Fri, Aug 24 2007, Sat, Aug 25 2007 - Lake Louise Hostel + Wilcox Pass - Dawdlers and Slowpokes (View Original Event Details)
|  |
It was a great drive to Lake Louise with the rest of the migration from Calgary on Friday night ! All cars made it there by 8:00p.m. We checked in and were pleasantly surprised to see that our 3 rooms each had a bathroom. The rooms were clean and comfy !
Most of us ate at Peyto's restaurant which is in the hostel. Everyone enjoyed their meal and we would recommend any future patrons of the hostel to eat there ! We heard that it is also a locals' favorite.
Bedtime came fast after dinner, as I wanted us to meet in the lobby early the next day (thank you everyone !) In my room, as we were settling in for the night, and we all were saying our goodnights, Paul proclaimed that it was nice to meet us, and we all burst out laughing !! (Had to be there for the irony of it all !)
By 7:00a.m. on Saturday, we were standing in line at Laggan's bakery ! And what a selection they had: pastries, hot sandwiches, muffins, etc, and of course, our much needed caffeine fix ! The drive out to the trailhead was lined with wall to wall stunning mountain and glacier scenery, and with no bears in sight !
The hike started with a good grunt to get everyone's heart pumping (mine especially!). Once thru the trees, we could see the Columbia Icefield Centre (with a whole bunch of buses), and of course, the Athabasca Glacier. And what's nice about this view, is you can see the buses' path, just like a hiking trail! I've been on the bus a couple years back, and hadn't realized how much elevation they gain on the glacier .
Ahhhh the rain, yes the rain.... started and continued for the rest of the hike. Gave us a chance to check out everyone's rain gear, and Lynda had the best cape which she bought in Montreal ! Once at the end of the official trail, and even with the rain, we wanted to do more - so we headed up to the ridge, and two more beyond that - great pics were taken, and we had a quick lunch. The wind turned bitter cold just as we were packing up ! A nice hike back down to the trailhead, where the sun decided to show up !!
Paul suggested that we stop at the Mistaya Canyon which is just passed the Saskatchewan River Crossing on the way back home, and since we all wanted more, we did !!! As soon as we got on the path, it started to rain lightly. We hiked 1km (all elevation loss) to the canyon, and what an impressive sight .... The half circular spiral gorge was carved out of running water, spectacular site for a short 1km hike. Once back at the trailhead, the sun decided to make another appearance !
One cute side story: Lynda had lost a small attachment to her pole during the ascent thru the trees to Wilcox Pass. Once she realized she lost it, Laurie put a ribbon marker on the tree, so we would know where to start looking for it on the way back. And loll and behold, Jillian found it !! Our first lost and found on a hike !!
Thank you everyone for the early departure from the hostel ! I will certainly do this type of event again with the hostel as I received great feedback from all (including myself !).
One last note, for such a rainy day, I saw great smiles, and heard great laughs throughout the entire day which made it even more special for me :)
Encounters on the trail: Birds, a few tenacious wildflowers (most have already kicked the bucket), other hikers, mountain sheep, stunning valley & ridge, rain & more rain, and of course, the sun at both trailheads !
Happy Trails :)
Karen D.