Later, as the trail passed Hairtrigger Lake and beyond, the open sub-alpine meadows became more frequent, and the views of the approaching high alpine terrain improved. We could see glimpses of the truly castle-like blocks of Castlecrag mountain, the high terrain on Mount Frink, and the sloped-pyramid of Albert Edward's summit.
Jenn heads for the high country
Andrew and Cruikshank Canyon
Beautiful Subalpine Terrain
As we were lounging at our campspot near the southwest shore of Moat Lake, two people (one man and one young boy)
puttered over to us in a little aluminum boat powered by a 2 horsepower outboard. They had been fishing, and were
curious about us. I thought they might be park rangers, perhaps wanting to tell us about some camping infraction or
other. As it turned out, the two boaters were descendents of the Wood family that had purchased this lake (and the
land around it) from the railroad. Looking at my topo map, I noticed that the island in the middle of Moat Lake was
called Stewart Wood Island. Jamie Wood and Clinton Stewart Wood III (our two boaters) were descendants of Stewart
Wood. Most interesting!
Jamie and Clinton Stewart
We had a decent chat about this and about that. Jamie told us a few stories about how various features here and in
the neighbouring park were named, including Castlecrag Mountain, Hairtrigger Lake, and Moat Lake itself. We talked
about the state of the forestry industry (which Jamie worked in) and about Strathcona in general. Stewart Wood Island
is still used by the Woods as a retreat, and there is a nice set of cabins on it (that's where they had boated from).
This was Jamie's third visit to the lake this summer.
With that, Jamie Stewart and Clinton Stewart III motored off, leaving us with the stillness of dusk at Moat Lake.
There were some clouds overhead nicely reflecting the setting sun, and we were hopeful that these weren't early
harbingers of the unsettled weather that had been predicted. Just one more day, I thought... Hold off for one more day!
Our campsite at Moat Lake
Delighted with our little impromptu history lesson, we settled in for an early sleep, aiming to get up and off hiking
by 5am to make the most of any early-day clear weather. I slept fitfully that night; at around midnight I became
aware, with dismay, of a pitter-pattering of rain on our tent. It didn't last, though, and later in the night I
noticed bright blobs of light against the tent walls. Moonlight!
