We headed back to Lake Louise to do some more exploring. The first part of our walk was to the Lake Agnes Tea House which is high atop a nearby mountain that overlooks Lake Louise. Along the way, we passed the Mirror Lake which is fed by a waterfall from Lake Agnes. On reaching the tea house, we found yet more of the ever present gangs of chipmunks and squirrels that seem to haunt anywhere where tourists are eating food.
After a short break and quick snack, we decided to head further along the trial. We had the option of visiting either of the two high vantage points that overlook the area - the 'Little Beehive' or the 'Big Beehive'. We decided to be adventurous and opted for the Big one.
The trial led around the back of Lake Agnes, and zigzagged up the side of the mountain. The climb was difficult, but worth it. On reaching the summit, we had a beautiful view of the whole area, including all of the lakes and much of the Banff National Park. We were joined by a friendly Blue Woodpecker who took some time away from grabbing dropped food (and trying to eat a wine gum whole) to pose for some photos.
After daring to peer over the sheer drop at the end of the submit, we began our descent down an alternate trail back to Lake Louise. After a while we realised that we hadn't actually seen anyone else for a while. The walks so far had quite a few people on them, but now we were all alone on a particularly dark, dense forest. Lake Louise apparently has a particularly high bear population, and there were also warning signs that a cougar had been spotted in the area!
Hurrying on, we eventually reaching the river that fed Lake Louise and finally spied some fellow walkers. Apart from a short flooded section, the remainder of the walk was fairly straightforward. Today's stats: 9 miles, 1500ft climb, and max. elevation of ~7,400ft.
After a well deserved ice cream (including a maple syrup flavoured scoop) we decided to head back for an early night.
No comments:
Post a Comment