Day 3.
The reputation is well deserved, for sure, but - as Jules said - the tourists kinda ruin it if you came to Canada for untamed wilderness.
Well whatever your opinions on the "Chateau" (in my opinion the architect could have done better - but then again, it coulda been worse), you'll soon pass the elderly and too-rich-to-care occupants of the concrete construction if you walk further than the edge of the lake.
We took the trail to the Plain of the Six Glaciers, which was just perfect for me. Exhausting enough that I'd felt I'd achieved something, but not so difficult that I ached all over for the next few days! In total it was about 11 km roundtrip, so 6.8 miles. It verges off from the path around the lake at the mouth of it - where the sandy, silty flats are cut through by the mountain stream which feeds Louise. The path starts to climb very, very, very gently alongside the sheer rock facese which were already set up with climbing leads for the tourists. Jules was gutted, she'd have climbed them if she could! But you know, the whole wrist thing, so she gazed forlornly at the rocks as we passed:
The trail becomes quite forrested for a large portion, exposed to roots being the only thing to watch out for as you walk. Following the stream means there's an awesome waterfall section on the way up that we only really stopped to appreciate on the way down as we were somewhat concerned about daylight and time. So we continued on and the path started to get pretty damn steep, and pebbly too! As the trees and foliage slowly dissapeared, so did my layers of clothing. I am sooo unfit.
I'm tellin' ya I was already wheezing when we came across melting snow, supplying a small but constant stream down the path and down into the valley. Then there was a huge block of snow-ice in the path with a hole cut through where people had been walking. "Motherfucking glacier!" I exlaimed (completely out of my head exhausted) how cool is that! What was essentially the beginnings of a glacier (well, just ice really, but still!) crept into our path!
Then there was a family and a guy on a horse passung use: which was kinda cool to see on such a narrow path...
Then we rounded the corner... motherfucking glacier. This pack of ice and snow not only encroached into the path, but covered it and then some! The sign post showing a split for horsetrail and human trail was almost covered up entirely - I actually used it to steady myself as we clambered around! (below)
It was nerve-wracking. Slippery snow, rocky ground, a bit of a fall - and I still had a dodgy knee! Needless to say that half-way round when the path split into high and low road I was pretty keen to take the low road and escape the snow. Jules came with me, she could tell I was struggling. So Emily and Chris kept going while we took out time getting across via the rocks. A patch of rain/drizzle passed over us so the coat came out briefly. It wasn't just wet but cold too. The wind chill was crisp and nippy, and as we got around the ice monstrosity, Lake Louise came back into view. A blue lagoon in the distance - stunning.
By now the glaciers seemed as though they were withing touching distance. The path continued through steep portions and slopes, more and more ice-melts peppering the pathway until, eventually, we were dealing with snow. Proper snow. Well trodden on by the hikers who had passed throughout the day. On severall occasions I was fooled by the sound of other human beings into thinking that we'd reached the tea-house, but just a small push through the snow and my hallucinations came true!
A glacial stream passing by benches situated facing the glaciers, the odd patch of pine, and a rest stop complete with teahouse!
There was a small bridge over the stream which I sat on for a bit to catch my breath and enjoy the stunning view. Jules stuck her bad arm in the freezing waters as she had been doing on the way up from time to time. You see she has to keep the injured wrist cool - so the melt-water was a really good remedy!
Moving to a bench we were visited by yet another stripped-back squirrel, and as we ate some nuts, seeds, and dried berries part of the glacier in the distance came crashing down from a cliff face with a thunderous roar. The powder raining down like a waterfall right in front of us. AWESOME.
So eventually we decided to move it to the tea-house - a cute little Alpine-esque cottage a few metres away. We sat upstairs on the balcony, near the lady's kitchen/living space. You see there was an Aussie girl working there, and she would live in the tea house for a few weeks before someone else would come up. Supplies came up with the change of shift, or locals coming up to visit, horsetrail leaders etc. No mains gas or electricity, no internet or phones. Apparently they'd opened for the season only two weeks before, so we were actually pretty lucky. There was just one couple upstairs with us and we all got to chatting.
Most of them had hot chocolate. I however had tea. If I remember right an Earl Grey, and chocolate cake - let me tell you, with that scenery, and being that exhausted from the exercise- the cake was sublime! Utterly divine even. I didn't care that it was expensive, (I hadn't expected it to be cheap - to be honest it was moderately priced considering!) it just tasted so good. Worth every penny! And I even let everyone have a bit!
There was another cheeky stripped squirrel who hung around the teahouse - cute, but it's kind of a shame that tourists have turned them into pests. And you know what? The teahouse wasn't built by Brits?! Swiss! What do ya know - eh?
So we made use of the tea-house's restrooms which were outhouses, pits, very well kept but still... drop downs, and apparenly that's what the tea-house workers have to use too because there's no running water/sewage pipes.
