Monday, July 21, 2025
End: Amisk Lake
Route (km): 22.9
Total (km): 57.5
Hours: 13.6
Total (hrs): 26.0
Meadows to Thick Forest
Approaching the Narraway River from the South, it is possible to go through a series of meadows, which were of course quite swampy, but still better hiking than bushwhacking. The meadows go on for several kilometers, and you hope that they will continue as long as possible, but eventually you cross the creek descending from Fay Lake, and around that time you remain in thick forest with a lot of deadfall. The area in close proximity to the river is the worst, and I found it difficult to navigate North to the river, instead getting sidetracked to the East.
Crossing the Narraway
I went to the point which had been marked as the best crossing point. There were a few steps which I needed to take at shin-deep water level to reach a little gravel bar on the near bank, and then a longer traverse, but still at knee-deep water level, to get to a large gravel bar in the middle of the river. From there, I walked the gravel bar upstream to get to a spot where I could do a short but deeper crossing, the water being waist-deep, to pull myself up to a small island with bushes. I still had to hop down on the other side and walk a few more steps at knee-deep water level to get to the far bank.
This was a very easy crossing compared to what I thought it would be. I never had another waist-deep crossing after this, and waist-deep is about my limit for a crossing, because at that point the force of the current on the whole lower half of my body makes me feel that it could push me over if it got any deeper.
I had psyched myself up to swim across if I had to. Truthfully, I’m not sure how that would have gone. From one bank to the other must have been about forty meters, and I would be worried about muscle cramps in the cold water, which is how a person I know drowned in a pond on the Appalachian Trail years ago.
Poor Navigation North of the Narraway
The area immediately North of the Narraway is not so bad, with little pine forests leaving room among the small trees to comfortably hike through. However, I did not follow the route closely, and followed the wrong creek to the North. This was a big mistake.
The creek I should have followed was to the West. Following the wrong creek, I ran into all kinds of deadfall and thick forest. The creeks themselves are raging, and crossing them was not easy, even just hopping across on big slippery rocks. Even after I got back to the route, I believe I again overcorrected and hiked up high on the West bank of the creek, whereas the route was on the meadows on the East bank.
The lesson I learned here was to stick to the route at all costs.
Watin Pass
The area around Watin Pass is beautiful. A bit windy, perhaps, but relatively easy to traverse, and with great views of the mountains in all directions. Even I took a break there, and I don’t take many breaks. The nice thing about this pass is that the hike is not just straight up and down, there is some distance that can be walked up at altitude before the descent begins.
Belcourt Creek, the First Tricky Descent
Personally I consider the descents from high altitude to be the parts of the hike the most prone to injury. I find it much more natural to climb than to descend, and so I’m on the alert on the descents. The descent down to Belcourt Creek is no exception. There is a large area of rocks which must be traversed on the descent, which in some sense is better than the portion which follows. The real descent down to Belcourt Creek is hanging onto small fir trees and trying not to fall, the footing being difficult. The areas that are open are small plants which are not much good for belaying, but do serve to make the descent quite slippery when wet, if my memory is correct. I slipped and fell more than once.
The one positive note I can give on the area was that the creek crossing, while it did require me to get my feet wet, was not difficult at all.
Swamp Hopping to Amisk Lake
Other hikers reported the importance of not getting stuck on the West side of the stream descending from Amisk Lake down to Belcourt Creek. I heeded that advice and stuck close to the route, intent on staying out of the difficult area traversed by others. This route was a series of meadows, which for me were bogs. That’s about as good as it gets out here, so I wasn’t too upset.
As for Amisk Lake itself, it’s another beautiful glacial lake. Other hikers have written more descriptive and appreciative accounts of the location. I found a decent spot to set up my tent close to the lake, others shouldn’t have much trouble camping here.