Sun, Apr 27 2008 - Lake Minnewanka (View Original Event Details)
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Ahhhh, the beginning of hiking season !!!! And what a great start to it – the weather was perfect - sunny & mild temps, with some winds to cool us down on the elevation gain part !!!
As traditional with shoulder season hikes, the trail had conditions of all 4 seasons – ice, snow, slush, muddy & muddier, and not to forget, dry :). The group quickly split into fast & slow groups. We hiked all the way to the Aylmer Pass Junction, and had lunch at the campground along the frozen beach ! The sun was full out, and some of us caught up on our tanning. Much to our amazement, there was a lone skate skier skiing in the middle of Lake Minnewanka, passed our lunch spot and continued all the way up until we couldn’t see him anymore. We tried to come up with a plan in case he went thru, but alas what can one do when someone takes a foolish risk to sink with skis strapped to their feet with the temp hovering around 12°C? Luckily, looks like he made it back safely, as he passed by us at our ½ mark back to the trailhead. We did a total of 16km today, and my first long lunch without snowshoes this season – a great day indeed !
Thank you everyone for hiking with me - I had a splendid day and hope you did too !!
Encounters on the trail: Birds, deer scat ! one other hiking group, a lone hiker, a couple & their dog, mountain goats, risk-taker skate skier, sun (lots of it), clouds (partly), and great company !
Happy Trails :)
Karen D.