The Progression Of Bertha: A Three-Part Hiking Test in Waterton Lakes National Park
By Chad Helfenbein
Named after an early resident of Waterton, Bertha Ekelund, the Bertha-series of hikes provides the perfect trifecta to challenge your hiking abilities.
Beginning with Bertha Falls, progressing through Bertha Lake and culminating at Bertha Peak, there is a hike to both suit and challenge the needs of all; from basic beginnings to scrambling summits.
Your test begins now...
Lower Bertha Falls
Rating: Easy
Distance (Roundtrip): 5.2kms
Elevation Gain: 175m
Dog Friendly: Yes (on leash)
This is an immensely popular hike in Waterton and a great trail for first-time hikers, families or anyone just simply looking for a casual outing.
The trailhead is easily accessed in town, just down from Cameron Falls, complete with its own parking lot and trail
signage.
Once on the trail, it is extremely well-defined and well-traveled.
It.includes a number of viewpoints and even intermittent benches for those who want to take a seated break.
In terms of testing your hiking prowess, this is an easy one.
The gradual elevation gain is minimal, at just 175m over 2.6kms, but it’s going to require more effort than just a flat hike.
The trail itself is mostly smooth, but you will be required to navigate a few minor rocky sections.
All in all, Lower Bertha Falls is a great starting place in your hiking hierarchy and will reward your efforts with an amazing up-close view of Lower Bertha Falls.
By Chad Helfenbein
Named after an early resident of Waterton, Bertha Ekelund, the Bertha-series of hikes provides the perfect trifecta to challenge your hiking abilities.
Beginning with Bertha Falls, progressing through Bertha Lake and culminating at Bertha Peak, there is a hike to both suit and challenge the needs of all; from basic beginnings to scrambling summits.
Your test begins now...
Lower Bertha Falls
Rating: Easy
Distance (Roundtrip): 5.2kms
Elevation Gain: 175m
Dog Friendly: Yes (on leash)
This is an immensely popular hike in Waterton and a great trail for first-time hikers, families or anyone just simply looking for a casual outing.
The trailhead is easily accessed in town, just down from Cameron Falls, complete with its own parking lot and trail
signage.
Once on the trail, it is extremely well-defined and well-traveled.
It.includes a number of viewpoints and even intermittent benches for those who want to take a seated break.
In terms of testing your hiking prowess, this is an easy one.
The gradual elevation gain is minimal, at just 175m over 2.6kms, but it’s going to require more effort than just a flat hike.
The trail itself is mostly smooth, but you will be required to navigate a few minor rocky sections.
All in all, Lower Bertha Falls is a great starting place in your hiking hierarchy and will reward your efforts with an amazing up-close view of Lower Bertha Falls.
Bertha Lake
Rating: Moderate
Distance (Roundtrip): 10.4kms
Elevation Gain: 460m
Dog Friendly: Yes (on leash)
So you’ve mastered Lower Bertha Falls and now you feel like you need to move onto the next level in
your hiking challenge.
Enter Bertha Lake.
Bertha Lake is a continuation of the Lower Bertha Falls trail, and also where you will get your introduction to hiking up elevations.
Hiking on an upward slope is nothing like hiking across flat terrain.
You will be engaging more muscle, and therefore more energy and more oxygen.
In other words, you’re going to feel it in your legs and lungs.
The start of the moderate 460m elevation gain is encountered immediately once you pass Lower Bertha Falls.
Luckily however, hikers are treated to a series of wide switchbacks that lessen the intensity required.
As you weave your way back and forth up the switchbacks you will be treated to a picturesque peek at Upper Bertha Falls through the trees, and before you know it, you’ll
break the crest of the trail and be descending a short way down until beautiful Bertha Lake comes into full view.
Making it past the falls and to the lake means you did it.
You combined additional distance with increased elevation, and now you’re ready for the next test, the advanced haul up to
Bertha Peak.
Bertha Peak Rating: Difficult
Distance (Roundtrip): 15kms
Elevation Gain: 1150m
Dog Friendly: Yes (on leash)
Additional Info: Scrambling. Loose scree. Water haul required.
Admittedly, the jump from the moderate Bertha Lake to that of the difficult Bertha Peak is a big one.
You will be hiking around the perimeter of Bertha Lake and then up to the top of one of the mountains that surrounds it.
And to do so, you will need to employ a number of advanced hiking techniques.
