Lake Louise 19^th September

Getting ready to leave Revelstoke and super excited to be heading to Lake Louise, the advertising and photographs are stunning and I am hopeful that it will be just as amazing in real life.

We have a quick breakfast, pack up the silver bullet, and hit the road.

It is 2 hours 30 to Lake Louise, approximately 230km. I am behind the wheel and kick the ponies into action. There is a little town called Golden, our tour guide from Whistler recommended it as a stop, and is home to Canada’s highest suspension bridge, 426 feet!

Gold is just past the midway point and Jason had offered to drive from there. Reluctantly but the offer was appreciated. We approached Golden and missed the turn off, no problem, surely there will be another one. Either we missed that one too, or there was only one turnoff. Either way we sailed past Golden and the suspension bridge. Meh, shit happens.

Looking back I am so pleased that we did not make it to Golden as that would have eaten into our time at Lake Louise and HMFSB, you want to spend as much time there as humanly possible.

There was a lot more road construction as we got closer to Lake Louise, but we still averaged between 120kmh and 140kmh – I LOVE THIS.

But suddenly, it is going to take us an extra hour to get there, how the fuck did that happen, I did not take the wrong turn off, I did not turn us around and point us in the wrong direction. Oh, hold the phone, the time to arrival has not changed, only the arrival time. We have just gone through a time zone, not a time warp (try to get Tim Curry out of your mind now, let’s do the time warp again….).

We have zipped forward an hour god damn it.

Finally we arrive at Lake Louise, not quite at the Fairmont Chateau (Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise – Luxury Hotel in Lake Louise(Canada)), this is where we are staying and appears to be the only place you can on the Lake. And there is a definite cost involved, there is a reason we are only staying one night. I have two kidneys and can only afford to sell off one.

A little about the lake itself, Lake Louise is a hamlet within Banff National Park, Alberta. Named after Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll. She must have been quite a hotty to have this lake named after her, just saying. Lake Louise sits at an elevation of 1,600 m (5,200 ft), making it Canada’s highest community – weeeeeeeeeeell. Define high, from what we have seen Kelowna was the highest community we have come into contact with so far…

There are several snow-capped mountains, including Mount Temple, Mount Whyte, and Mount Niblock that hover above Lake Louise and no doubt add to the subarctic climate and annual snowfall average of 279cm!!!!

Winter temperatures can fall below −50 °C in January and February FUCK NO! Apparently even the summers consist of frosty mornings and crisp, cool days. Snow can occur in any month of the year (yep) the frost-free period averages only 14 days.

From the offset you can see why this place is 5 stars. We arrive at a gate where a young man, dressed in their standard uniform (think Swiss mountains and Sound of Music) greets us. You are not even allowed to drive in there unless you have a reservation.

Oh yes, hello Mr and Mrs Walford (sigh, it was easier for the travel agent to book this under Jason’s name – caused a few issues) we can see you are staying for one night. Would you like to self-park or valet. No valet baby let’s keep the eye watering cost to a minimum where logical.

We are directed to drive to the front of the hotel and the bell people (bell boys, so last century) took our bags away, gave me directions to park the car. Despite the cost this place is fully booked, people are actually having conference here! You cannot tell from the service though, there is no one rushed, or stressed, or too busy to help you.

We are checked in by our Aussie man, Kye, from NSW. He gives us the low down on what we can do and takes all our details. We will receive messages when our room is ready, and he provides all the details we need to go for a hike.

We gear up and buy some lunch. Because we are staying at the chateau we get a discount on food – thank fuck because $18 for a muffin with hard to recognise egg and bacon seemed a little rich.

Full price is for the day visitors! And there are thousands of those. We are feeling very fancy with our cards that allow us onto the premises and into the facilities, like TOILETS and the Bar.

We consumed our reconstituted food, and it was time really test my leg. There are several tracks we can do but, of course, we opt to go hard! Why, oh why do I do this shit to myself. Plain of Six is a 4 hour round trip consisting of 7km and a gain of 335 metres in altitude.

The track starts off easily enough stretching its way around the lake providing lots of stunning vantage points for selfies. 2km in we start to climb, it does not feel too bad, a steady incline, with lots of roots and stones keeping me highly focused.

Just as we set out Jason comes to a screeching halt. That’s a bugle he declares. I assumed he had heard a bird that was called a bugle, but no. A bugle is the Elk equivalent of a roar. It is mating season, and the big boys are out looking for a willing girl. It also makes them a bit aggressive, so pays to be aware and keep out of their way. Jason is thrilled, apparently this is a big deal.

As we are hiking I am receiving regular updates from the Chateau, our room is ready, is there anything else we would like. Yes, I would like to book dinner for tonight, boom it is done. I would like to book the tour to see the sunrise at Lake Moraine tomorrow morning, boom it is done. I LOVE THIS PLACE. Their extreme level of organisation makes me feel happy.