Then we began the descent... and the sun was so bright I realised it was burning my scalp, so I decided to wrap my scarf round my head. Yeah, I looked like a complete idiot, I know but it functional!
On the way back down Jules, Emily and I saw a Marmot thanks to a family of hikers who's paused on the path which wasn't snow-heaped - Chris had taken the snowy path again. I also found the most awesome rock in the world! It was malachite, I think, and just the right size for hugging!
Again we woke up to a dry, if overcast, morning. Emily didn't have a camping mat (d'oh!) so we were trying to share, I spent most of the night halfway between the cold floor and slightly less cold matt, and woke up not too rested I can tell you!
Chris had abandoned his tent at some point in the night and opted for the car and from this point on we'd pretty much leave him with the car keys in the evening. But we got up, ate breakfast and showered etc, admiring the squirrels as we ate. There were big fat ground squirrels, and ones with black-stripes on their backs: the ground squirrels were noisy buggers...While some of them were getting washed and using the loo or something we were tidying up, and I left the garbage bag and some utensils on the table - about 3 meters from the car. I turned my back for all of 10 seconds to put stuff in the boot, and what do I see when I turn around? Ninja squirrel and crow over there trying to get into the bags!!! The cheek!! The others were pretty amused by my reaction (giving said miscreants a piece of my mind).
Heading out of the campsite we bought our first National Park Pass and stopped off in the village for a camping matt for Emily, some gas for our stove - just incase we ran out, along with a couple of other supplies. Then down the road to the actual Lake Louise - a bit of a must see for anyone in Banff National Park.Luckily for us we were there early in the season, which meant that it wasn't busy:
The thing is you see, as stunning as Lake Louise is - everybody and their mother knows it. Every guide book sends you there, every brochure will sell you the azure blue of the lake, the icy web of peak-tops and the grey rocky mountains. And the guidebook is right - there's a comfortable lake-side walk for the tired, a moderate hike to the glaciers, as well as a hard-core route which will take you round to Mirror Lake and more!
The thing is you see, as stunning as Lake Louise is - everybody and their mother knows it. Every guide book sends you there, every brochure will sell you the azure blue of the lake, the icy web of peak-tops and the grey rocky mountains. And the guidebook is right - there's a comfortable lake-side walk for the tired, a moderate hike to the glaciers, as well as a hard-core route which will take you round to Mirror Lake and more!The reputation is well deserved, for sure, but - as Jules said - the tourists kinda ruin it if you came to Canada for untamed wilderness.It doesn't help that they built a Hotel on the lake:
We took the trail to the Plain of the Six Glaciers, which was just perfect for me. Exhausting enough that I'd felt I'd achieved something, but not so difficult that I ached all over for the next few days! In total it was about 11 km roundtrip, so 6.8 miles. It verges off from the path around the lake at the mouth of it - where the sandy, silty flats are cut through by the mountain stream which feeds Louise. The path starts to climb very, very, very gently alongside the sheer rock facese which were already set up with climbing leads for the tourists. Jules was gutted, she'd have climbed them if she could! But you know, the whole wrist thing, so she gazed forlornly at the rocks as we passed:
The trail becomes quite forrested for a large portion, exposed to roots being the only thing to watch out for as you walk. Following the stream means there's an awesome waterfall section on the way up that we only really stopped to appreciate on the way down as we were somewhat concerned about daylight and time. So we continued on and the path started to get pretty damn steep, and pebbly too! As the trees and foliage slowly dissapeared, so did my layers of clothing. I am sooo unfit.I'm tellin' ya I was already wheezing when we came across melting snow, supplying a small but constant stream down the path and down into the valley. Then there was a huge block of snow-ice in the path with a hole cut through where people had been walking. "Motherfucking glacier!" I exlaimed (completely out of my head exhausted) how cool is that! What was essentially the beginnings of a glacier (well, just ice really, but still!) crept into our path!
Then there was a family and a guy on a horse passung use: which was kinda cool to see on such a narrow path... Then we rounded the corner... motherfucking glacier. This pack of ice and snow not only encroached into the path, but covered it and then some! The sign post showing a split for horsetrail and human trail was almost covered up entirely - I actually used it to steady myself as we clambered around! (below)It was nerve-wracking. Slippery snow, rocky ground, a bit of a fall - and I still had a dodgy knee! Needless to say that half-way round when the path split into high and low road I was pretty keen to take the low road and escape the snow. Jules came with me, she could tell I was struggling. So Emily and Chris kept going while we took out time getting across via the rocks. A patch of rain/drizzle passed over us so the coat came out briefly. It wasn't just wet but cold too. The wind chill was crisp and nippy, and as we got around the ice monstrosity, Lake Louise came back into view. A blue lagoon in the distance - stunning.By now the glaciers seemed as though they were withing touching distance. The path continued through steep portions and slopes, more and more ice-melts peppering the pathway until, eventually, we were dealing with snow. Proper snow. Well trodden on by the hikers who had passed throughout the day. On severall occasions I was fooled by the sound of other human beings into thinking that we'd reached the tea-house, but just a small push through the snow and my hallucinations came true!
