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| Boom Lake, Banff National Park near Lake Louise (one of the few days with clear weather) |
We
just arrived back in the United States after a really nice time in the Canadian
Rockies. Today’s weather in our
campground near East Glacier, Montana is glorious Indian Summer – such a
contrast to the early snows we experienced in Canada. We were not ready for summer to turn so
quickly to winter, but we were prepared.
We know from experience that any kind of weather is possible this time
of year in the northern latitudes. Thankfully, it didn’t last and we are loving
this beautiful, warm afternoon with flashes of fall color dotting the mountain
slopes.
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| Bunchberry (dwarf dogwood) and birch |
Almost three weeks ago and one week before we
were to meet David’s brother and wife in Lake Louise, we crossed the border into Canada from
Roosville, Montana and drove straight to the southern end of Kootenay National
Park in the Canadian Rockies. Kootenay
was the only one of the Rockies’ National Parks that we did not visit on our
trip to Canada two years ago.
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| Marble Canyon in Kootenay National Park Forest is recovering from 2001 fire |
Located
on the British Columbia side of the continental divide, Kootenay was the last
national park to be created in the Canadian Rockies. More than any other of the mountain national
parks in Canada, Kootenay has been shaped by fires. Natural wildfires in the 20th
century and in 2001 and 2003 have altered the park’s biology and landscape. The forests of Kootenay are in transition
from relatively newly burned areas to recovering forests to stands of
old-growth trees. Taking hikes in
Kootenay is almost like taking a course on the life of a forest and seeing the
transformations in process. Beauty,
inspiration, education and exercise make a great trail (although sometimes I
wish for a good restaurant at the end).
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| Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park |
We
had pretty good weather our first week in Canada. It did rain off and on most
of the time we were visiting Kootenay so we kept to shorter hikes. But our last day in Kootenay was a sunny,
cool day – a perfect day for the longer hike to Stanley Glacier.
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| Stanley Glacier from the end of the trail, Kootenay National Park |
The
Stanley Glacier Trail had been closed because the bridge across the Vermilion
River washed away in a flood two years ago.
With the new bridge completed earlier this summer there were many hikers
attracted to this trail. So we didn’t
have the solitude that we often enjoy but we did have a good time talking to
members of a hiking club out of Calgary. They told us about the recent fossil
discoveries in the Burgess Shale beds near the end of the trail. Most of the famous Burgess Shale fossils have
been found in nearby Yoho National Park near Field, so everyone is excited
about the new discoveries in Kootenay.
It was fun for us to be right there standing on the rock beds looking
for fossils.
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| Harumi and Jim in front of the Chateau Lake Louise September 10, 2014 |
Our
next stop was Lake Louise in Banff National Park where we met David’s brother
Jim and his wife Harumi. Our first day
together was quite nice but then surprise, snow! We had three days of snow falling off and on
with as much as 6 inches on the ground at a time. We made the best of it and did some short
walks around Lake Louise and then car touring along the Icefield Parkway to the
Athabasca Glacier and also a visit to nearby Yoho National Park. We indulged in some very good local cuisine
and then all too soon, it was time for Jim and Harumi to go home.
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| The unexpected snow was just beautiful! |
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| Lake Louise |
The
weather was supposed to be warming soon but we were weary of cold and ready to
do some serious hiking again. We thought
we might have better luck if we headed south, so off we went to Waterton
National Park on the Canadian side of the border from Glacier National Park in
Montana. All I can say is when you don’t
have Internet and are out of range of most communications, surprises are
inevitable. We should have checked the
weather…
David's
Stats:
Days Hiked 4
Rain and/or Snow
Days 4 Days Hiked 4
Total Miles Hiked 31.59
Ave. Miles per Day 7.9
Total Elevation Gain 4,280
Ave. Elevation Gain per day 1,070
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| Thank goodness for a campground with electricity! |
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