Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Lake Louise, Lake Agnes, Little Beehive, Plain of Six Glaciers, Banff National Park
What a day! We spent the entire day hiking most of the trails in the Lake Louise area. We began at the Chateau and climbed to Lake Agnes, where we avoided the hub-bub of the teahouse and ate our GORP at a picnic table. After quickly refueling we headed around Lake Agnes, past a cool amphitheater, and ascended the Beehive, which had excellent views down to Lake Louise, the chateau, and across the Bow River Valley. The canoeists on the lake looked like little toy boats. Feeling good, we headed up the valley towards the Plain of Six Glaciers. It was a long slog with lots of tourists from all over the world. We again avoided the teahouse at Plain of Six Glaciers (gotta save gas money as gas prices were hurtling up because of Hurricane Katrina) and hiked the extra kilometer to the trail's terminus on a sharp-crested moraine. It was quite chilly and breezy up there, but it was neat to look down upon the glacier. We headed back down, with a nice stop alongside the stream to watch the milky gray water cascade down. I was so happy that Sara had such a positive attitude to keep going up to the Plain of Six Glaciers even though we were both quite tired by that point. But how many times are you going to be at Lake Louise?
Length: About 12 miles
Vertical Gain:
Weather: Partly Sunny to spitting rain and cold
Dog Rating: I hate you guys (stuck at the kennel)
