Aster Lake backpack

Aster Lake Campground from Upper Kananaskis Lake, K country, 11k one-way. July 18-19, 2009.

We did this backpack last summer, and have been dying to get back.  Aster Lake campground is a primitive backcountry site in Kananaskis Country, south-west of Upper K Lake.  It is outstanding because of the variety of terrain you travel through to get there, and for the plethora of day trips and peaks you can bag with Aster as your base.    Unfortunately, for these same reasons it is often booked solid all summer.

We got lucky this trip because some friends had booked this trip several months ago.  But, when they found out that there was still snow in the area, several of the group members backed out and Mike and I snagged two of the spots they had reserved. 

The trail starts with an easy 4k around Upper K Lake circuit trail from the day use lot.  The trail then turns and skirts around Hidden Lake, which (lucky for us!) was low because of the lack of snowpack this year.  If the lake is very full, this stretch can take three times as long because you are forced up into the treefall and undergrowth to get around the lake.  As it was, it took us about 20 minutes to get around Hidden Lake.

Then the fun starts! At the far side of hidden lake, the trail suddenly goes from flat to practically vertical (or at least it feels that way).  It winds through a treed slope and then onto scree fields, where you follow the valley wall above Fossil Falls.  This is a pretty tough section trail with a full pack on, and I always have difficulty with this section, navigating the steep scree with cliffs below. But the falls were breathtaking!  The other two guys we were with were much stronger hikers, so they had to wait for me for a while as I slowly picked my way up.

Once you reach the end of the scree, the trail comes out over the lip of the valley into beautiful, lush alpine meadows and pine tree stands, with moss and soft dirt trails.  Patches of rough rock peek through the moss, and looking closely we saw many of the fossils from which the falls takes its name.  The trail gets a little hard to follow here, as many faint trails branch off, but if you reach the main river, you can then follow the river upstream to the campground.   The trail goes over several rises as you head towards Aster.  Wait, is that a Port-a-Potty on the horizon?  We made it!

Aster doesn’t have set campsites, so we picked a nice spot with a view above the bear lockers, then found a snow patch to play on, practicing self-arrests and building T-anchors.  The whole time I gazed longingly at Warrior mountain, rising like a wave of rock above Aster Lake.  Not this time, since a small remnant glacier at the bottom warrants gear for glacier travel to reach the ridge, but this is definitely in my book of hikes to do in the future. 

The next morning the guys bid us adieu and headed off over Northover Ridge route to Three Isle campground.  I was disappointed not to be going with them, but Mike and I had to get back.  Other than navigating the scree slopes (that stuff is even scarier going down!), the return trip was uneventful.  Next time we go, though, I’m DEFINITELY going to plan on a day trip to the top of one of the peaks there!

Hiking around Hidden Lake, about to start the hard climbing.

At the top of the hard climb, above Fossil Falls- breathtaking!

Relaxing near Fossil Falls- love this pic.

Our little tent! Warrior Mountain in the background- I am obsessed with this peak.

The guys relaxing at the end of the day

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