Northern Rockies: Day 6

For Day 6 of our road-trip we took a drive up Smith-Dorrien Trail to the Kananaskis Lakes and came back on Kananaskis Trail. After enjoying breakfast at the hotel we headed out. We first stopped at what has to be the best view from a dog park before continuing on to check out a waterfall (Grassi Lakes Falls) from Canmore Reservoir. Just before entering the Spray Lakes Canyon, we paused at a view over Canmore from above the reservoir. Canmore really is a pretty place. We passed Whitemans Pond and Lower Spray Lake before coming upon Upper Spray Lake. The views of the surrounding mountains from the road were spectacular and there were only a few other cars on the road. Just a little ways after stopping for a view at Buller Lake, we pulled to the side of the road to get a view of some peaks including Commonwealth Peak near the border between Spray Valley and Peter Lougheed Provincial Parks. After taking a few pictures, B noticed something big in the road. A moose! He had apparently just left his mark (a nice steaming pile in the middle of the road) and was preparing to cross the road when we noticed him. From a distance we were able to get a few pictures of "Millard" as he ambled below the road and into the forest. This was definitely the closest we had ever been to a moose and it was nice to experience it by ourselves. We were having some decent luck with wildlife on this trip and it would only get better.

Back in the car we only drove a little further before we spotted a lone coyote running alongside the road in the opposite direction. "Charlie" quickly headed into the trees after passing us so we didn't bother trying to get a picture of him. We later turned off the road to get a view of the mountains over Smuts Creek meadow and then continued on. Now in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, we stopped at Mud Lake for a quick view in the brisk air. We continued driving toward Lower Kananaskis Lake and enjoyed being the only ones on the road and the spectacular alpine views surrounding us. As we approached the northern end of Lower Kananaskis Lake there was a perfect view of the mountains to the east over the road and Spillway Lake. We turned toward Upper Kananaskis Lake and drove to the northern dam on the lake first. There were only a couple of cars here and we only saw a couple of people walking around. The clouds were pretty thick around the lake. There was a chilly wind and it starting to rain a little, so we only spent a little bit of time walking on the dam and looking around. Fossil Falls was visible across the lake but not for long. Back in the car, we drove to a picnic area near the eastern dam on Upper Kananaskis Lake. There were two other cars here when we arrived but one quickly left and we never saw the owner(s) of the second car. The clouds were getting thicker around the lake and then the rain/snow started to fall in earnest. We had a relaxing time talking to each other in the car, snacking, and watching the clouds and rain/snow over the lake.

After a little while the rain/snow stopped and it appeared that the clouds were diminishing. We kept waiting and the clouds kept thinning. The mountains around the lake began to appear more clearly and we were able to get some pictures of more than just clouds. We decided to revisit the northern dam to see if there would be better views than before. The views were a little more open at the northern dam but not by much. We visited the southwestern shore of Lower Kananaskis Lake before we headed back to the eastern dam picnic area. Now there was a small family milling around the picnic area so we didn't stay very long. We checked out the eastern dam before deciding to head out. We followed the Kananaskis Trail (AB-40) north and stopped a few times to take in more of the fantastic views. Again, there were only a few other cars on the road and we were able to drive easy. Eventually we ran into CAN-1 and headed west toward Canmore. After completing our loop back at the hotel by the mid-afternoon, we threw on our swimsuits and headed down to the pool. A young German couple had just gotten in the pool when we arrived but they only stayed for a little while before leaving to pool to us. We tried the giant hot tub before switching with the German couple for the pool. One of the many reasons our hotel was great was the water-slide. It is a ~two-story high corkscrew water-slide and Z had to try it. A couple of times.

After enjoying a nice swim in the pool by ourselves we headed back up to our room to shower. We ordered some pasta to go from Boston Pizza and Z picked it up. We enjoyed another fancy dinner in our hotel room while watching some TV. There was plenty of time to do something else but we enjoyed laying around and relaxing. We prepared our packs for tomorrow's hike and read a little before going to sleep. We were excited to see Lake Louise and Moraine Lake in the morning.