North to Alaska - Live!

by Kathy 21. August 2011 20:49

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Lake Louise

Lake Louise is a brilliant green jewel that is tucked away in the northern part of Banff National Park. I first saw a photo of the lake 19 years ago when I was researching honeymoon destinations. The image looked like it was from a fantasy world. While Ben and I didn’t choose to start our marriage off along its banks, I knew that we would have to visit one day—just to see for ourselves if the lake was truly that spectacular. And now, I can finally say, “Yes, it is.”

Here are our photos showing the grand Chateau Lake Louis along the water’s edge:

Looking away from the hotel, across the lake toward the glaciers:

We didn’t stay at the Chateau, however. Instead, we had made advance reservations for a site in the “hard sided” campground near Lake Louise Village, about 3 miles downhill from the lake. The sites were separated by trees but were designed so that two RVs shared the same site—a bit cozy, but it worked out fine.

Sebastian's "gotta' climb" instict kicked into high gear when he saw the trees next to our campsite:

I must note that the “soft-sided” (tent) campground right next to ours was surrounded by an electric fence to keep bears out. The fence undoubtedly did a good job with respect to keeping bears from reaching any food that might be stashed in the tents. However, we had been in bear territory for the past two months and had never encountered such a drastic measure. As a mom, I was wondering whether the bears here were more dangerous or perhaps just more numerous than in other places. In any event, I was on “full alert” protective mode during our entire time here, although I will add that we didn’t see a single bear.

Getting from the campground to the lake was not a seamless effort. Driving there in our RV was discouraged by a large sign proclaiming that the road was “steep, narrow,” and “not recommended” for “oversize units.”

Our campground map showed a trail that wound its way up to the lake, so we hopped on our bicycles and set off. We soon discovered, however, that the Lake Louise area was bike-unfriendly, with “no bikes” signs posted on the trail that headed up to the lake. I didn’t want the kids to be pedaling uphill on a purportedly “narrow” road with a steady stream of cars and tour buses. So we ended up staying on the trail--walking, and pushing our bikes beside us:

Stairs, steep slopes, and about 3 miles of pushing--let’s just say that we won’t ever repeat that experience.

Our first view of the lake was in the evening, when the sun’s rays no longer lit up the surface. But the water was still a deep turquoise:

The color is caused by the interplay between light and “glacier flour”—the finely ground rock that moving glaciers scrape away from the mountainsides and deposit into the lake. The saturated water absorbs all the colors from light waves except the stunning turquoise/blue that is reflected back to our eyes.

Genevieve and Sebastian dipped their hands in the water—too chilly for swimming! The water here doesn’t usually rise above 50 degrees in the summer.

On our return to the campground, we chose to take the road, which turned out to be very smooth and wide, with no tight turns or even remotely sketchy sections. (Who wrote that warning sign at the bottom?!) We zoomed downward, reaching our campground in about 1/10th the time that it had taken for us to plod our way uphill on the trail.

The next morning, we were up early, ready for a 6.6 mile round-trip hike on a trail called “Plain of Six Glaciers.” The trailhead was at the lake. This time we drove our RV. Arriving before 8 a.m., there were still plenty of spaces to choose from in the two large parking lots next to the hotel.

To reach the trailhead, we walked past the historic Chateau Lake Louise—now owned by Fairmont.

The hotel had a very different look in 1910, with the wooden Rattenbury Wing in front, and the cement Pointer Wing to the rear:

The Pointer Wing is now the oldest surviving part of the hotel, although it has undergone extensive renovations:

The Rattenbury Wing, however, burned down in 1924:

A new wing had been constructed in 1925 and modernized over the years. Up close, the solid wall of windows exuded an air that seemed more "corporate" than "fairy tale":

To reach the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail, we first had to walk along the entire right side of the lake--1 ¼ miles on the Lake Shore Trail:

Across the milky green expanse, Fairview Mountain rose 9000 feet high:

Some bright red canoes sliced through the water:

The cliffs to our right turned out to be magnets for rock climbers, who were mere specks from a distance:

One of the climbers:

At the end of the lake, we connected with the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail.

Looking back at Sebastian:

The trail now began an upward climb for the next 2 miles:

Ben and Sebastian had a slow and steady pace:

Here we are with Mt. Lefroy in the background, rising to 11,230 feet, with the edges of Lefroy Glacier peeking out from beneath a layer of dirt:

A close-up of Mt. Lefroy:

To the right was Mt. Victoria South (11,365 feet high), and the bright white of Upper Victoria Glacier along its front:

To the left was Mt. Aberdeen (10,431 feet high), rising above a valley of glacier moraines—stretches of sand, gravel, and boulders left behind after the glacier had retreated.

Genevieve was excited to discover a patch of snow (not ice), where she scooped up a handful and made a snowball:

Going forward, the trail became very narrow, with a significant drop-off on the left side (which doesn’t show up well in the photo below):

We eventually crossed over a portion of the glacier moraine. Over our shoulders, we could see Lake Louise in the distance:

The trail then switchbacked upwards, through a forested area that provided lots of shade:

Around a few more bends was the authentic Tea House, built in 1927 and resembling a Swiss chalet.

Since 1959, the Teahouse has been run by the family of Joy Kimball. There is no electricity, so the food is prepared fresh daily on propane stoves. Supplies are brought to the Tea House in three ways: by helicopter in a one-time drop at the start of the season, by horse-pack, or by workers who hike along the same trails that we covered this morning.

The food here was excellent—hearty soup, delicious home-made bread, tasty quinoa salad, and delicious chai and hot chocolate. And we topped off our meal off by sharing a huge square of moist chocolate cake. The meal alone was worth the hike.

But, lucky for us, we also were treated to the grand scenery all around:

Even the outhouses were charming:

A display had two photos showing the drastic retreat of Victoria Glacier from 1904 to 2003:

It was hard to believe that 100 years ago the glacier had filled the area to our left, past where we were standing. Now, the glacier was just a sweep of white at the base of the cliff face: