Take a Hike

I don't think I can put into words the beauty I saw today. Beauty that made 7 1/2 miles of switchbacks, uphill climbs and rocky trails worth the effort. It started out as a fairly ordinary hike up the mountain next to Lake Louise but what it turned into was incredible. 

We hiked up to the first lake. A good mile and a half uphill. Beautiful blue green water surrounded by mountains. At this point I needed every bit of resolve to continue on to the tea house. We made it and the view was breathtaking, but it was also very crowded. So we continued around the second aquamarine, glacier-fed lake to find a place to eat our lunch in peace. This is where the journey began. 

After lunch we had two options: go back the way we came or hike up the side of the mountain to the top and come down the other side and walk back next to Lake Louise. Now who wants to do the same thing twice? That's right - the smart people who like traveling downhill. I, unfortunately am not one of them. So up we go. And up. And up some more. And just a bit more until... ahhh. The most amazing view you can ever imagine. To my left pine-covered mountains sprawling on forever. To my right a birds-eye view of a milky green blue glassy lake, behind me the enormous white and dazzling glacier that feeds that lake. It was breathtaking.

Too bad we had to walk all the way back down. More switchbacks, rocks and mud. the trail finally brought us along the stream of water and silt flowing down from the glacier. We stopped to dip our hands in to the icy water and walked back around the lake, up to our hotel room and collapsed onto the beds. It was worth all the work, but I am going to be so sore tomorrow.