It rained all night long, and we slept in until it stopped about 6:30am. The temperature also plunged overnight and it was in the 40's in the morning and very gray.
We planned a hike. We weren't sure which hike since we knew that some trails were still closed, so after breakfast we walked up to the park visitor center in the little Lake Louise village, about a half mile away.
After chatting with the VC ranger, we decided on the trail from Lake Louise to the Lake Agnes tea house, about 3 miles uphill from the lake. The lake itself was about 3 miles uphill from the visitor center. The ranger suggested walking up the Tramline Trail, but she also mentioned that there was a free shuttle bus. We took the bus.
Arriving at the top we found the parking lots full of RVs, cars and tour buses. Was it going to be like Banff all over again...not quite.
Many folks taking selfies by the lake, which was a beautiful view even though it was gray, cloudy and threatening rain, but we realized that after getting the selfie, they were just going to walk back to their bus with Lake Louise ticked off the daily agenda.
We headed up the trail. It started a bit steeply, but for most of it the grade was not too bad. At first it seemed quite uncrowded but we were moving slowly and soon many groups of hikers were passing us by. This did not look good.
The upper part of the trail got a bit steeper, twistier and wetter...and there was snow on thail. We'd brought our Yak-trax, pull-on mini-crampons, along on the trip, but not on this hike. There were some icy spots where they might have been handy.
At about two-thirds of the way, the view opened up and we could the ranges of mountains on both sides of the valley leading back towards Banff and big peaks with glaciers right in front of us. It was a tremendous view. All that was missing was blue sky.
About a half mile below the tea house, was passed Mirror Lake, actually a small pond, with ice still floating in it. The view behind the pond was of a sheer wall of granite rising high above the pond. A short way further up we could see the waterfall from the outlet of Lake Agnes and the tea house next to the falls.
When we arrived at lake Agnes it was packed with hikers. We saw many pass us going up and few coming down. They were all at the top. It was just about lunch times, so I headed directly to the tea house, a small log building in an alpine style. The porch was filled with people at tables and benches, but it was pretty cold and damp so I went inside. It was also filled. This didn't look promising. But we lucked out.
There was no one in front of me when I walked in and as I went over to look at the menu board, a group at a table of four started to pick up their things. Harry had followed me in and we converged on that table and asked if they were leaving. They were and we grabbed the table. Had we been a couple of minutes later, we probably would have had to wait 30 minutes for a table. People started pouring in and there was always a line waiting inside. At one point I asked our waitress if it was always this busy. She said it was heavier than she had seen it, but she had only been there a week and they were short-staffed.
They have a limited menu, except for tea, for which there were about a dozen types. They also have hot chocolate, but no coffee. They serve four kinds of sandwiches, on fresh-baked bread, made right there, and a couple of dessert offerings, all homemade.
Ellen and I ordered a small pot of Canadian Maple Black tea and a sandwich each, Hummus and cheese for her and tuna and cheese for me. Harry and Sally had hot chocolates and tuna sandwiches. The service was a little slow but we were warm and had a table. But when the food and drink did arrive it was excellent...and we were hungry.
The tea house has no electricity, so is only open in the daylight...not a problem right now with sunrise at 5:30 am and sunset at 9:30 pm. They only have propane for cooking and heating. Everything has to be hauled up the trail and they bake their own bread, cakes and cookies. The staff, all young women, stay up at Lake Agnes for five day shifts in small cabins. Someone returns to Lake Louise everyday with the trash. Interesting seasonal job.
We finished up and handed over our table to another older gentleman who had come in to ask about the service. He quickly grabbed the table and called his companions on his phone to tell them he actually had a table.
The trip back down the trail was a lot quicker than going up, but the hikers were still streaming up. It was mid afternoon. It was still cold and damp, but they seemed to be getting heavier. Later on, when Sally asked at the visitor center, they attributed the crowds to the lack of open trails, most were still closed due to snow, and to the fact that crowds at the park were heavier this year, the 150th anniversary of Canada Parks, all of which have free admission for the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment