Day 12 – Lake Louise (Victoria Glacier) A true Monticle challenge! :D

Day 12 – Lake Louise (Victoria Glacier) A true Monticle challenge! :D

PT in the morning again. Today’s was a bit less demanding than the previous days. Billy drove us to the scenic viewing point on Mount Norquay that we were at yesterday. We did a few stretches, then Billy left us with the bear pepper sprays, two reflector jackets, two walkie-talkies and each other, and drove off with the instructions to get back to the hotel. It wasn’t too far; just about 5.5 kilometres, and we could follow the winding mountain road back down.

So that’s exactly what we did, and in 55 minutes, too! Along the way, we saw Billy along with the parked Sprinter, as our safety, also taking pictures of our descent. (Extreme paparazzi, especially since he was using a camera with a zoom lens…) We also caught a glimpse of a fox-like creature, but it was a ways off, so we didn’t get a clear look at it.

We got back to the hotel and had a heavenly breakfast of macaroni with beef stew as sauce. My stomach’s growling as I think of it…It tastes particularly good when you’ve just exercised early in the morning. (Growl growl growl…)

We packed our day packs and set out for Lake Louise. LIVE MOOSE SIGHTING!!! Only a few of us saw it, though. As for the lake, it was stunning. Its dramatic icy blue waters, with the mountains, and their perfect glaciers, had a truly humbling effect. That feeling was made even more evident when we began to climb the mountain. Our goal was to hike up to the Victoria Glacier on the Plain of Six Glaciers Trail.

The trail wasn’t very steep, but the tangle of rocks and roots made it tougher to climb. We took many little water breaks in between. The terrain gradually became rockier, and steeper, and the trees slowly became smaller.

When we reached the end of the trail, there was a teahouse. We stopped for a while there, to buy some refreshments, and rest our weary feet. The food there was a bit pricey, but totally worth the expenses. We were craving the food that they had to offer us, so we bought the chocolate cake and drinks. We also realized later on, that they would have to carry the food and materials up the mountain, much the same way we did. It definitely made us appreciate the food more.

Once we were refreshed, we continued our climb, all the way up to the Victoria Glacier. All the while we were climbing, we were randomly hearing claps of thunder; and this was continuous! So we would always glance skywards, expecting to see rainclouds. But no sign of a tempest was seen.

When we reached the top, we discovered what the noise actually was. After climbing up the loose gravel (with plenty of close calls, and shouts of surprise; on one side was a long drop…), we witnessed something amazing…however, slightly precognitive. It was…global warming in action. The earsplitting resonance was actually the glacial ice cracking, melting, and falling off of the side of the mountain. It was an incredible sight to see, but saddening to see at the same time. The meltwater congregating in Lake Louise was beautiful with its unique turquoise shade, but it was somewhat painful to see the thousands-of-years-old glaciers retreating, retreating…and eventually one day, they’ll disappear. It really makes me (well, at least, for sure, myself) want to curb global warming, and incite a change!

We drank some of the meltwater from the top of the mountain. The water is impossibly clean and clear; even after having run over a waterfall and many rocks, it still retained its purity. It tasted of snow, except without all of the pollutants in it. Everything about the mountains is so clean, so astounding in their pristine beauty.

We also saw a chipmunk on top of the mountain. How does it survive there, with no trees, and with only rocks as shelter? Humans? Probably. But we’ll never know. It (we named it Alvin…you know…Alvin and the chipmunks!) climbed all over Vivian!

After enjoying the view for a bit longer, w made our way back down the mountain; we had actually climbed 2329 metres! All in all, the entire day, we hiked for eight hours, 23.1 km in total! And might I mention that this was all on rough terrain? Round of applause for our West kids! (Woot! :D) Like I said before, this was a true Monticle challenge!

We went to buy our groceries again, and in celebration, got some junk food and an extra special treat…STEAK!!! Oh………..and ICE CREAM!!!!

We’re staying another day in our dreamy penthouse suite (YAY!) And we have a change of plans. We’re not climbing Mount Edith tomorrow; we wouldn’t be able to do it. So tomorrow we’re going to the Columbia Icefields, and we’re scaling the great Mount Edith on Friday. We’ll be all rested and ready for it then! Bring it on!