makeshiftmind

I’m drinking hot chocolate right now, fighting exhaustion, trying to stay awake.  It’s only 9:22 PM.  I swear we hiked a gazillion miles today.  My feet and legs are sore, but luckily my hiking boots pulled through and I have no blisters.  Brittany says it’s because I wore tennis shoes up Sulphur Mountain, but whatever.  I just like to believe my boots are that cool.

We got an early start this morning.  I actually felt pretty good, considering yesterday’s ending.  I experienced very little soreness and all signs of altitude sickness had been vanquished.  I still wanted to play it safe, so we decided on a number of less strenuous hikes and set out in the early morning air to seize the day.  It was overcast this morning; cloud cover touching the mountain peaks was a calming sight.  It was also a little chilly, and as we approached our first destination inside Banff park, it only got colder.

We decided to hike around scenic Lake Louise first.  We followed trans-Canada route 1 until arriving at our destination.  The drive took a bit of time, so we decided to eat an early lunch in the car before setting out.  We unpacked our sandwiches and began the consummation, when a large bird landed on the driver side mirror and glared longingly at Brittany’s sandwich.  It was a tad disturbing.  Forget the bears, the birds here are the real danger.

Once we finished our meal, we made the brief journey over to the Lake Louise trail head, nestled conveniently in front of Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, an inn that is as expensive as it sounds.  Our first glimpse of the mountains overshadowing the glassy turquoise lake was breathtaking.  The giant rock formations stood towering over the lake valley like the Greek gods towering over earth, and in the far distance, the tallest mountain of them all,  was great Zeus looming over the pantheon with his snowy beard drifting into the valley.  The wind was brisk and chilly, and I was worried that we hadn’t dressed warmly enough, but once we started moving our bodies adjusted and the walk was quite pleasant.  We traveled around the lake to the far end where water from snowy peaks fed the lake through a stream snaking down the mountainside.  The path was relatively easy until we reached the far end of the lake, at which point it sported a steeper grade and a light carpet of snow.  The trail is called the Plain of Six Glaciers, and if time had permitted, we would have made it to the end to see them, but we were pressed for time and had to turn around and head back to meet our schedule.

Once we returned to the Chateau we entered the hotel and found a nice little restaurant called Lakeview which, according to Brittany’s diligent research, served an especially mean afternoon tea.  We truddged through the door, dressed about ten castes of society too poor, but figured what the hell, we wanted tea damnit!  Our hostess was most polite, and served us an exquisite sparkling wine for an appetizer, followed by a tower (no, really, check the pictures) of  finger foods that were all either distinctly British or unpronounceable, but we finished them all and were satisfied.  We each received our own personal pot of tea (Brittany ordered the Fairmont Classic and I, the Fairmont Earl Grey), and for an hour we pretended to be upper class and enjoyed our good food and an amazing view of the mountains.

After we left Lake Louise, we headed south to another Banff attraction, Lake Moraine.  We decided to forgo the hiking in lieu of time constraints, but it was every bit as magnificent as Lake Louise.  The mountains were much closer to the entrance, so we craned our necks to see their peaks.  There was a shoreline of dead tree trunks — driftwood that had been washing up from the forest for god knows how long.  A mammoth pile of tumbled rocks were stacked, almost neatly, near the shoreline, and provided amateur rock climbers with a prime target for fun.  It also offered a tremendous view of the lake, which was as turquoise as Louise and bright with sunlight pouring through mountain peaks.

Our next stop was Johnston Canyon, an intimidating path cut through rock by a rumbling river and series of waterfalls.  The trail was divided into two segments: upper falls and lower falls.  We were loosing daylight, and I was worried that we might not make upper falls before dark, but Brittany gave me puppy dog eyes and, well, yeah we hiked both trail segments.  The trek was a very exciting mix of forest pathways and suspended walkways, all overlooking the river below.  There were a series of smaller falls along the way, but the two trail stops for upper and lower falls were far more impressive.  At the lower falls, we entered a small cave the wrapped around close to the water for an excellent photo op.  I could feel the moisture peppering me from the excessive mist.  At the upper falls, we noticed a large rock face with smaller water streams moving down it next to the fall itself.  Both falls were beautiful and very peaceful.

By the time we returned to the car after our hike through Johnston Canyon, it was nearly 6 PM and time to return to the hotel.  We were both tired, hungry, and in serious need of a hot tub.  Luckily for us, our hotel provides the latter service for free!  After scarfing a dinner of burnt pizza (the oven cooks hotter than advertised!), we threw on our swim suits and spent 30 minutes soaking our broken and battered bodies.  And boy, did it feel great!  Now Brittany is in bed, and I am sure to follow in a few minutes.

As a side note, we would both like to give mad props to Holly and Andy, who graciously lent us a pair of CamelBaks.  I cannot express the difference that these hydration packs make in the wild.  You guys are the best!

I’ve uploaded pictures of Banffventure 2009 Day 3 for all to see!