Brazeau Loop - Trip Report
Hey! Just today I got back from a really lovely backpacking trip on the Brazeau Loop in Banff/ Jasper National Parks, and figured I’d switch things up a bit and talk about my other passion—the mountains! Below is a far-too-detailed account of our 5-day romp through the mountains (distances are approximate)
The Trail
The Brazeau Loop is one of the premier backpacking trips in the Rockies, travelling roughly 80 km in a triangular loop in the southern backcountry of Jasper National Park, though the trailhead at Nigel Creek is at the very northern tip of Banff National Park. Crossing three passes, the loop showcases high alpine scenery, a lovely river valley, and everything in between. The Brazeau Loop was one of the last ‘major backpacks’ of the Rockies I had to check off of my list, and I was thrilled to scoop up a reservation despite missing the infamous Parks Canada booking day back in April of this year.
I initially intended to do this with my mom, however we tacked on my younger bro to this trip last minute, his first tenting trip (he had been on lodge/ ACC hut trips before)! This would make the loop his longest AND shortest backpack to date! With our permits and gear secure, we set off from Calgary the morning of Friday, July 16 for our five day trip.
Quick Note: I have never really written a trip report before, and doing this makes me feel like kind of a noob compared to some of the amazing alpinists I follow on the internet. I am very much aware this is a pleasant stroll in the park compared to the incredible and challenging trips many Albertans write about, but I just wanted to showcase a trip I very much enjoyed for some of my friends who don’t have the pleasure of living in such an incredible place. I promise I’m not a greenhorn/ tourist!
Day 1—Nigel Pass Trailhead to Four Point (17 km)
The trail begins at the Nigel Pass Trailhead, about three-ish hours from Calgary on the Icefields Parkway. Due to the crazy fires in British Columbia, we started our drive and day in pretty thick smoke, which severely limited our views on the way in. With our heavy packs, we set off on an old road grade and eventually made the turn onto the formal Nigel Pass Trail.
Just a few days ago, the bridge across the considerable Nigel Creek washed away, but the fastidious Jasper Trail Crew replaced it very quickly, making the start of our day much easier! In addition to smoke, we were followed much of the day by sporadic rain from a very persistent cloud.
By the way! I describe images in much further detail in captions, so if you’re curious, you can click to check ‘em out!
After crossing Nigel Creek, the trail climbs moderately through not-too-dense forest, passing through various avalanche paths and clearings. The grade really isn’t anything to complain about yet! As we ascend, we pass a few people returning from their own adventures, each of them warning about bugs… uh oh. We didn’t think much of it, but within an hour or two of starting we were getting totally swarmed by mosquitos, horseflies, and everything in-between. Worse, our DEET seemed not to be repelling them. Crap.
We pushed on as the valley opened up toward Nigel Pass, affording reduced but still pleasant views to the striking mountains around us. Cresting the pass a few hours after beginning, we briefly munched our lunch before darting across a natal Brazeau River and scurrying down into the upper Brazeau Valley to avoid getting soaked or zapped by some encroaching clouds. The scenery was gorgeous here!
We kept descending, passing Boulder Creek Campground and continuing through dry forest for a few more kilometers. We passed a few interesting and crafty bridges constructed by Jasper’s illustrious FTC (Fly-in Trail Crew), responsible for the maintenance of campsites, trails, and bridges in the park’s backcountry regions. My mom last attempted this hike in 1994, which we later would learn to be the year that much of the current infrastructure on the trail was established.
As with most days in the mountains, the last few kilometers seemed to stretch on the longest. As the afternoon sun grew hotter, we pushed on through seemingly endless forests and willow flats, constantly assuming the camp was right around the corner (it was not). Eventually, we rolled in late afternoon and got a nice flat pad. Four Point Campground is really lovely, in open trees and with easy access to the surprisingly spacious flats of the Brazeau River. Only problem? Those bugs had tripled since we descended the pass, and just wouldn’t go away. Every campground from now would demand a full hoodie, long pants, and a DEET bath for protection.
We set up camp, had a dehydrated dinner (yum), and called it a day—despite smoke and bugs, a great start!
Day 2—Four Point to Brazeau Lake (19.7 km)
We awoke to light rain, but nothing torrential on Saturday, and cleaned out camp. It took as a little longer to get going than I anticipated, mostly because it was Andrew’s first time having to deal with alpine logistics, but we did get going eventually!
Day 2 necessitated a bunch of low travel, mostly through forest to get to Brazeau Lake. This was essentially us paying it forward so we could trundle up two alpine passes the next two days—though in the end the walking was quite pleasant! Usually, valley-bottom slogs are tedious and gross, but the forest was often quite open and we got some really nice open river flats to enjoy! I was surprised how gentle and wide the Brazeau River Valley was.
All in all, this day was pretty straightforward, though based on topo maps we were expecting a pretty gradual and consistent downhill—we instead got a very jolty up-and-down thing that didn’t quite commit to contouring to elevation, rather it insisted dipping up and down. Sometimes this was justified by avoiding swamps and low water, but other times it seemed a little poorly thought out… oh well! Still a lovely way to spend a day in the mountains :)
After being surprised by one final large climb to get to our campsite, we were rewarded with a magnificent night at Brazeau Lake Campground, mercilessly the least buggy of the places we’d end up staying. Brazeau Lake is one of the largest backcountry lakes in Jasper, and it shows! You have to head down the shore from the campsite a smidge to get a full sense of the massive scale of the place, which is totally worth it.
