Nolan Lake
July 12, 2024
Total elevation gain: approximately
1000 m
Round-trip
time: 8:00
Solo scramble.
The view of
this beautifully coloured lake had been burning in my brain since seeing it
from Bell Ridge, 5 days earlier. 
Its unnamed status was bit of a surprise,
given not only its eye-catching hue, but also because the lake and a smaller
lake to the east are situated only a few hundred metres from the Lake O’Brien Trail.
I was also keen on seeing the few remaining islands of ice on the big lake while
they were still intact. Go now or forever hold my peace!
Now somewhat
acquainted with the intricacies of the Lake O’Brien Trail I was able to make
good progress towards the lake. 
Leaving the trail to check out some cool
quartzite boulders I realized I was relatively close to another small tarn I
had seen during the Bell Ridge trip – might as well check out that one too. The
pretty tarn was reached with ease and then onto the next.
Of course, now that
I was off course, a coarser route to the next tarn would be required (epic homophone
failure there – perhaps I should take an English course!). Thankfully, after
gaining too much elevation, I stumbled onto a relatively easy route back down
to the next body of water. The terrain above this shallow but colourful tarn
appeared to lead directly to the objective.
And it did. Within
minutes I arrived at the shores of the unnamed lake. Disappointingly the ice
chunks I had seen from above, 5 days earlier, had all melted, but the lake’s stunning
turquoise colour did not disappoint at all. After circling a small portion of
the lake, I gained some elevation above to get an even better look – an
absolute beaut!
No way was I
leaving this gem without giving it an unofficial name. Of course “Bell Lake”
was the obvious choice, in honour of Dr. Frederick Bell (1883–1971), a founding
member of the Alpine Club of Canada, whom Mount Bell is named after.
However, upon reflection, I decided to give some love to someone presently
living. Someone so important to me that life without him would be drab and
empty – and that person is my little 5-year and 1-day old buddy, Nolan Vale. I’ve
known Nolan since he was born. Watching him grow has been one of the greatest
joys of my life. Naming a lake after him is at least I can do to express my
love for the little man and all he has given me. Hopefully, one day when he is
older, we will visit the lake together.
Back to the
trip….
As well as the
magnificent hues of the water, Nolan Lake was surrounded by spectacular mountain
scenery. Now above the lake, continuing to circle it seemed to offer great views
and so that’s what I did. I still wanted to visit Nolan’s companion lake a few
hundred metres east of Nolan, but time was in abundance.
The “circling” quickly
turned into an ascent into the hanging valley below Bell Ridge. There, I was
surprised to find myself only 200 vertical metres from the second highest summit
of Bell. The easiest way to end the trip would probably be to gain that ridge
and follow it back to the plateau and the O’Brien Lake Trail. As tempting as
that was, however, completing the loop around Nolan Lake and seeing the other
lake had greater appeal. A recent ascent of a drainage on Mount Blakiston reminded
me that summits on perfect weather days are not mandatory.
Good decision! Going
around the other side of Nolan Lake rewarded me with more breath-taking views and
the other lake was super cool and easy to reach. The almost circular, deep
green body of water was surrounded by grass that almost looked like it had been
mowed! After circling that lake too (very easy given its small size), I found
the trail and followed it back to the Boom Lake trail and then onto the parking
lot.
A
totally
amazing day of incredible scenery and exploration – three tarns, a
stunning
lake, and fantastic mountain vistas throughout. Paying tribute to the
best little guy in the world was icing on the cake – thank you, Nolan,
for all the laughs and good times. Hoping for many, many more to come!
Epilogue: Here’s
one of my favourite examples of a homophone success, from one of the finest
lyricists and finest bands of our time:
I act the role
in classic style
Of a martyr
carved with twisted smile
To bleed the
lyric for this song
To write the
rites, to right my wrongs
Fish (Derek W.
Dick), Script For a
Jester’s Tear, Marillion (1983)
The first boulder field that comes down from the east side of Bell Ridge
Looking up that field to the first summit of Bell Ridge
Fe in the H2O
(iron in the water for those who didn't take high school chemistry)
Several potential routes up to the ridge en route to the first tarn
Leaving the trail in search of the first tarn
More of lengthy Bell Ridge makes an appearance
Scrambling up through some quartzite boulders
Big, sweet rock!
The first tarn
Leaving
The summit of Bell Ridge (left), Ivory Tower (right), and the second tarn down below
The relatively easy route down to the tarn
Nolan Lake is below Ivory Tower, I hope!
Down to the valley again
The second highest summit of Bell Ridge is formidable from this side
The ultra clear waters of the second tarn
The whole tarn
Leaving the second
Easy and colourful ride up to the next level
Fe in SiO2 (you'll have to look that one up!)
Larches atop layered rock
There it is - first look at the body of water that is soon to be Nolan Lake
At the shores. The colour of the water didn't appear to be that stunning from this angle.
And then it did!
Bell Ridge and Ivory Tower are lined with magnificent rock
Close-up of some of it
Gaining elevation above the lake
The colour improved with each metre of elevation gained
More of that awesome SiO2 (it's quartzite, in case you didn't figure it out)
Partial panorama of the area
Nolan Lake looks even more spectacular from above
Circling the lake
Zoomed-in shot of the end of the valley above. I briefly considered attempting to gain the ridge up the snow slope on the left.
Close-up of Nolan
A few wildflowers add to the scenery
Same as above
Stunning quartzite
Always have to look back to Nolan - kinda' like the real guy (he has a little mischief in him!)
Too bad the second summit of Bell Ridge got cut off
There's the summit, but no Nolan
Still circling the lake, but much higher than I expected
Nice splash of green
Quite a bit of traversing to do but the upper valley is now visible at the left
There it is
Big boulder hopping
Same as above
The snow here made travel easier
In the upper valley
The near vertical east side of Ivory Tower
Following that snow ramp up towards the summit of Ivory Tower was quite tempting too
The east side of Bell Ridge
The slopes I could have used to get up to the ridge
Or the snow slopes at the end of the valley
Heading back down, having decided not to gain the ridge
Nolan Lake reappears. Castle Mountain and Eisenhower Peak in the background.
Back at the shores of the lake and already to complete the full circumnavigation
The water is crystal clear here too.
Educational bonus for Nolan so he's ready for Physics 30, 12 years from now:
the turquoise hue is the result of light refracting in and reflecting
off glacial silt in the water. The silt absorbs all the wavelengths of
visible light except those in the 540-500 nanometre range. Those values
correspond to the colours green and blue and all the shades in between.
Same as above
Leaving the lake
But not the area
Gained some elevation to get one last look at Nolan Lake
At the third and final tarn of the day
Though much smaller, it's a beaut too
The green colour is probably the result of algae in the water, not silt
Wildflowers along the shore
Who mowed the lawn? Good job!
Who's putting random logs on the lawn??
A puddle near the tarn
Finished going around this one
Leaving the third
Back on the trail
Last look on the second highest summit of Bell Ridge
Mysterious things in a stream
Close-up of one thing
Close-up of the other. An easy hike back to the car from here.
The Man of the Hour and his ice cream!
The End
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