During this hike there are times when I am outright chastising myself, why, oh why did I think this was a sane thing to do. I know how unfit I am and how average my leg is. Yet I suggest that we do the longest walk and do all the things. Inside my head there is a fair bit of berating going on. Up, up, trudge, trudge, grump, grump.

CHIPMUNK! Well, that changes everything. As we head along the track we see a few little chipmunks. Granted there are a couple who have figured out that humans bring trail mix, and those suckers are not so little anymore. They also pose for photos and clearly have learnt behaviour. Works for me, I get lots of photos and videos to show all the granddaughters.

There was a very nice older Japanese gentleman next to me. Asking what they were.

NOJG: They squirrels.

JKW: No, they are chipmunks.

NOJG: Oh. Chip Monkeys.

JKW: Kind of, chipmunks.

NOJG: I have learnt a new word today, chipmonkey.

JKW: Me too. Me too. Chipmonkey it is.

We say goodbye to the chipmonkeys and continue our up, up, up.

There are a few more rushing across the track. Lots of dogs out for a walk too, living their best lives.

As we hike we can see the leftover snow from last season, on the highest peaks, just holding on to the ridges. The breeze coming down off the snow is enough to chill your hands and we need to put our fleeces on, but not so cold that we need long pants or beanies.

We are getting a few comments “you’re making me feel cold” or “aren’t you cold”. Always met with the same reply “just another New Zealand summer’s day”.

There was one young woman coming down the track in knee high boots and a tailored skirt, which made me look over prepared. A couple of young men in their loafers. Not judging, but fuck, asking to slip or fall, I cannot imagine they have any grip. Some of the track is on sheer cliff, granted it’s not hundreds of meters, but enough to do some serious damage on the rocks if you slip – a scenario that was running through my head quite regularly).

After 1h and 45minutes we make it to the “Tea House” a little wooden chalet with no electricity where you can order any of the 3 items on the menu, which sounded amazing BTW, have a hot drink, and recoup before heading down. We had not long ago ingested our pretend egg and bacon so just went in for a nosey. And it is so cute! The staff hike up and stay for four days, then head back down again.

Dedication.

There is a further 1.4km walk that will take you to the view of the glacier but, due to time constraints and the possibility of losing sunlight, we opted to start our trek down which was, of course, much easier and faster. Meaning we made it back, even with time spent watching the chipmonkeys and taking more photos. The views are magnificent and because I was no longer having an internal tantrum it was much more enjoyable.

A quick stop on a ledge for afternoon tea of chocolate and mandarins. Life is pretty good.

We arrive back at the chateau and decide the best way to warm up with a couple of beverages by the outdoor fire, which is not lit, but the alcohol helps. There are a couple of native birds who have taken a leaf out of the chipmonkey’s book and have sidled up to the tourists for some easy to come by snacks. I had a leftover muesli bar in my bag so coaxed one of them over.

Cheeky bastard, took one peck, glared at me, spat it out and flew back to the other table where they had nuts and cranberries. Fussy!

We watched the lake and the surrounding mountains until it was just too cold and decided to head up to our room which we had not seen yet. I was skeptical that we would actually get a decent view from our room, but boy oh boy I was wrong. We could see the lake and the mountains. How good is our life!

Jason’s back had been giving him such a hard time and he was in a world of hurt. When we saw the massive bathtub, it was time for a boiling hot bubble bath. Too funny, he had a wonderful time wallowing around and it, the heat and the beer he consumed soaking definitely helped his back.

This hotel is MASSIVE. No matter how many times we come and go and think we have figured it out, we get lost every, single, fucking time. I tell you, if The Shining had occurred in this hotel Jack Nicolson would NEVER have found Danny and Wendy. The famous line would not be “here’s Johnny” but “where’s Johnny”. Seriously, some of the hallways really reminded me of that movie.

It is truly luxurious though, stained glass windows, sculptures, oodles of staff who can’t do enough to help you and make sure your stay is as wonderful as possible. We DO NOT want to leave.

After perusing the menus we chose the Fairview restaurant, mainly because of the view! Yeah, it’s like picking a bottle of wine because of the label. The restaurant looks out at the lake and the mountains, and we choose to sit outside. There are heaters and blankets and wine, we will be plenty warm enough.

The view does not disappoint and even as the light is disappearing you just get a different perspective.

 Our meal was outstanding, the service impeccable, and for the first time our server is from Canada Such a novelty. He is delightful and chats a lot.

Suddenly the view does change, clouds move in very quickly, not just fluffy clouds, but rainy clouds. They hit and they hit hard!!! No wonder people die in the mountains when the weather changes, this just happened over a matter of minutes, the temperature dropped, gusts of wind, and torrential rain.