Day 3—Brazeau Lake to Jonas Cut-off via Poboktan Pass (18.5 km)
Big day! We awoke to cloudy but indifferent skies and set off back the way we came for a short while before climbing up a steep but graded trail around the western shore of Brazeau Lake, affording fleeting views down to the turquoise giant. Once again, we were a little flummoxed by the constant gain-loss-gain-loss-gain of elevation, but continued merrily on our way, passing through the gargantuan Brazeau Slide. Park Warden Charlie Matheson is said to have been mighty surprised to find the phone line and trail to his cabin at Brazeau Lake cut off by the slide in July of 1933—talk about a rude awakening.
The trail then swings southwest into the John-John Creek valley, an interesting mix of avalanche slope, trees, and meadow, before climbing rapidly above John-John Campground through dense and unyielding forest. It was starting to get hot while we crawled up the switchbacks, making the going pretty rough. But soon enough, we crested the corner of the Poboktan Pass saddle and wound our way through fields upon fields of blooming wildflowers! It was magnificent, though the flowers probably won’t be on their full neon display until next week. We also saw what we think was a pine marten on the trail, which is a rare find.
The trail happily meandered up to the summit of Poboktan Pass at 2300m, then quickly dropped down towards our camp at Jonas Cut-off. As we trundled down valley, we could see our objective for the coming morning rising high to our left—the 2470m summit of Jonas Shoulder. Yikes! Alas, nothing to be done and we met our camp in the late afternoon. It was hard to believe, but the bugs were actually worse at this campsite… making sitting down in one place to cook, eat, set up, or change clothes next to impossible. We choked back dehydrated meal no. 3 and retired to our tent nice n’ early, biding strength for the big climb tomorrow.
Day 4—Jonas Cut-off to Four Point via Jonas Shoulder and Pass (23.5 km)
Biggerer day! We woke up extra early to best the bugs, and were on the trail around 8 am. Immediately, the grade steepened as we ascended the valley to gain Jonas Shoulder. The morning light was immaculate, made even softer by the smoke that had (unfortunately) found its way into the valley—we had our fingers crossed that it wouldn’t affect things too much. Across the valley, the hulking mass of Poboktan Mountain (3335 m) dominated the view, standing tall through the smoke.
The shoulder is a little foreshortened, but with a good pace and excitement for what lay ahead we blazed through the 500 or so meters of elevation gain fairly quickly, and arrived to one of the most spectacular views I’ve had in the Rockies. It is, once again, impossible get a sense of scale from these pictures, but here’s what the phone saw:
It was just otherworldly beautiful. We sat up on the ridge for a good half hour before being forced to descend, drinking in the 360 views. And the smoke wasn’t an issue! This is what the last three days had been leading up to, and it was gorgeous. Unfortunately, my mom discovered at the top that her trusty rain jacket had fallen out of her pack, most likely a few kilometers below where we were—too far down to go back and get :(
In addition, while we were sitting a Parks Canada helicopter appeared and flew over us a few times, circling, then proceeded back down the valley and back again a few times. It was so cool to see them at work! We saw a guy hop out of the chopper a few hundred meters below us, do some work, then hop back in.
Before long, we had to start our descent, and gradually picked our way down and across the splendid Jonas Pass, a 10 km corridor of wildflowers and meadows. What a day! We were consigned to a fairly hemmed-in, treed descent at the end of the pass back to Four Point, but all in all it was a day that will go down as a fond and dear memory.
And that jacket that my mom lost? At dinner time in Four Point, 15 km away from the shoulder, a random guy walked up to us from nowhere and asked, “Is this your rain jacket"?” !!!!!! yes it was! Turns out it was an FTC member we had seen in the chopper who saw it and found us at Four Point to drop it off. My mom wanted to give him a hug! It was a really really nice thing to do; the people working at Parks Canada are pretty amazing : )
Day 5— Egress (Four Point to Nigel Pass Trailhead, 17 km)
Last day! We attempted to wake up extra early to hit the trail, but some insane thunder and lightning kept us firmly in the tent until about 6:30—I had a close call with lightning a week and a bit ago, so seeing the flashes light up the tent and being surrounded by ear-splitting crashes again was not the most pleasant thing to go through. But soon enough, the storm had passed, and we hastily slammed our things in our packs and got the hell out of dodge.
The climb back over Nigel Pass was considerable, but felt way better with our lighter packs and the knowledge we had clean clothes and beds as an incentive ahead of us. We crested the pass without issue, descending all the way back to car in pretty decent time. All the while, we found ourselves in the shoes of the exiting hikers who had warned us about bugs on the way in, a fun reversal of fortunes. Luckily, this day was clearer than our entrance day, allowing for clearer pictures of previously-unseen scenery.
Wrapping up
The Brazeau Loop was a terrific trail, and a very memorable backpack! 5 days is about the ceiling for comfortable tenting for me, and I think this hit just the right spot. Like many Parks Canada trails, it is increasingly difficult to find a booking as the seasons come and go due to the immense popularity of the mountain parks. I felt very lucky to be able to book this thing and do it with my mom and bro! Though there were some parts less exciting than others, and an entire day in the trees more or less, I think the scenic rewards justify just about all the slogging required to get to them. After all, what trail doesn’t make you work a little to get to the good stuff?
I have one or two more large trips lined up for the rest of the summer, and I’ll try and do this again for those. I hope you enjoyed this little window into a part of the world I care so much about : )
