Sat, Oct 17 2009 - Chephren Lake - Moderate Pace (View Original Event Details)
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After taking a brief "pit-stop" at Lagan's Bakery in Lake Louise, we continued on to Waterfowl Lakes Campground to begin our hike (promptly) at 11:30 AM. Although the trail was well soaked, everyone remained confident that the rain would not soon reappear - since few hikers like rain, and fewer still like to hike in the rain. However, Ed knew we were all just fooling ourselves - and he was right - because the more we hiked, the longer, and harder, it rained. Even the wildlife had taken shelter. The only real wildlife we saw were a pair of grouse in a mating courtship under the relatively dry canopy of conifers; and there were fresh moose footprints on the trail up to Chephren Lake - but the owner of those footprints was nowhere to be found. We arrived to find the scenery at the lake to be spectacular, even if the clouds and rain restricted our views. Lunch was under the protection of the trees located next to the lake. During lunch, Lisa thoughtfully pulled out a map so that everyone had a chance to locate our next destination - Cirque Lake. The trail leading to Cirque Lake was not as pleasant due to the conditions on the trail. However, we persisted along to Cirque Lake, and eventually were treated to a more complete view of the glacier-draped Howse Peak. We ended the event by stopping off at Banff for dinner, where we enjoyed some "not-so-light" discussions about Ancient History.
I want to thank everyone for making this a great trip, and I hope to see you all on another COC adventure.