spoltopia

Splake = male brook trout + female lake trout, Spolt = Sparks + Holt

29 September, 2014

Fall in the Canadian Rockies

As indicated in the previous post, we hadn't quite gotten the Canadian Rockies out of our system after a week at Jasper, so back again we went--this time to Banff, lake Louise, Kootenay, Yoho and Assiniboine.
Johnston Falls
We flew into Calgary and spent a night in Canmore at the Paintbox Inn. Canmore is a Nordic skiing Mecca, so don't be surprised if you see a winter post from here.
Banff is a fairly typical mountain resort town in many ways, but it has a nice museum, the Whyte, and also the adjacent library had a fun puppet exhibit. It is also the home of Canada's first national park area, Cave and Basin, which is home to the Banff spring snail and many bitterns (not pictured).

Cave and Basin
There are several advantages to traveling in fall. First off, the crowds are a lot smaller, and the weather is cool but not yet cold. Also, the larches and aspens turning yellow adds color to the mountains.
Wapta Falls
Although the temperatures remained moderate, only 2 of the 5 hiking days were without rain. Getting a little wet was a small price to pay for having the trails to ourselves.
Plain of Six Glaciers
It would be hard to name a highlight, but our early morning sojourn up to the Plain of Six Glaciers with a return through the Big Beehive and Lake Agnes certainly makes the short list for best day hikes, especially when you throw in a couple of mountain goats.
Mountain Goats

Lake Agnes
The denouement hike in the Sunshine Valley was wet, windy, moody and without another person in sight--in other words, perfect. We even found a single wild strawberry growing on the trail!

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