Today we first called by the General Store for some snacks and headed on to Moraine Lake. The road was quite windy which was an interesting change from all those straight roads before. The weather forecast predicted 14 degrees but it felt like 20 already at 9am. After arriving at Moraine Lake, we saw that it was actually still half frozen. Not only that, but the Lake wasn’t very full because of the ice. It sort of took away the full impression as you would see on a postcard, but it was still impressive, especially with so much snow on the “Ten Peaks” across the lake, of which about seven were visible to us.
We walked along a trail leading up a small mound of rocks which had origi
nally fallen down from one of the mountains – it gave us a great view. We stayed there for a while taking in the scenery, watching at least two coach parties come and go. We made our way down to the lake, missing out the walk to “Consolation Lake” because of “winter conditions” over the ridge.
We visited the “Lake Moraine” gift shop where I bought some bear socks and. . . a ladies t-shirt! With a BEAR on it!! It was dark brown so I was unsure at first, but after trying it on, I decided that the colour was dark enough and suited me and fitted, so it was sold!
nally fallen down from one of the mountains – it gave us a great view. We stayed there for a while taking in the scenery, watching at least two coach parties come and go. We made our way down to the lake, missing out the walk to “Consolation Lake” because of “winter conditions” over the ridge.We walked along the edge of the Lake and went down to the water’s edge which was quite surreal because of all the ice...on the sand.....in June!! On our way back, we had our lunch on one of the benches overlooking the view whilst covering our food to prevent the Clark’s Nutcrackers from stealing it. But they were the least of our worries! Cute little Golden-maned Ground squirrels climbed all over the benches and onto, into bags of food. They weren’t successful with us, although one jumped onto Mathew’s leg to try an swipe his wrap and another tried appr
oaching our lunch from behind. Other people having lunch were less fortunate, including a group of French ladies who had a large slice of apple stolen from right inside their bag of lunch....!!
oaching our lunch from behind. Other people having lunch were less fortunate, including a group of French ladies who had a large slice of apple stolen from right inside their bag of lunch....!!6:40pm
After lunch we went to Lake Louise. This time we walked along the lakeside trail which was quite fun at first – we walked right to where an avalanche had fallen before sitting down and gazing at the Lake for a short while. This part was curving around a corner so we didn’t have THAT good a view....good spots to stop along the way though! The “footpath” was very wild and involved lots of clambering under and over fallen trees, and walking over lots of exposed roots. When we sat down I wasn’t too comfortable being just below and in front of a potential further avalanche! The rocks were quite loose. We stayed for around 20 minutes before heading on to continue the loop trail.
Unfortunately, this trail began zig – zagging very steeply up the mountainside, and as this walk had been called a “trail” I only had my crocs on and proper walking shoes would have been more practical. But I had not known this, nor read anything about this trail other than the usual about views and it being a loop, and the distance. Miraculously my feet were fine all the way through, although very dirty at the end. I wasn’t wearing my “walking trousers” either, so I was hoping the ones I had on wouldn’t tear or rip (and fortunately, they didn’t!). What DID get to much for me was the ascent and the altitude. I don’t usually mind a few “ups” but this was getting ridiculous – this was turning into serious seasonal walker territory. Not only did I feel I was walking an unknown, unused trail, but the higher we got, the more difficult I found it to breathe. I think we were actually climbing part of the mountain, and this was not what we had planned to do.
We stopped at a point where I had to sit down for a while, and Mathew went ahead to check out how much further up the trail went. I wouldn’t have minded if there was just another bit to go, but Mathew came back reporting that it just kept on zig-zagging up and up. Finally, we decided to turn back and head down the path we had already walked. Strangely, my feet still didn’t hurt, and we arrived back at the Lakeside and strolled through the monstrosity of the Chateau Hotel looking at the shops and places to eat. We ended up getting some ice cream which was VERY nice, almost Italian like. Back at our hotel room, we changed our clothes and rested a little while before going out for dinner.
9:24pm
Dinner was at the “Station Restaurant” where we were served by the lovely Dominic all evening. My Atlantic salmon fillet delicious, Mathew enjoyed the chicken. Dessert was an unusual but very tasty apple and cinnamon crème brulee, and Mathew had strawberry cheesecake. A scrumptious meal made all the more pleasant with Dominic....and the restaurant itself was fantastic, an old railway station playing big bang jazz music in the background, it was a brilliant atmosphere to be in.
Dinner was at the “Station Restaurant” where we were served by the lovely Dominic all evening. My Atlantic salmon fillet delicious, Mathew enjoyed the chicken. Dessert was an unusual but very tasty apple and cinnamon crème brulee, and Mathew had strawberry cheesecake. A scrumptious meal made all the more pleasant with Dominic....and the restaurant itself was fantastic, an old railway station playing big bang jazz music in the background, it was a brilliant atmosphere to be in.
Cake Day tomorrow!
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