Sun, Jul 6 2008 - Lower Galatea Lake - Moderate Pace (View Original Event Details)
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Yet another fantastic day in the mountains....
a nice cozy group of 8 gathered at the Brentwood LRT by 9:00am this morning for a day trip out to Kananaskis country. We split up into 2 vehicles and made our way down the highway making note of the rain clouds a short distance away. Fortunately the sun seemed to follow us all the way to the Galatea trailhead parking lot keeping our hopes up for a dry pleasant day.
We began our hike shortly before 10:30am making several stops along the way for great photo opportunities. The creek was running at a nice strong level making it difficult to resist stopping on many of the bridges that cross over it on route to Lillian Lake. We made it to the lake in approximately 2 hours and relaxed for a short while to catch our breath before ascending the final leg up to Lower Galatea Lake.
As we approached the Lower Galatea Lake we encountered pockets of snow however the trail was clear and in good shape. We broke for lunch on some of the big rocks near the shore and relaxed for close to an hour before a light rain began to fall shortly after 2:00pm. We took that as our queue to pack up and begin our descent back towards Lillian Lake. The steady drizzle accompanied us most of the way back however much to our delight the sun returned to dry us off a little before arriving back at the trailhead around 4:00pm.
Considering this trail just opened a little over a week ago due to lingering snow, the conditions were good with minimal wet/muddy sections and no snow until you approach Lower Galatea Lake. The snow we did encounter however did not interfere in any way with our ability to follow the trail. Despite the rain, it was a very pleasant day and we all had a great time.
Please take a moment to enjoy the attached photo album.
Until next time, happy hiking!
Duane V