The Lakes

 

Lake Louise and Lake Moraine

Ski town of Banff

A maple syrup latte drink.

Why did I order this so late at night?

I guess because it didn't feel very late at the time.

Apparently, caffeine effects me more that I think it does,

and I didn't fall asleep very fast in the tent.

It was warm and tasty though.

This shop also had delicious artisan sodas.

I loved the ginger ales, and picked up a few of them to sip while on the road.

After a night of sleeping in a tent in the rain, we woke to still more rain,

and did our best to tear everything down and pack up the camping gear

in a steady drizzle.

It was more of an annoying rain than a miserable one.

Light enough to work through.

Glaciers all around us.

Mirror Lake, 750m below the Tea House

Chipmunk

Lake Louise was the first destination of the day.

We were given five hours to explore the lake area, walk some trails or

just enjoy the lake.

I decided to hike up to the Lake Agnes Tea House

It is on top of a small mountain, apparently.

Like a good hiker, I looked for signs leading to the Tea House,

and the first one I found led me down this road.

Muddy and sloppy and slow-going, especially if you're

trying to not completely submerge your boots in mud and muck.

This cannot be right. I refuse to believe that this is the trail meant to lead visitors

up to a popular destination like the Tea House.

Turns out I was right.

After nearly an hour trying to find the damn Tea House on what was

probably a horse path or service road (that wasn't very explicitly marked, or

I just missed that part) I gave up and followed an unmarked trail into the woods.

I don't know where it led to, but it was easier to walk on.

I knew which direction the lake was, and had a vague idea of which direction I

was headed, so I figured that if I didn't get to the Tea House, at least I can

enjoy a nice walk through the woods.

Eventually, the mystery trail came to an intersection that met with the

footpath that was meant for hikers to take to the Tea House.

It also intersected with a horse path. Hm, I was probably trying to walk the horse path.

So, after already walking for an hour, I began the climb up to the Tea House.

It was quite a hike.

But I made it, at last!

Lake Agnes, at the top of the mountain.

Home of the famed Tea House.

Altitude of 2,135 m or 7,005 ft.

And a 3.5km hike.

I ordered some soup and a cup of maple tea, relaxed a bit and warmed up,

then gathered my things and began the long walk back down the mountain.

Beautiful Lake Louise

Then back into the van for a short drive to Lake Moraine

Lake Moraine is gorgeous.

The water is clear and cold, and has the glacial turquoise hue.

Surrounded by stunning mountains.

There is a short shoreline walk on one side of this lake.

Very pleasant.

High five!

while here, I visited the gift shop, tried some Canadian Cheezies

(they were okay, these were a bit stale, but the cheese flavour is good),

and got some ginger soda and coffee.

Had the whole front seat to myself.

Just stowed my suitcase up here instead of 

putting it into the trailer.

After using only a small duffel bag for luggage last year, I

felt a bit spoiled using a suitcase for this trip, even if it

was still, technically, a small carry-on size one.

Couldn't resist buying some Canadian chocolates.

Like the signs, most of the foods are bi-lingual.

I ended up forgetting these in the van, and they melted into a gooey mess,

but I still brought them home and let them re-solidify into a almost

recognizable KitKat shape.

I've eaten the caramel one already and it was very tasty.

The chocolate is a bit richer than US chocolate.

It took a while to get through because I ate only chunks at a time.

Haven't broken into the cookie dough bar yet. 

A pecan tart-size pie. Sooooo good.

coffee

café

The drive to Whistler was interesting.

The scenery shifted from mountains to something that

resembled New Mexico, with scrub desert and smaller mountains.

We made a quick gas stop in Lillooet, 

where there seemed to be a singing or drum circle happening

in the lawn next to the museum.

I watched and listened for a few minutes, until it was time to

get back into the van to get to our next destination.

Lillooet is a small town that has a significant First Nation Lillooet population.

This would be relevant later in my trip, so it was an interesting, if

accidental, preview.

A quick lunch stop and a short walk in the Nairn Falls Provincial Park.

Canada has provinces, not states, hence the provincial labels.

Here we see FrontSeat Shark impersonating a salmon swimming upstream.

When we arrived in Whistler, our guide gave us a couple of hours to get

familiar with the town. This is where we would be all day tomorrow, so

it was a good chance to scope out the activities and plan how to spend our day.

Whistler was the resort village of the 2010 Olympic Games, and there

were several rings in the village and atop Whistler mountain.

Had a local brew and got a feel for the place.

So many bikes! Biking down some of the mountain trails

is a big draw, and there were bikers wheeling around everywhere.

The campground here required parking at an outside lot, then using

wheelbarrows to haul stuff into our campsites.

Not too bad, I guess. At least the wheelbarrows weren't too heavy.

All tented down for the night.

Letting my towel dry out by hanging it up.

 It was warmer here, so I didn't feel too cold at night.

A good night's sleep and ready to take on the next day's adventures.