Hiking at Moraine Lake

Village and Mountains in the background
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Lake Louise – Moraine Lake

After Jimmy called to bear the bad news that our hiking trip up at Moraine Lake was cancelled I was determined to still make it happen so, I ditched Jimmy and called Jenny up in Lake Louise to see if I can stay up at her place tonight. Thinking I can just wake up for a short drive and do the hike. She welcomed me staying over and so my road trip was still going ahead with me, myself and just I. I didn’t care, I figured I’d be able to meet some people for the hike anyhow, that’s what traveling s all about.

From the Village
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So after work, I went over to Jimmy’s house to hang out and have some dinner like I have been for the last 5 days. Jimmy’s parents are away on Holidays in Cambodia and so Jimmy is required to cook for Grandma. So me being a good friend I’m keeping him company and “Trying” not “Scabbing” his food.

By 10pm, I left Jimmy’s house and sped home, quickly grabbed some clothes, threw them in the back of my car, cranked the music up and away I went on my road trip starting at 11pm at night. Cruising down the highway at 110, I was listening and singing to rock, strumming an imaginary guitar to entertain myself. I pulled into Lake Louise at 1am attempting to locate Saddleback Rd and once I found it, everything seemed more familiar in my mind and I found Jenny’s apartment without a problem.

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I knocked on the door 3 times before Dave answered; I smiled excited to catch up again and shook his hand. Jenny walks out briefly afterwards from her room happy to see me and gave me a hug. I was exhausted, but I couldn’t pass up on an opportunity to have some food, beer and catch up. A couple hours later, I set the alarm bright and early for 7.30am and called it a night.

With only 5 hours of sleep, I woke up feeling enthusiastic for a long hike. I snuck out of the house quietly to not disturb anyone’s sleep and drove down to the village to find the visitors centre. However they weren’t open until 9am so I went to the bakery and bought one croissant with butter and an OJ for breakfast, then later bought another 2 for the hike as well as a couple of bananas. With a little more time to kill I got out my camera and took pictures of the picturesque mountains in the background surrounding the village. It was a total different picture from winter time.

Map around Lake Louise
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Then I came to rest on a bench directly opposite the visitors centre, lingering my eyes at the instance of the door opening. As it open I sprung from my seat and walked in objectively heading straight towards the visitor counter and asked, “What do I need to know for hiking the Sentinel Pass Trail?” I was advised that I need to be hiking in a group of at least 4 or more to avoid any Bear encounters and then handed a trail map with directions on how to get there.

From there I left Lake Louise and drove onto Moraine Lake Rd, following the signs to leading to Moraine Lake. Driving along the paved roads edging along the cliff, I got out my Camera and took pictures of the scenic view along the way. On arrival, I parked my car, and packed by backpack with food and water and off I went.

Driving to Moraine Lake
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I first checked out Moraine Lake as did many other tour groups who were there. Looking at the lake, I was mesmerized by the beauty of it all. The enormity of the mountains stood in the background while a sea of green spruce trees outlined the skirts of the divine turquoise lake which could have easily been mistaken for the sky. Over the summer months the Glaciers melt and the rock flour from the glaciers flow into the lake and when the light is refracted from the water the water appears a milky green and blue colour.

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Following the lake I continued walking along the path leading to the starting point of all hiking trails. There was a sandwich board in the middle of the path to warn hikers to hike in groups of at least four. There was no one there so I waited for a while until saw a few elderly carrying hiking poles walking towards the trail. I asked if I could join them in their hike. With them was a younger couple who were down from Kentucky but originally from Montreal. So from there I found a hiking crew, Pierre, Blanca, Lyn and the younger 2 Gregory and Maren. They planned to hike the Sentinel Pass trail exactly as I did so it all worked out.

From the car
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From there we set out for the hike, the first bit of the hike was moderately strenuous but not difficult. I haven’t hiked for a while but I was really surprised at my ability to keep up. We followed a series of switchbacks through the forest junction with a trail no wider than one metre. Trailing behind one another I had the opportunity getting to know the crew, Pierre and Blanca are a retired couple who now spend their days hiking and doing a lot of outdoor activities, Lyn is a still working as a retirement consultant helping many people plan for retirement whereas Gregory and his girlfriend Maren are down visiting their uncle and aunt (Pierre and Blanca) for a week.

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We continued our hike taking short breaks keeping hydrated and snacking on some trail mix while also taking pictures of the lake as we gained more elevation. At the end of the junction the trail split into two continuing up hill began Larch Valley trail leading up to Sentinel Pass. We took a short break here where we met another elderly couple from San Diego who decided joined us to the base of the Sentinel Pass trail.

We hiked along Larch Valley with a slight slope going uphill, where Lyn was explaining to me how the trail got its name and it’s because the trail feeds through a valley surrounded by Larch trees. A type of tree that has pin like green leaves which first gave the impression that when touched it can be quite prickly but when you brush your hands over it, they’re very supple and harmless and in the fall they all turn yellow which can be quite a beautiful as well.

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Moving along we came out on top of Larch Valley and there it unfolded the spectacular view of the Valley of Ten Peaks,(ten mountain peaks running along the edge of the Lake one after another) if felt like I was in a colosseum of mountains. From there we could see Sentinel Pass, it had a series of steep switch backs leading to the very top of the edge of the valley. There was at most 1 km left to cover but another 200 metres in elevation gain. We rested for a bit to recuperate our strength and began to hike again, it was steep, my heart was pounding faster and my lungs were breathing heavier with each added step to the hike. To make it more difficult the trail was covered in scree causing each step I took to slide a little. But finally the switchbacks got shorter in length as we zigzagged up them and as we approached the final leg of the trail, excited with what was to unfold ahead. It was like each step I took revealed another piece of the picture. Until finally reaching the top, endless mountains followed on descending into yet another divine valley, on the left was a few stalks of protruding rocks standing upright like guards and same so on the right which is the exact reason how “Sentinel Pass” got its name.

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We high fived each other for making it up then sat down on large rocks admiring the view and ate our lunch with the company of some chipmunks trying to scab our food but only to set itself up for a close up photo opportunity. It was time to retreat our hike back down for the return trip, it took another 2 hours of hiking before we were back to the start and from there a bid farewell and best wishes to the crew and we went our separate ways. I went back to Jenny’s house and she took me to see yet another majestic lake called Emerald Lake. The water was so peacefully calm and shimmering that it reflected the surroundings like looking into a mirror.

Still in the car
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At the end of the night, I decided to spend the night again and wake up at 7am to drive back to Calgary to start work at 10am.