Day 2 - Mystic Junction Campground to Block Lakes Campground

Overview

Our second day on the trail started with a climb up to Forty Mile Summit. From there, we decided to leave the main trail and go up to Rainbow Lake (pictured above). It was very beautiful and we thought it was worth the extra distance and elevation gain it took to get there.

From Rainbow Lake, we descended to the main trail and carried on through forest to the Flint’s Park area and the Cascade River. Here we crossed the river and turned left to follow a trail up the Cascade River to Block Lakes Campground. The valley that the river runs through has some very scenic views of the surrounding mountains. Scroll down to see photos.

Distance

My GaiaGPS app showed the total distance we walked on this day was 20.2 km and elevation gain of 494 meters. The backcountry map published on the Parks Canada website gives a total distance for this leg of the journey of 19.5 km.

Trip Details

After packing up, we headed back up to the trail junction we had passed through the day before. The sign shows an option for “Forty Mile Summit” with a horse icon and “Forty Mile Bypass” with a hiker icon.

We chose to take the Forty Mile Bypass, avoiding the horse trail. I knew both trails would bring us to Forty Mile Summit, our first destination of the day.

Horse (equestrian) trails often follow creeks and cross back and forth. This can be frustrating for hikers as you take your boots off to wade across and put them back on to continue your hike over and over again. Horse trails can also be muddy. For these reasons, we chose to take the hiker trail, higher up the slope above the creek.

By 9 am, we were underway, hiking a good trail.

This first little creek crossing was “bridged”.

The trail was a bit narrower here, maybe less well-used.

We started seeing a new peak on the left side of the valley.

The trail was a bit steeper on this leg than the day before. It dipped down to cross creeks that came down the hillside. Then it climbed back up on the other side.

Another creek, another “bridged” crossing.

After about 2 hours on the trail, we came to the junction where the hiker trail joins the horse trail.

Here we dropped back down to Forty Mile Creek.

It was a great spot to refill our water and enjoy a snack break.

We often eat two or three smaller lunches on the trail rather than sitting for one big lunch break. We like to keep the calories coming in.

The trail up to Forty Mile Summit was wider, more well traveled.

The area began to open up with pretty meadows.

We weren’t sure if we wanted to stay on the main trail or head up the hillside to check out Rainbow Lake. The Rainbow Lake trail bypassed the turn-off to Sawback Lake (and the campground in that area). It was additional elevation gain and a little bit of extra distance to reach the lake but we were curious to see it. We decided that if the trail was faint and difficult to find, we would stick to the main trail. We didn’t want any navigation challenges. But if the trail was obvious, we would go for it.

The trail was obvious. We left the main trail and headed up into the forest.

The trail was steep in places and less well-used than the main trail but it was easy to follow.

We made our way up.

The trail stopped climbing in some alpine meadows with striking peaks behind. We would find the lake nestled in the bowl ahead, below the snow patches at the base of the rocky cliffs.

When I wondered why the lake might be named Rainbow Lake, Dan said maybe there were so many rainbow trout in the lake that you could reach in and grab one with your hands.

The fish were indeed jumping on the surface of this beautiful alpine lake. We found it breathtaking. I don’t know if they were rainbow trout but the fish were hungry and leaping out of the water for the flies buzzing above the surface.

We enjoyed a well-earned lunch break on the shores of the lake.

After lunch, we began the descent. We didn’t have to go back down the trail we had come up. We could continue down the valley and meet the main trail further down its journey toward the Cascade River.

The trail was good heading down to the valley. Again, it was steep in places and we lost elevation quickly. At times, like shown in the photo, the views opened up on the left side as the trail traversed a ridge.

Eventually, we came down to a creek crossing. This one required taking off our boots.

Not far after the creek crossing, we got to the main trail.

The photo shows the trail coming from Rainbow Lake on the left. There’s not much left of the trail sign.

We hopped on the main trail and headed down the valley toward the Cascade River.

The trail stayed in the forest for the most part. It was easy to follow and easy to hike. We cruised this section.

About 45 minutes after joining the main trail, we arrived at open meadows.

At the far end, a warden’s cabin is nestled in the trees. The Cascade River runs past it.

We stopped at the bridge over the Cascade River for a final lunch break and to rest a bit before starting up the Cascade River Valley. The photo below is looking back at the bridge we crossed over the Cascade River. The cabin is the Parks Canada warden cabin.

The trail started in the forest. Bugs were thick and we stopped to re-apply bug spray. I think here the horse flies were worse than the mosquitos.

After about half an hour of walking, the valley opened up and we saw an interesting mountain on the right. We walked past it on our way up the valley.

Bright and colourful wildflowers bloomed in many places along the trail.

Block Mountain came into view ahead. Our campground was near the base. The next morning, we would walk past this mountain and see the other side of it.

The trail stayed up on the hillside above the river for most of this leg. We were glad to stay above the marshy valley bottom.

Campground

We arrived at camp a couple of hours after crossing the bridge at the warden cabin.

The sites were similar to our last campground with tent pads covered in wood chips.

The kitchen area was separated from the tent sites. But we felt that the kitchen area was on the wrong end of the campground.

Campsites 1 and 2 were close to a creek that came down the hillside to join the Cascade River. This would have provided a close source of water for cooking.

At this campground, you had to hike quite a ways down the hill and cross the main trail to get water for cooking.

There was a communal fire pit.

As well as a picnic table and food lockers.

The food lockers are all the same. They have plenty of space for food, kitchen gear and personal hygeine items. They are secure from bears, small critters and birds.