Lake Louise

Lake Louise

We were going to go out of the park at the Saskatchewan River Crossing, an area just after you enter Banff National Park.  However, the distances we are traveling aren’t that great, and we decide to keep going to Lake Louise and take a chance that we will find a camping site.

The reason for the concern is that the first weekend in August is a national holiday.  The name of the holiday?  Nobody knows!  It seems that the first weekend in June and the first weekend in August are simply three-day weekends proclaimed by the Canadian Government.  They don’t signify anything in particular, and while some provinces acknowledge them, others don’t.  The province may also have a name for the holiday.  Or not. So, whenever we asked the reason for the holiday, we got these shocked looks, because there was no real answer.

Nevertheless, it is a big holiday weekend for most Canadians, and we were concerned that all of the campsites would be full.  So, we thought about going out of the park for the long weekend, and coming back in. afterwards. However, we changed our minds and ended up at Lake Louise.  We were able to get a spot at a campground about 10 miles south of the Lake, called Protection Mountain.  It is a small campground, with only about 12 sites for campers or trailers, and the rest are tent sites.  We stayed there three nights.  The other campgrounds were completely full, so we lucked out.

The next morning, we were up early to head for the parking lot at Lake Louise.  And once again, it was good timing, because the lot quickly filled up right behind us.  We really haven’t been able to do much forward planning at these places because it seems like most of the information is available only when you get there.

So, we opted to first, just enjoy the spectacular setting of Lake Louise.  There is a huge Fairmont Chateau there.  The Canadian Pacific Railroad, known as the CPR (which threw us for a while) opted to build these huge places to attract moneyed tourists to use the railroad.  This is one of them.  It is gorgeous, and it is easy to understand why it is so popular. The view of the lake makes you just want to sit and view it all day.

 John took pictures, heads above the crowd.

We decided to walk beside the lake, and perhaps take a hike called the Plain of the Six Glaciers.  It is a 6.6 mile round trip.  They tell you it is a climb of 365 meters in elevation (1204 feet) but they don’t give you an elevation scale telling you that some of the climb is very steep. Nevertheless, we set out around the lake, and decided to go for it.

At the end of the lake, you can see the silt from the glacier as it blends with the lake, forming the beautiful blue and green turquoise colors.  

It was a strenuous hike, at least for me, but I made it.  The vistas all along the way were magnificent and John said that it was probably the most beautiful hike he had ever taken.  There were some precarious areas, like rock ledges, but each time the lake came into view, or looking ahead, another view of the glacier, it was worth it. And Nacho had fun too!

The water comes from the glacier and pools on this moraine, then creates a water fall, and ultimately ends up in Lake Louise, below. 

At the top of this trail is a tea house! The  two-story stone building was built in 1927. Joy Kimball, the owner reportedly goes up the mountain in an hour and a half, and still helps out baking  without electricity. She is in her late 70's.   She bought the tea house from the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1959 after seeing an advertisement in the newspaper.   Her daughter now runs the day to day operation.  The food is brought in by helicopter and packhorse.

I called this truly High Tea!  We had a tuna sandwich and biscuits.  The bread on the sandwich was freshly made and the biscuits were light and warm.  Wow!

Still photographing squirrels!

We were starting to hear thunder rumbling and clouds beginning to gather above us, and we decided to start down the mountain before a storm hit.  It did come, but only light sprinkles despite loud rolling thunder.  What a beautiful day.