Kamloops to Mt. Robson Provincial Park

Day 3 (6 Sep) — Into the heart of the Canadian Rockies

to Mt. Robson Provincial Park

Today we headed for Mt. Robson, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, which run north–south along the border between British Columbia and Alberta. A commemorative photo outside the motel with our new backpacks.

After driving for a while it started to rain. We were starting our hike tomorrow; would it be OK? Kamloops is a junction town, with one road heading east to Banff and another toward Jasper, where we were going.

Today's leg was short. After a little over 300 km we reached the visitor centre at the foot of Mt. Robson, today's destination. The rain that had kept falling since we set off had almost stopped by the time we got here. But the ground around was still wet, and Robson was hidden in cloud. All we could do was pray for sun tomorrow. There are no shops here; it isn't a town. We thought we'd pitch the tent somewhere, but the car park said camping was prohibited. It's something we often did in Japan, so we were thrown, and decided to look for a campground nearby. The campground that should have been right nearby wasn't there, so we drove a little way.

Robson Meadows campground was laid out in patches through the primeval forest. It didn't feel like an open field; each site had a parking space big enough for a camper van and a space for a tent behind it, quite far from the next site, so even chatting until midnight wouldn't bother anyone. The atmosphere was completely different from Japanese campgrounds, so at first we were quite confused. For a start, we hadn't booked. There was no staff anywhere, so we might get told off for camping without permission. When we asked some people who had come in a camper van, they said the staff would come by car eventually, and we should camp at a site marked Available. We pitched the tent straight away. After a while a staff member did come by car and collected the money. I think it was about 800 yen each. For dinner, Mao deliciously cooked salmon fillets we had bought in advance at Save-On-Foods in Kamloops, dressed with a cream sauce for fish. From tomorrow, the hike at last.

What surprised us at this campground wasn't only the space. The toilets were flushing, and there was even a shower room with hot water. Free for guests. What a luxurious campground.