Tue, Jul 1 2008 - Celebrate Canada Day on Sentinel Pass (View Original Event Details)
|
O Canada... Country of many dreams. What a day to honour and celebrate the 141st birthday of this beautiful country. Early summer start at 07h30 for this day that combined a great & classic hike with a celebration picnic well orchestrated by Marcel.
With the exception of a frightening close encounter with a deer on the highway for one car, we all arrived safely at Lake Louise Village which was deprived of electricity due to a storm last night. As Laggan's and other coffee shops were closed, some of us headed to the candy shop at 10 am! Never too early for chocolate :-). The sunshine welcomed us and stayed most of the day as our "positive thinking" moved the clouds away. No rain yippee !
We quickly left the tourist crowds around Moraine Lake to head up to Sentinel Pass. The Valley of the Ten Peaks is simply awe-inspiring. It captivates your attention and no matter where you look, it can really take your breath away. You feel humble to be part of this experience. The trail was quite dry and snow free all the way until the Minnestimma Lakes. The main lake was partly frozen and we could see that the trail to Sentinel Pass still had some snow in a couple of areas. Marcel went ahead of us to reach the Pass in order to set the picnic while the rest of us had a snack by the lake.
By the time we reached Sentinel Pass, Marcel had already the Canadian flag in place and the picnic set ready. Everyone brought something to share and it turned out to be a great picnic given the fun & delightful company and the awesome surroundings. We had the choice of sparkling wine or a non alcoholic wine with fine food. A very cheerful group indeed with laughter echoeing down the valley... Needless to say we had a toast to Canada and Anita even led the group to sing the anthem - the echo was pretty neat. A couple of hikers from Switzerland also joined us in the celebration. There was also a special moment when Don dedicated his Canadian flag to a gentleman who was recently killed in Afghanistan.
The descent back to Moraine Lake was uneventful although a few of us decided to take the "express way" - I can only say that some had more dignity than others! We finally ended up at Laggan's on the way back for a drink / ice-cream / pastry. Special thanks for Marcel for organizing this great event and for everyone else for joining in. It was truly a great celebration of your country & it would not have been possible without your cheerfulness.
Happy Canada Day & keep smiling. Veronique