Today is an amazing day, but in this part of the world it is hard to have a bad day, as no matter where you look the mountains and lake dazzle the eyes like the diamonds of this earth. We started the morning at our campsite and decided to not cook. We were hesitant to cook here due to the more aggressive tendencies of bears (we had learned) in the area. Our goal for the day was to head to Lake Louise, which is a touristy area of the National park. This is one of the most famous spots in Banff, and is known for the lucid blue/ aqua marine lake that the Fairmont Lake Louise was built on. This is at the base of a chasm of glacier packs cliffs, which provides for an epic backdrop, and one of the most iconic photos of mountains in any photo book.
It was about a 45 minute drive from the campsite. After we grabbed coffee and a snack for breakfast we headed to the Lake. There is one of the highest rated hikes in Banff that starts at this lake. The hike is called ‘Valley of the Six Glaciers’, and it is a trail that follows the perimeter of the lake until it quickly departs and ascends the slope to the peaks of the glaciers.
This was our goal for the majority of the day…to tackle this 12 mile (round trip hike). We started the hike after taking our selfie, and photos of the first (and most famous) picture of the lake. This picture is the setting for the hotel itself, and where the building overlooks. The trail starts here and works towards the base of the mountains, and quickly ascends about 3000 feet over the course of a 5 mile hike. There are many scenic spots to the hike, while a river from glacial melt flows, and creates a minor canyon. The flowers, and plant life is lush, but the most dramatic parts of the trail are its steep rock wall canyons you hike along until the ascend begins. There are two routes to take, as one heads to the far distance of the canyon to the base of the glacier valley. The end trails actually ascends into the glaciers, but we decided not to go that far as it was about a 3 hour hike we had already done.
At the far end of the hike (about a mile short of the end) there is a chalet that has food and hot drinks for any appetite of the day hiker. This is reminiscent of a swiss styled building in the valleys of Grindelwald, and it made for the perfect stop for coffee and a refill of water.
As I mentioned earlier, there are two routes, and they are accessed on the way down the trail. You can head back to the hotel, or you can take a side hike that leads up the cliff, then over and around. As any adventurer should do, we took the side hike and made it up to the top where there are two small lakes and a waterfall. These are well worth the effort to reach, however there are even better views along the cliffs. As the sun shines down on the lake it turns a beautiful light blue/ green and becomes one of the most beautiful vistas in banff. You can see why this place has been revered so much, and sought after by tourists and visitors.
We were done hiking for the day at this point. We decided to swing by the town of Lake Louise, which is really just a large visitor center. I bought my buddy (Pauly) from the club a nice bottle of Canadian liquor for him to keep in his locker at the club, along with a postcard from the area.
From this area it was time to call it a day for hiking. We decided to head back to the camp to change and relax for a little bit. This was to regain some energy before we headed into the town of Banff again for the evening. we had one more goal in the area of Banff to accomplish before we left the next day to head to Jasper, and that was to get to the Banff Springs resort for drinks, and find a steakhouse int he city as a nice treat. We decided on Chuck’s steakhouse, which did not disappoint. After enjoying a lovely dinner there, we headed to the world famous hotel, and its waterfall on property.
When we arrived we decided to sit at the bar and enjoy some drinks with locals. Turns out there were a few tourists from Texas, and we engaged in a nice conversation about each other, and our backstories. I always enjoy when people love to listen to the trips me and Ashley had done, especially while we were on them. AFter a couple drinks, it was time to call it a night, and we headed back to the campsite to enjoy the fire pit before bed.
EXPENSES
21.50 camp fee
13.09 lunch
2.50 coffee
148.52 steak
65 drinks
26 drinks
Total – 276.61