Northern Rockies: Day 7

We got an early start and were in the hotel breakfast room a few minutes after it opened. After breakfast we jumped in the car and headed northwest into Banff National Park. We were bound for Moraine Lake to do the Larch Valley/Sentinel Pass hike. On the way we stopped by Lake Louise just before 8am. There were a decent number of people along the lake for this time in the morning in late-September but almost everyone was being very quiet and respectful. The lake was perfectly still and peaceful. However, not everyone was respectful. A small group of tourists approached a minute after we arrived at the lakeshore and proceeded to yell at each other over the calm, glass-like waters. We tried to get as far away from them as possible but you could have heard them from the opposite side of the lake. While trying to tune this group out we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and crisp morning air in the mountains. After getting a few pictures we moved on toward Moraine Lake. As we drove to Moraine Lake we were again surprised by the number of tour buses chugging up the narrow and winding road. We were a little bit nervous that Moraine Lake was going to be overrun despite our best efforts to arrive early. There were plenty of parking spaces open but a lot more people than we had thought/hoped would be.

Before starting the hike we followed the trail up to the top of the very large pile of rockslide boulders (which dam the lake) to get the best views. All along the trail were more and more tourists that had poured out of the many tour buses. On top of the rockslide are many different viewpoints. There were foreign tourists everywhere, except for one viewpoint. This viewpoint turned out to be the best one and was furthest west. We happily left the tour groups behind and enjoyed a few moments of absolutely gorgeous views without auditory or visual interruptions. Many have attempted to describe the color of Moraine Lake but as many have also said it is almost impossible to do. There was no direct sunlight hitting the water when we were there but the color was still beautiful and the Wenkchemna Peaks were almost perfectly reflected. This valley is known as "The Valley of the Ten Peaks" and is considered by some to be the most beautiful in all of the Canadian Rockies. We wouldn't argue. We much preferred Moraine Lake to Lake Louise because of the Wenkchemna Peaks and the lack of a grandiose chateau perched on the lakeshore. Kayaks and canoes can be rented which would definitely prove to be a superb experience.

Unfortunately, some of the tourists discovered our perfect viewpoint and started to migrate toward us. It was time to leave our short-lived moment of peace. We walked back east to a few of the other viewpoints and patiently waited for the tour groups to go through every permutation of picture and participants possible before taking our pictures. At one point one of the tourists actually asked Z to get out of the way- he was trying to get a single picture after she and her group spent a solid five minutes taking up the entire viewpoint while taking pictures and gleefully giggling. He kindly stepped aside for a moment, although he wanted to to tell them to shove off.We left the anthill behind and walked back to the parking lot. We retrieved our hiking packs and poles and walked to the trailhead off the northwest corner of the lake. In the days leading up to the hike, we had noticed that group restrictions were in effect for this hike (no less than four can hike in a group along the trail). Not particularly excited by the restriction, we were hopeful that it had been lifted when we didn't see any signs immediately off of the parking lot. However once we arrived at the official trailhead we saw that they weren't. Fortunately, we only had to wait all of twenty seconds before a couple of young women approached.

We asked them if they were going to Sentinel Pass and they confirmed. They introduced themselves and Nadia and Francesca and were from Switzerland. As we walked up the trail toward Larch Valley we practiced our German while they practiced their English. They were very nice and turned out to be good hiking partners because they were a little slower than we were which allowed us to stop for pictures without getting too far behind. Fresh snow was lightly covering the ground as we approached Larch Valley. All the Larch trees were in full fall transition and the effect on the surroundings was beautiful. As we continued hiking there were several fantastic viewpoints of the Wenkchemna Peaks above the golden needles of the Larch. Above Larch Valley the fresh snow was up to a foot deep in places and Nadia and B made a little Schneemann (snowman). The last climb up to Sentinel Pass involved a few long switchbacks but the views were worth the effort. We found a nice stack of rocks to sit on and have some lunch. On one side of Sentinel Pass is Paradise Valley and on the other is Larch Valley. There were a bunch of pika chirping and running about at the pass but we were only able to see a couple of them.

After lunch we began the descent back to the trailhead. As we passed back through Larch Valley snow clouds were blowing in and mostly covered the surrounding mountains. We were happy to have taken some pictures on our way up. Snow lightly fell on us as we made our way through the Larch forest which made the quiet and beauty of the surroundings even better. Back at the trailhead we said our goodbyes to the Swiss girls (Nadia said she was from a village near Mt "Mihten"? but we're not sure about the spelling). At the Moraine gift shop Z bought a hot chocolate and B looked for souvenirs. With souvenirs in hand, we got back into the car and drove back to Lake Louise to check out the Chateau. We were only able to check out one half of the chateau because the other half required a room key to enter. We talked with the owner of the bookstore for a little while before roaming around a little more. On our way back to Canmore we turned off on the Lake Minnewanka Road. Shortly, we came up on Ed the giant Elk munching on some plants just off of the road. He was by far the biggest elk we had ever seen with a huge 7x7 rack. Unconcerned by our presence, he ambled into the woods after a minute or so.

We made a quick stop of Lake Minnewanka and went out on the boat dock to look at the surroundings. There were a few deciduous trees on the shore putting on a show. The lake was beautiful and quiet. Back at the hotel we ate left-overs and again relaxed before reading and going to bed. It was a great day filled with absolutely gorgeous views. Hopefully the Icefields Parkway would prove to be just as good.