Lake Louise - take #2

Left Mosquito creek early in the morning. 7:30 AM. Our second attempt to get to Lake Louise and meet Mark there.

Actually we had agreed to do the hike at Moraine Lake first since it is located at the end of a 10 km mountain road and parking is very limited. Most days the only way to get there is by shuttle bus. We were there at 7:59 - Mark arrived 2 minutes later.

The parking lot was already filling up. We did a lot of photos from the top of the hill right at the start of the trail. To get the reflections in the water - which are impressive. Especially with the sun rising and the lights changing.

We had coffee and did "hike" to the other end of the lake (which is the shortest hike possible in the world). Coffee-latte hiking is OK some mornings though :-) We just missed out on the croissants. We headed back to the now slightly more busy parking lot, left for Lake Louise and realised that just how many cars that were now parked in the roadside. At the end of the access road there was now a barrier and a guy turning cars away. Before 10 in the morning.

The same turned out to be the case at Lake Louise although it has much more room for parking. We headed a bit down the main road and found a parking space and then went to the lake. The lake shore at the hotel looked more like a beach in Southern France - crowded.

We hiked to Lake Agnes - which also turned out to be very busy and on the way down we decided to head a bit away from the main path and finally found a place that was quiet and had a great view over the lake.

Coming back in the afternoon the lake was still busy, the parking lot was still packed and it didn't really fell like any of the other places we've been to in the National park.

Mark headed back towards Calgary, we went to our hostel in Banff. First real shower in 6 days was nice, then off for beer and dinner in town before heading back for a nice sleep in a small 4 person room. No dorm tonight so presumably only our own snoring to listen to. Nice.

Bow lake and glacier falls - and crazy Lake Louise

This morning Mark joined us. He was in Banff for the weekend and wanted to do some hiking with us. So he picked us up at the hostel, and then we drove to the trail head at Bow Lake and hiked to the falls. About 5 km's of nice walking before we made it to the falls.

So impressive to stand at the bottom of the falls and see the water dropping many meters from the foot of the glacier.
We took our time, headed back towards the lake and found a nice spot for lunch and then back to the parking lot.

Since it was early in the afternoon we had time for another hike so we headed for -Lake Louise. Being one of the "must see" sights around the Banff area we decided to do the 30 minutes drive. And it was a short and easy hike.

Turned out everybody else had got the same idea. It was so crowded we couldn't even get of the highway since the queue to the parking lot extended all the way out in the off ramp.
We headed back to the hostel and hiked 9 km up Mosquito creek. A bit difficult to find the trail but in the end we made it all the way up to the camp site and back.

Mark joined us for dinner - at the camp fire. And we agreed to be at Moraine Lake tomorrow morning at 8 am - before the crowds. And then do Lake Louise afterwards.

Peyto lake - double hike

Blue sky and sunshine from the morning. Mosquito creek making a bit of background noise for our breakfast.

We headed out the Icefield parkway towards Peyto lake. Not a long drive to the parking lot and then on the trail. With the rest of Canada it seemed. The long weekend meant so many people on the trails so we made our way to the viewing point, did a few photos and enjoyed the view. The lake was down in the valley, not really accessible - that is until Malene accidentially talked to a guy who told us how to get there.

We walked a small loop on the trail, headed back to the car and drove a bit further until we came to a small parking lot - no signs. Just head into the woods and down the hill. There was a nice trail taking us down to the lake shore in 45 minutes - and we had it all to ourselves. This is what we dreamed about. It's impossible to describe it - take a look at the pictures instead.

We had lunch right next to a small creek, and then we just hung out. Still having it all to ourselves. Later we walked back to the trail and before leaving the lake we had a swim. Still staying in a wilderness hostel also means taking care of the daily shower without a shower. But on a hot day a cool lake is just so refreshing.

Walked back to the car, headed to the hostel and relaxed and had dinner. In the evening, Mikkel and Steen went for a short walk up Mosquito creek. Also impressive and nice with the sun setting and the lights fading. Still no bear around. Steen starting to get slightly disappointed. Maybe tomorrow.