Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Visited Sept. 9-16, 2021

By Janell

 

To get from Jasper to Banff we needed to drive the Icefields Parkway again. It was such a beautiful drive the first time (to get to Jasper), that we were looking forward to doing it again. This time we stopped to check out Athabasca Glacier; instead of taking photos from across the highway. We parked the Beast across the highway and walked about a mile to the glacier. We thought we’d be able to walk right up to it, but this is as far as we were allowed to go. 

What actually is a glacier? Glaciers are made of ice; glacial ice forms where more snow falls in winter than melts in summer. As snow accumulates, it becomes compacted under its own weight. This turns light, fluffy snow into dense ice. Over time, gravity makes this ice flow slowly downhill, like a river of taffy.

See that small stream right behind us? It's a murky gray color due to a high concentration of "rock flour". Glaciers grind rocks into a fine powder, called rock flour, that is then carried away in the meltwater. Lakes near melting glaciers have unique colors - from murky brown to brilliant turquoise. Lakes and streams with a high concentration of rock flour can appear murky gray, like this stream which flows into Sunwapta Lake. Sunwapta Lake is small and the same color as this stream - really not worth a photo. Lakes with less rock flour appear more colorful. (Stay tuned for a stunning example!)

Just like at Glacier National Park in Montana, the glaciers in Canada are also rapidly receding. Athabasca Glacier reached all the way out to this point in 2006.

 And the glacier was here in 1935. It's more than a little disconcerting.

 

 

 

 

Big horn sheep along the highway. Just the ladies and the babes though.

 

 Fall color

Most of the trees in this area of Canada are evergreens, so fall color is seen more at the ground level. (We learned about this very thing when we took the boat tour on Lake Maligne). Just a week earlier we had driven this very same stretch of highway, and there was no sign of fall color.

 

 

 A bit of excitement in the campground

One morning we heard a helicopter from our campsite, and it seemed to be quite close. Looking out the windows we could see that a helicopter was coming in for a landing on the road at the edge of the campground. Before long we saw the helicopter lifting a bundle of (?) up into the air. The helicopter made five or six trips back and forth, with about ten minutes in between each trip, picking up one or two bundles each time. The helicopter didn’t land each time – it just dropped the cable down, and a man on the ground hooked up the bundle/s. Very curious!

 

Downtown Banff. 

Banff, like Jasper, is located within the National Park.

The photo below was taken just a few minutes after the one above.

What a difference blue skies and sunshine makes, eh?

Three days later: Banff is packing up the flowers. Winter is coming ...

Lake Louise

We arrived at Lake Louise at about 8:30am, and the temperature was 40°. There was fog on the lake this early, but the day promised to be a nice one. We hiked about eight miles in the area, on a few different trails, seeing beautiful views and three different lakes (including Lake Louise, the main attraction).

Fairview Lookout

To begin the day we decided to do a short hike to Fairview Lookout. With an elevation gain of 547' we had hoped to get above the fog for a view of the lake. As you can see we didn't rise above the fog, but it was a pretty site nonetheless. Even through the fog you can see the turquoise of Lake Louise. (But you ain't seen nothin' yet!)

Back at lake level again. Still foggy.

Just two minutes later, and oh boy, the skies are beginning to clear!

Time to hike up again. This is Mirror Lake and Big Beehive. It was a significant "climb" just to get to this point, but we are going to go higher - up Big Beehive!

The Stoney Indians called the lake at the base of the Big Beehive, the “Goat’s Looking Glass”. Legend has it that mountain goats used the lake as a mirror to comb out their beards! Today it’s called Mirror Lake.

Mirror Lake from a different perspective

Lake Agnes

A bit further up the trail, and we arrived at Lake Agnes. Lake Agnes was known first to the Stoney Indians as “Lake in the Clouds”. The lake was given its present name in 1890 after two noteworthy visitors. Agnes Knox, a noted public speaker from Toronto, was the first white woman to visit this lake. A few days later, Lady Macdonald, wife of Canada’s first prime minister, arrived and was led to believe the lake would be named after her. Fortunately, she was also an Agnes. Whew! That could’ve been awkward if she’d been named Margaret, for instance.

We did occasionally see signs of fall color in trees of the area, such as these yellow larches along the trail. Did you know that larches are one of the few coniferous trees to change colors and lose their needles in the fall? (no, me either) They are conifer trees like pines because they have needles instead of leaves, and their seeds grow in cones, but unlike pines they are not evergreen; they are deciduous.

Is that turquoise milk?

This is Lake Louise as viewed from atop Big Beehive! Isn't it spectacular?! Look how small the Fairmont Chateau is at the left end of the lake. And if you can see little black "ants" in the lake, those are canoes. Yes, we were just that high up! The elevation gain from lake level to the top is 2,545'. 

See what I mean about the stunning water color? You could almost pretend you were in the Caribbean ... if not for the weather. At lake level it was gorgeous turquoise water, but from up above it was turquoise milk!

As a special treat when I was a kid, my mom would sometimes put food coloring in my milk. I remember green on St. Patrick’s Day and pink on Valentine’s. I don’t remember having turquoise milk, but if I did it would’ve looked just like this! Amazing!

Canapés and champagne would've been more appropriate to celebrate this grand view instead of our ham and cheese picnic lunch. Oh well.

