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We had been in Canada for just a couple of weeks when we first decided to hike the 'Plain of Six Glaciers' from Lake Louise. We only made it about half way when Sarah was hit hard by the altitude and we returned to the hotel. I returned to the hike soon after and completed it but Sarah never got the time to do so until today. It was a friday off work for Sarah and with the sun beating down we thought we would go back to Lake Louise and have another shot at this hike.
It was very different to our first attempt with hundreds of tourists flocking to the area,but we still considered ourselves lucky because in a few weeks there will be thousands of them per day. All of the car parks were heaving and we had to go to the very furthest point of the very last one to find some space but eventually we were parked, booted and down on the lakeshore ready to set out once more.
Living here means seeing the spectacular every day but even so the opening shot of lake louise remains a stunner and shows why people travel from all over the world to see it. To the left of shot is Fairview mountain and at the very back is Mt Victoria and the Victoria Glacier where we are heading today.
Along the lake shore is a wide flat tourist walk that goes the length of the lake, on the opposite side we can now see Haddo Peak and Mt Aberdeen as well as the glacier capped top of Mt Lefroy
We cover the 2.5 km along the lake as fast as possible dodging the thronging masses of tourists who stop frequently to oooh and aaaah at the surrounding beauty. Looking back across the lake the Fairmont Lake Louise Hotel dominates the centre frame, behind that is the Lake Louise Ski village. Here the trail becomes more enjoyable and begins to narrow to a less prescribed footpath.
The trail twists around the base of 'The Devils Thumb' where we see plenty of climbers testing their abilities against the sheer rock face. A short boardwalk across fish filled shallows is followed by a forested trail which reaches a short steep climb up to the first level where rice krispy squares are "needed" before continuing.
Snack time over we continue along the almost level trail interspersed with forest and huge areas of bearberry bushes, this sets the tone for the hike which has stepped increases along the route with long bands of level walking between.
looking back from a patch of those bearberries we have put good distance between us and the hotel. Given the amount of berry bushes and the lack of preparedness of the tourists (no bear spray etc) it's easy to see why the conservation officers often close the hike in the autumn when the fruits are available, there no room to pass a hungry bear here.
further on the route changes to glacier scraped moraines devoid of vegetation, it also hangs to the rock wall at this time of year. In winter the rock wall is covered by ice and snow so the trail drops down to the moraine and snowshoes are needed until the spring melt.
We decided to climb off the trail and sit on the rock wall for more snacks (we started out late today) During this break Mt Lefroy repeatedly let out huge 'booming' noises followed by long ice and snow falls which poured down the mountain clattering rocks all along the way. There is actually one of those falls caught here though the best of it has already fallen by the time I got a shot of it.
After lunch we continued on, looking back from the rock wall trail there are few tourists following us though we did meet a good number of flip flop wearing tourists descending the hill looking 'dishevelled'
A level plod after the wall brings us to a short rise which culminates against an avalanche slope which is still resisting the warm temperatures we've been enjoying for more than a month now
The snow on the avalanche slope is well compressed but very wet and slippery and it provides some entertainment watching the flip flop wearers slip and slide before falling repeatedly and cursing the snow (not their choice of footwear)
Once over the avalanche slope the trail hits a short series of switchbacks where these golden mantled ground squirrels will happily take any offerings as you pass
If you don't feed the little guys on the trail their friends will be waiting at the top when you stop to make use of the well positioned benches around the tea shop, Sarah made a friend for life by sharing a few veggies and pasta from her lunch.
We were surprised to find the tea shop open which is normally an end of June/early July thing, I guess a lot of other people were equally surprised as we all had our own lunches and flasks and the tea shop remained largely empty. It's testament to the recent weather and gentle winter we've had that this thing is open a month early.
We sit and enjoy the views for 20 minutes or so and see some huge ice falls from the Victoria Glacier which were accompanied by equally huge 'booms'
After soaking in the afternoon sun watching the ice falls and listening to the myriad of foreign languages spoken by passing tourists we set out for the hike out. From the switchbacks we can just see the hotel at the eastern end of the lake.
I was just 5 seconds early with this shot of the ill prepared tourists as the big guy in yellow leading the pack splatted down in the snow immediately after. The afternoon sun seems to have encouraged more people to make the hike most of which were lured by the foreshortened view of the Victoria Glacier from down by the lake and were asking every downward heading hiker "are we almost there"..."it looked much closer from the lake"
Once we were back over the avalanche slope we had stopped to admire the beautiful view back down to the lake when Sarah noticed something moving away to the left on top of the rock slopes hugging the side of the cliff
At first and from a distance it looked like a marmot curled up in a tight ball, but it was actually a porcupine with his back to us. This is the first chance I've had to shoot one of these in Canada but he didn't stay long before disappearing over a ridge into the rocks
I scrambled back up the boulder slope quickly to try and get some decent shots and found him sneaking alongside some bearberries, I walked around him to the front and got another shot where he appears to be giving me a little wave as he walks along.
It was worth the trip to see this little fellow out in the wild, we have seen them in Alaska where we only spent 2 weeks, and in Oklahoma where we only spent a year, but it took 3 years to bag our first porcupine in Canada
The final walk around the lakeshore is once again full of tourists 'ooohing and aaahing' at the surroundings and we discuss how fortunate we are to have such a place on our doorstep.
So, that's the plain of six glaciers....again. I think I prefer the winter walk, for entirely selfish reasons...it is a wonderful place to have all to yourself and it's just a little bit too crowded for my liking at this time of year. I wouldn't even think of coming in the summer.