Eva Lake Trail …Mount Revelstoke

I guess this is another redo of sorts. Having missed the window to get up the mountain when we wanted to on our initial visit…we organized the whole Cathedral experience (1. and 2.) with a plan to come back through and stop in Revelstoke once again to bag this peak-to-peak trail from the summit of Mount Revelstoke to Eva Lake. This is not as much of a trial as it sounds, Revelstoke supports a couple of excellent craft breweries.

When you look at that map picture…you can actually see the switchbacks of the road going up the mountain before the green trail (the green trail being what we walked)

It was a longer hike and a time limit on access to the park. so the plan was to be at the gate when it opened at 8am for the 40-minute drive up the mountain. (They close the gate again at 8pm)

The first kilometer of the trail is to the Summit (the bit we did before!)

….and from there …the start of the Eva Lake Trail….. It’s a well-travelled path.

After the Summit Trail the next couple of kms are almost depressingly down (when you know it’s a long hike…and eventually you have to climb back up…!!!)

There was one guy ahead of us as we headed out …young guy…he took off like a rabbit and we did not see him again…LOL…this was not going to be a tortoise and the hare situation…

There are some really lovely spots where the forest opens up into wildflower meadows…..

There were lots of birds and chipmunks ……and butterflies galore…!!

Mount Revelstoke NP was established in 1914 and the peak is relatively accessible, so the trails are very well manicured and enjoyed by many.

Once you start going up again…there are some really evil parts of the path across old rockslides…. but the trail itself is easy to find…… and to follow.

One big advantage of being out this early is the wildlife.

As we strolled along, just ahead of us was this strange little critter. It’s a marmot, we’d never seen one before. It sat munching its breakfast of greens, not bothered by me at all. It even waited for Scott to catch up and get a couple of decent pix….(Editor. I’m always running to catch up or tearing up or down a rock face. photographic opportunities are everywhere)

I’m getting better at this rock ledge lark…I even managed to look down on some of those ropey parts.

The marmot was a little distraction before the path got crazy again…. and we saw a second one a little further along…..

Believe it or not……on the way back down we passed a guy heading up this path wearing Crocs….!!!! Even on the more level parts of the trail this seems like not-a-good-idea..!!

In this next picture, just to give an idea of the scale of this place I am on the path ahead of the blogtographer….the second pic shows you where I am…!! (Editor. I just wait patiently until I get the shot I want then run, while other hikers stare at me in amazement)

Eva Lake is quite magnificent. The water was crystal clear and still. Lots of small fish jumping.

We followed the path to the other end of the lake..so the next picture is looking back up the lake.

After some hydration ( from the water bottles we carry with us..!!) and a snack it was time to turn around and head back down.

Checking out the wildflowers as we went.

There is a side path to Miller Lake…it’s an extra couple of kilometers but fortunately we had started early, were making good time and of course we were here, so why not…!!!

The path comes down to a beach with stepping stones out to a couple of islands. The blogtographer wanted me out on the island.. (Editor. Platitudes like….it’s for the blog…never work)

…but that next rock did not look stable enough for me…….no matter how long I stared at it…!!…… LOL…..

Continuing on down…..this little guy appeared and did a full ten minute posing session…….If he’d had a bowl we’d have popped in a few Sheckels.

It was still reasonably cool, and we were meeting more and more people on their way up. We gave ourselves an extra little pat on the back for starting early.

Just in case you are wondering….yes he waits for everyone else to pass before he takes the pictures….

That climb back up to Revelstoke summit was cruel on tired legs……but we made it….. 😁

Extra Pix