The Canadian Rockies was all I had imagined and then some. It seemed that every hike brought us to a breathtaking scene, in fine weather or otherwise. Of course, there were often busloads of people at some of the more popular and accessible lakes, such as Louise and Moraine, as expected, but at times on some of the more challenging hikes, we would not see many people out on the trail and could enjoy the breathtaking views almost by ourselves which really was an experience. The mornings were early and we got to bed late as the sun did not set until around 10.30pm, and we made the most of every day - no sitting around relaxing for us, it was a very active trip!
From Jasper we travelled into Yoho National Park and had accommodation in the tiny hamlet of Field, a railway town. We stayed at Spiral Tunnels Guesthouse which was a private unit attached to the main house which was very cosy and comfortable. Our hosts had thoughtfully made up welcome signs for us and provided champagne and truffles to celebrate our arrival. Karla was a total delight and made us feel very welcome providing us with plenty of tips and nothing was too much trouble, treating us as valued friends which was lovely. She had placed a hummingbird feeder at the loungeroom window and it was such a thrill every time one of these tiny birds came to use the feeder. From that same window we had a great view of the mountains and the almost ever-present drifting clouds that passed by. The garden was full of colour and two little Ginger cats from next door would scamper around playing amongst the rocks and flowers.
On our way down the Icefields Parkway we stopped to do a hike at Beauty Creek up to Stanley Falls. This was a totally unplanned hike, but ended up being one of our favourites. It was less than 4km with a 130m elevation gain and had about seven places where there were falls. There were no barriers in place as there often are at falls, and we were able to get great views to where the creek wound its way through the rock faces and crevices. We had our lunch sitting on a rock ledge with our feet dangling, and the roar of the water in our ears and sunshine on our backs, perfect!
That same afternoon we did another wonderful hike at Parker Ridge which took us up to a spectacular view of the Saskatchewan Glacier and the bright turquoise ribbon of blue that was the River. It was chilly up that high even in the sun and there were lots of beautiful wildflowers growing happily. The surrounding mountains were spectacular in the afternoon light too.
After a great night's sleep in the wonderfully comfortable bed, we took off to have a look at Emerald Lake, Natural Arch and Wapta Falls. The day was a bit patchy so we did a short walk at the Lake hoping for a finer day to hike around the shore and get some better photos (which ended up not happening). The Natural Arch was a quick but interesting stop and I could watch waterfalls and rivers all day, I love the movement of the water and the sound. The hike to Wapta Falls was a pleasant, relatively easy one and we were awed by the sheer volume of water flowing over the large rocks and tumbling down. On our way back to the car, the sky had turned quite grey and we could hear thunder. With just about 50m to walk, it began to rain and we were mighty glad we were so close to the car by then, unlike many who we had passed on their way to the falls.
We visited the famed Lake Louise in the rain which did not let up all day. Just a soft misting rain, but rain nonetheless which meant we had to deck ourselves out in our black rain ponchos, what a sight! We walked partway along the lakeshore taking photos as best we could in the rain and then went into the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and enjoyed a lovely hot coffee before hiking up to the Teahouse, seeing Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes on the way, as well as the waterfall cascading down the hill. Once back lakeside, we hopped on the bus to take us to Moraine Lake which was a startling turquoise blue even in the rain, gorgeous!
We had eaten our sandwiches on the trail but decided to stop off at a bakery in the township of Lake Louise to get a little something for dinner and we had trouble making a decision as they had a wonderful selection of goodies. We sttled on quiches and a couple of sweet treats, all of which was scrumptious indeed. I thought with all the walking I might lose a few kilos....wrong! Too much yummy food to be had 😃.
We went back up the Icefield Parkway the following day to take another look at Peyto Lake which we first saw in blazing afternoon sun on our way to Jasper. What a contrast to the grey and hazy skies we were confronted with on this trip. However, the lake was just as beautiful even if the mountains were lost a bit in the haze and cloud. We spent quite a bit of time admiring the view before heading up a steepish trail to Bow River Summit. I had three layers on that afternoon and wished I'd brought my gloves! What a contrast to our first few days in Canada when it was around 30° or more! The view from on high where we hiked to was amazing but there was a lot of smoke haze as well as cloud so the photos were not what we had hoped for. We did enjoy the hike up though and the creek that we had to cross over using little stepping stones, which tumbled over the side of the hill. Once again, there were some very pretty wildflowers scattered about the hillside and a fabulous view of the mountains on all sides, with little patches of snow beneath some of the trees and on the hillside! Before heading back for the night, we made one last stop to Takakkaw Falls up a steep and windy road, with two of the worst hairpin bends I've ever encountered. Once up at the falls, it was an easy walk on a paved section to see what is the second tallest falls in Canada, awesome!
Two of our last three nights in Canada were spent at Canmore and on the way there we spent a wonderful hour at Marble Canyon in National Park before heading to our accommodation. The next day dawned bright and sunny so we ventured to the Lake Minnewanka area and hiked up a forest trail past old mining sites, up to an area that was once a glacier and is known as the amphitheatre, beyond which we hiked up a steep and loose, gravelly path to an area containing a huge pile of grey boulders and rocks, amongst which little squirrels were darting in and out. We hiked a little way past this but deemed the track too risky for us, not so much the ascent but coming down again would be very slippery and we'd seen a few people far younger than us lose their footing. We had sensational views from where we had managed to get to and had spied a little lake among the trees which we had a closer look at on the way down. We were also directed to a little lookout which we would have missed otherwise, from which we obtained a lovely view of Lake Minnewanka. We took a drive later to see the lake close up, along with Two Jacks Lake, all very beautiful.
It was raining when we packed up to leave Canmore, so we had a bit of a wander around the town and a coffee before heading to Calgary. The rain continued in Calgary so we looked for an indoor activity before heading to our hotel and spent a couple of interesting hours at the National Music Centre.
We have thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful area of Canada and actually hope to come back one day in the fall season to see the colours. Another dream 🙂