August 7th Canada Part 2

August 7th, 2017

Moraine Lake

Banff NP, Alberta, Canada

Beautiful Moraine Lake.

 

        The next morning, after our Lake Louise day, we got up at 5:30 in the morning.  Yes, 5:30 AM!! Why?  Because Moraine Lake is probably the most popular destination in Banff NP and the parking lot is small and fills up before 8 AM.  We knew we didn’t want to miss this lake, so we sucked it and got up before the sun.  We were so glad we did because when we arrived in the parking lot at 6:15, the lot was already half full and by 7 AM it was full.  We had breakfast in the parking lot along with several other early birds and then started our hike.  Moraine Lake is stunning.  Its no wonder it’s on people’s bucket lists, like Laura’s, or that it shows up in several outdoor advertisements.  It’s a blue lake surrounded by jagged peaks.  We chose to do a very steep hike that took us up the West side of the lake and over the timberline, where trees don’t grow anymore because the air is too thin.  The air was a bit hazy because of the nearby fires, but overall, another beautiful day with the Canadian Rockies.  After our hike, we tried to drive up through  Jasper National Park, but the fires blocked all the views of the ice fields, so we don’t even really know what an ice field is.  So, back to our campsite outside of Yoho.

Leaving our campsite at 5:30 AM
Sun is starting to rise.
Made it to the parking lot. I guess Laura was tired.
To get the best views of the lake one has to scramble up a pile of boulders.
Climbing up!
And up!
Whoah!
Still climbing.
We made it! In time for the sun!

 

Just another view
PIKA!!!! We love this animal. They are also becoming endangered because of climate change.
Which Hike should we do? How about Sentinel Pass.
Beautiful Moraine Lake.

Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel. Squeaked the whole time we passed by.

Laura call this the Dr. Seuss Plant.  Camrin says it’s the Pasqueflower.

Above the Timberline!
Going back down!

Made it back to the lake.  The Haze is getting pretty bad now.

Not a bad place to take a break.
Goodbye Moraine Lake!
Back to our campsite!

 

Up Next… Yoho NP and our final days in Canada.  Thanks for reading our blog 🙂

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1 thought on “August 7th Canada Part 2”

  1. Ginger

    Your pictures are beautiful. Thank you for helping me like crazy vicariously through your adventure. Tears!

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