Just when you think it cannot possibly get any better, along comes Lake Louise. Lake Louise is the highest point we have reached on this trip and we are warned all the time about staying hydrated to fight altitude sickness. Fortunately, it has not bothered either Philip or I. This is the view from our window at Chateau Lake Louise (where we are staying) at 6am this morning. Would you look at those reflections!
We had a large-ish dinner last night so we skipped breakfast opting instead to take a walk around the perimeter of Lake Louise. It is just over 2km but we turned around at the 1km mark as we had to meet our tour at 9am. But looking back towards the hotel was really quite lovely and also the view towards the glacier mountain was equally spectacular.
We were meet by the Fairmont tour guide and he was fantastic. Everybody was hanging on his words as he walked us around the Fairmont grounds. He was very animated and interesting as he talked us through the history of Chateau Lake Louise and the surrounding area. We were told that the hotel has enough rooms to cater to 700 people but each day more than 2000 people visit the shores of Lake Louise and take use of the facilities. The tourists drive from Banff arriving around 10am but by 5pm they are gone and just the guests remain.
Once this guided tour ended we were again on our APT bus and heading to Moraine Lake that was about a 20 minute drive. The lake road had only just re-opened so we were very lucky to be able to access this spectacular lake. Our tour director, Mary, suggested that we hike up to the top of the "rock pile" to access the best views of the lake. Although it was a bit of a rough track over stony ground it was well worth the effort to see what lay before us. It was possibly the most beautiful view that we have ever seen. Just look at the colour of the water!
We had around an hour to wander along the shores of Moraine Lake. There is not a lot here, just a few cottages, hire canoes, and a restaurant/coffee shop but the views in every direction are magnificent.
We were back at the Chateau Lake Louise in time for lunch and as we had skipped breakfast we decided to head to one of the many restaurants and have a decent meal that was very good albeit very expensive! Lunch was quite filling so we decided to hike to the Fairmont Lookout to walk it off. The guide earlier in the day had said that it is a 1km hike but fairly steep. Oh wow, did he understate that! As we walked along the path that would take us to the lookout, the path got steeper and steeper. We stopped numerous times to drink some water and catch our breath - well me really, not Philip. Just when I thought I could not go another step further we finally reached the lookout. Boy was it worth it. The view looking out over Lake Louise towards the hotel and beyond that the ski-fields, literally took my breath away.
The descent was much easier (of course) and it was only around 3pm when we reached the bottom, so gluttons for punishment that we are, we decided to walk the full length of Lake Louise towards Glacier Mountain. It is a flat walk so it was actually quite pleasant. When we were almost at the end of the walk we came across some rock climbers. We watched them for quite some time, marvelling at their strength to scale those rock faces.
Today we walked almost 15kms and my body is really feeling it now as I lay in bed writing this blog. Tomorrow we get up really close to another glacier via a specially built vehicle. Can't wait.
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