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| Bear warnings at Moraine Lake |
Feeling energetic after our early morning hike near Lake Louise, we met up with C. to do some hiking near Moraine Lake, the lesser known but possibly more beautiful lake close to Lake Louise. We chose the Larch Valley hike, often described as the autumn hike, due to the stunning colours of the larch trees. The trail is also well known for the presence of grizzly bears - you are required to hike in groups of 4 or more. Luckily, for our group of 3, the trail was packed with like-minded hikers, so rather than finding a group of 4, we joined a group of about 400! There was definitely no chance of us encountering a bear on this trail. Although such large numbers meant that the trail felt like a highway and wasn't very peaceful, it was so great to see people enjoying the beautiful weather in the mountains.
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| Larch trees |
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| Larch trees |
We hiked up the steep trail before it levelled out into the Larch Valley. Despite the fact that we were a few weeks too late for the peak period of the autumn colours, the trees were still beautiful. The deep yellow of the leaves against the backdrop of the blue sky and the snowcapped mountains was splendid. The Larch Valley trail ended at the bottom of Sentinel Pass where there were several small lakes, Minestimma Lakes. Here, we enjoyed our lunch while sitting on a huge flat rock in the sunshine. However, we didn't get to enjoy our bar of chocolate for it was stolen by a cheeky little chipmunk looking to stock up for the winter.
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| More larch trees and more mountains |
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| A dead tree amongst the colourful larch trees |
Despite the sunshine, it was a bit chilly at the top, so after sufficient admiration, we headed back down the trail to enjoy some time at Moraine Lake. The lake had a much quieter, more peaceful feel to it than Lake Louise and the colour of the water was just spectacular. After some time exploring and admiring the view, we headed back to the hotel, feeling not quite so energetic as we did in the morning. We pressed on into the night with dinner and drinks, fuelling up for another day of hiking.
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| Minestimma Lakes |
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| Minestimma Lakes |
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| Mother and daughter in the mountains |
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| Moraine Lake on the way down |
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| More Moraine Lake |
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| Down level with Moraine Lake |
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| Spot the mother and daughter on top of the rock pile |
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| Mum above Moraine Lake |
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