 

 We are practically in the clouds up here!

 

Near the end of our hiking that day we passed some climbers. They’re pretty small in this photo, so I’ve drawn arrows to point them out. Now that's something I have absolutely no desire to do (fortunately for me, neither does Marty 😉).

And here we are, back in front of the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. We had hoped to get a glimpse inside the chateau, but due to Covid, only hotel guests were permitted entrance.

A bull elk at rest

There were two of these bulls lying just a few yards apart along the roadway. If not for the trees I could’ve gotten them both in one photo.

This is supposed to be rutting season, where the bulls challenge each other in duels in hopes of winning a lady’s attention. These two however, must’ve agreed to a temporary truce. There were no ladies in sight. 

I think that perhaps these two guys just pretended to go out into the woods to “duke it out” … you know, so the ladies would be impressed and all. Once out of sight of the ladies, they decided to just take a load off instead. You got a better theory?

 

 

 

We pedaled 20 miles on the Banff Legacy Trail. The scenery was dramatic.

I’m always the one who calls timeout for a break from cycling; remember, Marty bicycled from California to Virginia – he doesn’t need to take a break on a 20-mile bike ride! Nonetheless he took the opportunity to stretch out on this comfy bed of rocks while I caught my breath and rested my legs at our half-way point.

After our ride we had lunch and poked around a few shops in Canmore, another cute little town.

Moraine Lake

If I had thought it was cold the other day when we arrived at Lake Louise for our hike (40°F) … that seemed practically balmy compared to our arrival at Moraine Lake. We didn’t have cell service at the lake, so we don’t know exactly, but Marty was guessing it was in the upper 20’s. I know it was in the low 30’s when we left our campsite in Banff (elev. 4,537’), and we were 1,644’ higher at Moraine Lake (elev. 6,181’). Brrr! It was a biting cold!

We had planned to hike up the mountain and also to canoe in the lake, but we opted instead to get hot cocoas and stay at lake level. As there was slush on the trails at lake level, we knew there’d be ice on the mountain trail – so we played it safe and simply walked to the end of the lake and back. There were people canoeing that morning, but a water sport in those temps did not sound the least bit appealing to me. I was greatly relieved when Marty dashed the canoeing idea!

Everyone knows there’s safety in numbers, right? We’ve read this very “fact” many times lately when it comes to bears and hiking trails. However, this was the first time we had seen the concept quantified -- as in how many people constitute a “safe” number. As you can see, four was only “recommended” on that morning, but sometimes it’s “mandatory”. Yikes!! That’s enough to make you think twice about your hike.

As we stood there pondering this sign, a group of four 30-somethings marched past us to begin their hike; one of them looked back over his shoulder and said we were welcome to tag along with their group if we wanted. Wasn’t that so nice of him?! (Actually, everyone up here in Canada has been very nice.) But we declined, as we were just reading the sign … not going to hike that trail. 

 We did see a bear though …

... in front of the gift shop! 😂

If there was any doubt that Moraine Lake was glacier fed, the icicles above should be proof enough. This is the glacier water that feeds into Moraine Lake.

A log jam, literally

We've heard talk of "log jams", but in today's world it's typically referring to cars or people or anything but ... logs!

In the winter, avalanches sweep trees off the slopes onto the lake ice. When the ice melts, the trees drift over to the stream outlet, forming a log jam.

This is essentially the same spot as the first photo I showed you of Moraine Lake (where someone took our photo). Now blue skies are opening up, but it's still quite cold.

The Fairmont Banff Springs

Fortunately, unlike the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, the Fairmont Banff Springs welcomed visitors. We checked it out and took some pretty pictures.

 

 The view from the back terrace overlooking the Bow River and Bow Valley

Some people were dining outdoors inside this bubble. It looked cozy.

 

We were several streets away, after visiting the Fairmont, when Marty noticed a road sign that read "Surprise Corner Viewpoint". We had no idea what the "surprise" would be, but how can one resist that?! So, instead of turning left to go home as we had planned, Marty made an abrupt change and followed the sign. The above photo was our reward.

We were so impressed by the Fairmont that we returned on another day and had drinks and appetizers in the Rundle Bar. Here are two of their signature cocktails: "Wildflower" and "Iconic Peak" along with the Beetroot Salad and Pull Apart Focaccia Bites. An order of Banh Mi Bao Buns were still on their way.

This "secret" entrance to a private room was near our seats at the bar. A few people were shown into the hidden room (a couple at a time); sadly, we were not invited. 

At the top of this staircase was a discreetly stationed DJ. I suspect that he was gauging the mix of the crowd in the bar below and playing to it. He was very good at his job; as he played many of our favorites songs.

Bow Falls

Again after departing the Fairmont, we saw and followed a different sign: to Bow Falls. We hadn't even heard of Bow Falls, but it seemed worth the detour to check it out.

If you're into Marilyn Monroe and/or Robert Mitchum movies, Bow Falls was featured in "River of No Return".

 

The Bow River

We've seen a lot of this kind of van with crazy paint jobs; they run the gamut from bright flowers to somewhat suggestive images. This one caught my eye, and I looked up wickedcampers.com. 

I noticed in Wicked Campers' FAQs that you could request a certain design, but of course they can’t make promises. However, you’re welcome to request a “tame” van if traveling with children, etc.