Back in the spring, we planned a hiking trip to Lake Louise and Banff with our friends, Sarah, Jim, Nancy, and Bob. Jim and I decide to take a few days to drive to Lake Louise so we could do some fall hiking along the way.
Our first stop was Needle Peak in the Coquihalla Mountains in British Columbia. This was a new Major Peaks area for Jim and I. The slabby rock peaks is what this area is famous for.
There was a abundancy of fall colors on the hike.
And a super full scramble on the summit ridge.
We actually ran into some other hikers on the summit ridge. This was a real advantage since it wasn’t obvious where to go and there were trails every where.
The next day, we stopped in Golden for a hike up Beaverhead Peak aka Mount 7. We didn’t realize this was a highly used recreation area so the first couple miles of trail were actual on abandoned 4X4 roads.
Once we left the roads, the trail connected several ridge lines making the hike very scenic. The final ridge was a bit scrappy.
After 3 days of driving and hiking, Jim and I arrived our hotel in Lake Louise.
After checking into our hotel, we headed off to Lake Moraine. Our shuttle pass wasn’t until 2pm so we decided to hike in and ride the shuttle back.
Once we were able to leave the road, the hike to the lake was quite nice on very good trails.
We arrived Lake Moraine just before lunch. Wow! This place did not disappoint.
During lunch, we met another couple and took turns doing a photo shoot. Not a bad picture could be had.
After lunch, we still had sometime to enjoy the area so we did the short hike to Consolation Lake. There is not a bad view to be had in this area. No wonder it was so difficult to get shuttle passes.
I had read that the Icefields Scenic Highway between Lake Louise and Jasper was one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the world. Jim and I took our next day to check it out.
We drove as far as the Glacier viewing center then took a tour of the skywalk. A glass walkway structure cantilevered over the canyon. Jim and I spent an hour analyzing how it was built. Didn’t seem possible.
On our drive back to Lake Louise, we enjoyed every stop along the parkway. This place was too amazing to take in on just one visit. We would need to come back.
After a week of beautiful blue skies, we woke the next day to threatening rain. Jim and I didn’t feel like we had any room to complain so we headed out on a hike of Mount Saint Piren above Lake Louise. We were both super interested in getting a better look at the imfomaous Beehive.
From the summit of Mount Saint Piren, we enjoyed views of the near peaks and a fun ridge run loop. It didn’t start to rain until we reached the tea house on Lake Anges.
Once the rain started, it hung out for the next couple of days. We all checked into our condo in Banff and enjoyed a day off from hiking. We took the opportuntiy to explore downtown Banff inbetween rain sqalls.
When the rain stopped, it left cold wet air. Jim and I really wanted to return to Lake Louise and hike up the Beehive. We were able to talk Nancy and Bob into joining us.
For our lunch break, we enjoyed a fabulous view of Lake Louise from the summit of the Beehive.
Lake louise is a beautiful place and we enjoyed the different views of the lake our hiking loop had to offer. The weather wasn’t perfect but it was the next best thing.
The one thing we all wanted to do together was go up the Banff Gondola. The views from the top were limited by lingering clouds.
We enjoyed one more hike with Nancy and Bob along the ridge leading out from the gondola station. After we were stopped by rock walls, we returned to the station and returned to the valley floor. It had been a super introduction to the area. We can’t wait to return and explore it more.