Still, they lower the blinds so the water cannot get in, but we can still see out, pull the blankets tighter over my knees and turn up the heater. No point in moaning about it, we continue to enjoy our dinner and drinks before retiring to our beautiful room and another amazing night’s sleep.

I have signed us up for a sunrise tour tomorrow – yeah, I know. Dumbass!

20^th September Lake Louise and Lake Moraine

Bloody hell that sleep was AMAZEBALLS! The beds are next level, and you have so many pillows to choose from, you cannot help but sleep like the dead. The happy dead though, not the miserable dead or the undead.

We drag ourselves out of bed and onto the bus. The lovely young man who is driving the bus is wearing his uniform, I hope he has thermals under this because it is cold, and he is not wearing a coat. Stop it mum, I don’t need a coat!

For fucks sake, Jason has made me sick now. Sore throat, headache, grumble.

It is a 25 minute drive to Lake Moraine (The Rockpile Trail Hike Moraine Lake, Banff National Park (morainelakeshuttle.ca)), but it seems that only tour buses are allowed to drive there. Probably a good thing as the road is pretty busy and not that wide. By the time we arrive the rain is back, and we just have to zip up, suck, up and get out there.

I am so glad I opted to swap out my usual running skirt for a pair of long tights, my legs are still cold – but I still have feeling in them. The rest of me is toasty warm.

In the dark we walk our way up the “Rock Pile”. The Rock Pile hike is stated as the number one thing to do, TBH it is not actually a hike. It is a stroll, and some stairs, and takes about 10 minutes, tops. Walking up steps to get a view of the lake and the Valley of the 10 Peaks. The idea this morning is to find a position and watch the sunrise. But, it’s raining people, so the chances of seeing the sunrise are pretty fucking slim. Nevertheless, we hike up, we stand, under a tree, and we wait with everyone else (even though it is raining it is packed).

It becomes pretty clear that the sunrise is happening elsewhere and we want to spend our time exploring. We only have 1.5 hours here so let’s not waste it on a fool’s mission. We “hike” back down the rock pile and decide to walk around the edge of the lake.

It is very similar to Lake Louise in the colour, the lake itself is much smaller but the mountains that loom over it are impressive. If we had more time, I would have loved to have done some of the bigger and more challenging hikes around here (Valley of the Ten Peaks – Wikipedia).

We spend the rest of the time walking around the lake, absolutely awestruck by just how beautiful this place is. I am running out of adjectives to really do it justice. Suffice to say its fucking stunning and I highly recommend you call by if you are in the area.

Time is ticking, its really, really, really cold (snowing off and on) so we head back to the bus. As we walk towards the Rock Pile I see this large white shape. I figured someone had bought a large white blanket to keep them warm as they wait for the sunrise that will never arrive.

But NO. As we get closer, I realise it is a bride and groom, standing halfway down the rockpile with the lake and mountains in the background. And the bride is wearing her wedding dress. Sleeveless! Smiling. Photographer giving instructions. I am extremely impressed, this woman has stamina, I am not sure I would go to such lengths to get these photos, but she was an absolute legend!

I realise what an absolute sook I have been complaining about my cold legs and this chick is out on the rocks, in her wedding dress. I bow down to you good lady, I bow down.

Photos are below, just in case you think I am making shit up to sound cool.

We are on the bus and heading to Lake Louise, our checkout time is 1200pm, which I think is pretty bloody awesome, it gives us more time to explore and not have to stress about checking out. Well done Fairmont, well done.

With hours left before we have to depart, we have a wonderful, filling, and extremely expensive, breakfast and decide to do one last hike before we leave. The weather is not great, thank the lord for yesterday, and we head to the lookout. It is, yet again, one of those occasions where I am thinking WTAF, why is this so hard. Every step is miserable, and I think about leaving Jason to it.

Granted, he has infected me with the dreaded lurgy, but it all just feels much harder than it should. I grumble, internally, tell Jason I will meet him at the top, and eventually make it.

As we hike our way there it starts to snow. It’s pretty damn special, I have to say, the whole landscape goes silent, yes, even the Aussies and Americans go quiet, whilst the flakes fall, and the forest feels magical.

We reach the lookout and take some photos, with the snow falling it looks spectacular… in the back of my mind I am thinking “I don’t want to drive in the fucking snow”!

Checkout, load up our silver chariot, bid farewell to Fairmont Chateau and wish we were staying longer. We are heading to Banff, which we have been told is amazeballs. It’s got big shoes to fill as Lake Louise has stolen my heart, and one kidney so we could afford to stay there.

If you can stay there, do it, you will not regret it. Its spectacular, special, and heartwarming.

ONWARD. To BANFF.