This day started with an early rise… come to think of it, they all did. The more we travel the more I realize that crowds are a bit of an issue just about everywhere unless you’re willing to get up early.
The early bird gets the selfie without other tourists in it…
Anyway, on our first full day of exploring Canada we drove to a ski lodge or some sort and caught a bus to Louise Lake because parking at the lake is very limited.
👆That’s what we look like on a bus
Lake Louise
This lake is an absolute stunner and as I walked up to it my first thought (aside from, Canada… quit showing off) was that we’d ruined the rest of the trip by starting at Lake Loiuse. Those are the moments in which you want to be wrong… and thankfully I was so very very wrong.
As you can see, there’s a pretty dope hotel at the bottom of Lake Louise. We did not stay there. For one, it’s crazy expensive but more importantly it’s giving off some strong Overlook vibes. No thanks.
The hotel is at around a mile above sea level and by the time you get up to the tea house up top (“top”) you’ve climbed to over 7,000 ft. The hike is listed as easy or moderate or some other lie. It’s like walking up a 30-40 degree grade for what felt like just under a decade.
There are some really pretty views of Lake Louise on the way up as well as pretty sad interstitial Mirror Lake. On any other hike it might be a fun thing to happen upon but in this context it’s a bit like setting down the best book you’ve ever read to read a fortune cookie.
Once you get to the “top” (there was so much top beyond where we went) you’ll find a wonderful little tea house (and a lake, naturally) that serves all sorts of goodies. They have no running water or electricity and the majority of the staff is made up of college students who hike up with supplies, stay for a few days to cook/server hikers, and then head back down taking all their trash with them. They chopper 🚁 a few supplies up to the shop (like their giant propane cooking tanks) but the majority of it is hike-in, hike-out. Pretty impressive.
The line for food was pretty long but they were the only game in town, so we waited and just enjoyed the view. We ordered chocolate cake, lentil soup, tea, and a homemade nature bar/cookie mashup. It was all quite good even though it sounds like we let a 6 year old vegan order for us.
Our bellies full and our lakes-of-the-day count already at 3 we headed back down the mountain to catch a bus… to see another lake. Could a 4th lake really hold up against Louise?
Spoiler alert, yes.
Moraine Lake
We didn’t take another bus selfie. You’ll have to use your imagination. Moraine Lake is a legit wonder. Approaching it you don’t get to see too much of the lake itself – you just get a glimpse of how blue the water is from behind this giant-ass pile of rocks and trees, which had a name I can’t recall. The pile? I dunno. It’s believed there was an avalanche and/or rock slide that deposited the mass where it is today. A short hike up and around and then you get the payoff.
From the top (which you can see in the first few images) you get a pretty spectacular view of the surrounding forest which unfortunately for the trees is upstaged by a lake that can only be described as “Powerade Blue”. There’s a nice, very level walking trail that runs along the lake and has little stopping areas every few hundred yards that frame the lake into neat little vignettes. (I bet you didn’t think I knew that word after you heard me compare the lake to a sports drink)
So as I said earlier, I really didn’t expect this lake to hold up to Louise but it totally did. They’re both stunning in their own way. Participation trophies for everyone 🏆
