even this moment felt insane just looking at the size of the peak. I can't imagine what this would feel like when it's clear.
A nice meadow on the way. Again, would've been gorgeous without the cloud.
Tiny grapes?
We could've easily gotten this guy for dinner. Note how close the pole is. I believe this is a product of people feeding him because he chased after us for a bit after.
The area has plenty of signage. Only 2 km to go to Magog.
Wonder Pass wasn't quite as yellow as I was hoping for just yet. Hopefully 3 days would be enough time to get that golden sparkle.
The walk by Magog is the shortest section of the whole hike, but it sure doesn't feel like it. You may even begin to wonder why they put the campground so damn far from the lake, it's almost weird.
After we got to camp, we took basically the first spot and secured a bear bin.
I believe we got site 1. Here was our setup, same as usual.
Well, that concludes our hike/bike into Magog. It really wasn't so bad and I'm glad we did it this way and not through Sunshine (without the gondola). We were feeling alright, so we only had a short rest before heading off for our next objective, the Nub Peak loop. I was hoping to catch a sunset at the Nublet/Niblet since it was supposed to clear up relatively quickly, so we planned for that.