A glacial stream passing by benches situated facing the glaciers, the odd patch of pine, and a rest stop complete with teahouse!
There was a small bridge over the stream which I sat on for a bit to catch my breath and enjoy the stunning view. Jules stuck her bad arm in the freezing waters as she had been doing on the way up from time to time. You see she has to keep the injured wrist cool - so the melt-water was a really good remedy!
Moving to a bench we were visited by yet another stripped-back squirrel, and as we ate some nuts, seeds, and dried berries part of the glacier in the distance came crashing down from a cliff face with a thunderous roar. The powder raining down like a waterfall right in front of us. AWESOME.
So eventually we decided to move it to the tea-house - a cute little Alpine-esque cottage a few metres away. We sat upstairs on the balcony, near the lady's kitchen/living space. You see there was an Aussie girl working there, and she would live in the tea house for a few weeks before someone else would come up. Supplies came up with the change of shift, or locals coming up to visit, horsetrail leaders etc. No mains gas or electricity, no internet or phones. Apparently they'd opened for the season only two weeks before, so we were actually pretty lucky. There was just one couple upstairs with us and we all got to chatting. Most of them had hot chocolate. I however had tea. If I remember right an Earl Grey, and chocolate cake - let me tell you, with that scenery, and being that exhausted from the exercise- the cake was sublime! Utterly divine even. I didn't care that it was expensive, (I hadn't expected it to be cheap - to be honest it was moderately priced considering!) it just tasted so good. Worth every penny! And I even let everyone have a bit!There was another cheeky stripped squirrel who hung around the teahouse - cute, but it's kind of a shame that tourists have turned them into pests. And you know what? The teahouse wasn't built by Brits?! Swiss! What do ya know - eh?
So we made use of the tea-house's restrooms which were outhouses, pits, very well kept but still... drop downs, and apparenly that's what the tea-house workers have to use too because there's no running water/sewage pipes.
Then we began the descent... and the sun was so bright I realised it was burning my scalp, so I decided to wrap my scarf round my head. Yeah, I looked like a complete idiot, I know but it functional!
On the way back down Jules, Emily and I saw a Marmot thanks to a family of hikers who's paused on the path which wasn't snow-heaped - Chris had taken the snowy path again. I also found the most awesome rock in the world! It was malachite, I think, and just the right size for hugging!
Slowly but surely we made our way back down again, spending some time at the waterfall:
and taking a rest at the mouth of the lake for a nibble to eat. The squirrels were there again, after our scraps! Resourceful little buggers. Actually, we'd stopped there earlier for a little bit, and there were a couple of Asian tourists feeding the squirrels so they got a perfect shot - can't say I approved. There's a reason that its against the law to feed the wildlife in National Parks and its not to protect your fingers getting nibbled off!
Once we'd gotten back to the car we drove to Banff - I wasn't too impressed. It was pretty and all, but expensive, and it wasn't that different to anyother town except there were more hotels and restaurants than citizens! We bought some roast chicken and stuff from Safeway for our dinner and drove to a campsite just outside of town with an awesome view of Tunnel Mountain.
As we settled down to dinner, Jules' was getting into a bit of a panic about the fact that her wrist didn't feel any better. Bless her, so we said if it hurt we should take it to a doctor in Banff - which in the end we didn't do. I think it probably just felt worse because she knew she needed it better in a week's time! Anyway, we sat out with the candles and had a little nightcap. But as the darkness drew in it got very cold, so we went to bed early, hoping that the forecasts would be wrong for yet another day...
and taking a rest at the mouth of the lake for a nibble to eat. The squirrels were there again, after our scraps! Resourceful little buggers. Actually, we'd stopped there earlier for a little bit, and there were a couple of Asian tourists feeding the squirrels so they got a perfect shot - can't say I approved. There's a reason that its against the law to feed the wildlife in National Parks and its not to protect your fingers getting nibbled off!Once we'd gotten back to the car we drove to Banff - I wasn't too impressed. It was pretty and all, but expensive, and it wasn't that different to anyother town except there were more hotels and restaurants than citizens! We bought some roast chicken and stuff from Safeway for our dinner and drove to a campsite just outside of town with an awesome view of Tunnel Mountain.As we settled down to dinner, Jules' was getting into a bit of a panic about the fact that her wrist didn't feel any better. Bless her, so we said if it hurt we should take it to a doctor in Banff - which in the end we didn't do. I think it probably just felt worse because she knew she needed it better in a week's time! Anyway, we sat out with the candles and had a little nightcap. But as the darkness drew in it got very cold, so we went to bed early, hoping that the forecasts would be wrong for yet another day...
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