First off, you’ll need to be comfortable with scrambling (using both your feet and hands as points of contact to ascend vertical rock sections).
There are two routes, one that focuses heavily on scrambling
and a second that only involves minimal scrambling.
Either way, there will be scrambling.
Next up is route-finding, or more bluntly, there isn’t a pretty trail for you to follow.
The direction of travel is very loosely marked with the odd orange ribbon on a tree and a few rock cairns here and there.
But you’ll need to feel comfortable in figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B on your own.
You have a really good line-of-sight to both the peak and the lake on this one, so a wrong turn won’t get you lost in the woods, but it might cause you to have to backtrack and lose time.
Speaking of the woods, be prepared to have to bushwack through them on your return hike to the lake.
Every single person I know who has hiked this trail has lost the path on the way back down and been forced to fight their way
through bushes and deadfall to get back to the trail, myself included.
Lastly is physical fitness, as in, you’re going to need a fairly decent level of it.
Most everyone is familiar with The Bears Hump hike in Waterton.
Climbing to Bertha Peak is the equivalent of climbing up to Bears
Hump...five times back-to-back.
The addition of Bertha Peak to the Bertha Lake hike isn’t a big one in terms of distance; but you’re adding almost 700m in elevation, so it’s steep.
Hiking in the summer months will get you more daylight hours and more time to complete the hike, or another option is to
camp at Bertha Lake and try your hand at Bertha Peak the following day.
Whichever you chose, expect to dedicate the better part of your day to this hike.
Though it may sound like a fair bit of work to most, you can’t truly appreciate Bertha Lake in all of its breathtaking beauty until you have seen it from above.
In the end, the rating doesn’t matter, only the experience does.
The vast majority of people will be quite content with hiking to Bertha Falls, and will love every peaceful minute of it, as they should.
But there
are those who are looking for the “What’s Next?” in the hiking equation.
The Bertha hikes are a great place to answer that question, and
to see if you’re ready for it.
Pencils down.
Time’s up.
The test is over
Distance (Roundtrip): 15kms
Elevation Gain: 1150m
Dog Friendly: Yes (on leash)
Additional Info: Scrambling. Loose scree. Water haul required.
Admittedly, the jump from the moderate Bertha Lake to that of the difficult Bertha Peak is a big one.
You will be hiking around the perimeter of Bertha Lake and then up to the top of one of the mountains that surrounds it.
And to do so, you will need to employ a number of advanced hiking techniques.
First off, you’ll need to be comfortable with scrambling (using both your feet and hands as points of contact to ascend vertical rock sections).
There are two routes, one that focuses heavily on scrambling
and a second that only involves minimal scrambling.
Either way, there will be scrambling.
Next up is route-finding, or more bluntly, there isn’t a pretty trail for you to follow.
The direction of travel is very loosely marked with the odd orange ribbon on a tree and a few rock cairns here and there.
But you’ll need to feel comfortable in figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B on your own.
You have a really good line-of-sight to both the peak and the lake on this one, so a wrong turn won’t get you lost in the woods, but it might cause you to have to backtrack and lose time.
Speaking of the woods, be prepared to have to bushwack through them on your return hike to the lake.
Every single person I know who has hiked this trail has lost the path on the way back down and been forced to fight their way
through bushes and deadfall to get back to the trail, myself included.
Lastly is physical fitness, as in, you’re going to need a fairly decent level of it.
Most everyone is familiar with The Bears Hump hike in Waterton.
Climbing to Bertha Peak is the equivalent of climbing up to Bears
Hump...five times back-to-back.
The addition of Bertha Peak to the Bertha Lake hike isn’t a big one in terms of distance; but you’re adding almost 700m in elevation, so it’s steep.
Hiking in the summer months will get you more daylight hours and more time to complete the hike, or another option is to
camp at Bertha Lake and try your hand at Bertha Peak the following day.
Whichever you chose, expect to dedicate the better part of your day to this hike.
Though it may sound like a fair bit of work to most, you can’t truly appreciate Bertha Lake in all of its breathtaking beauty until you have seen it from above.
In the end, the rating doesn’t matter, only the experience does.
The vast majority of people will be quite content with hiking to Bertha Falls, and will love every peaceful minute of it, as they should.
But there
are those who are looking for the “What’s Next?” in the hiking equation.
The Bertha hikes are a great place to answer that question, and
to see if you’re ready for it.
Pencils down.
Time’s up.
The test is over
