The alarm goes off early, very early, this morning. It's about 4:50 a.m. The goal is to make it to the Moraine Lake parking lot before it's full. Then the plan is to enjoy the view of the lake for a while, before setting off on a 6-8h hike towards Sentinel Pass. Don't worry, as after every big day, we'll finish with a great meal in a Canmore pizzeria, accompanied by a little ice cream.
Moraine Lake
Our efforts paid off and we arrived at Moraine Lake at around 5:30 am. We were far from alone, and even if there were still spaces in the parking lot, we shouldn't have left 1 hour later.
For the record, Lac Louise and Lac Moraine are extremely popular spots in the Rockies, and the size of the parking lots is totally inadequate. To avoid people doing anything, once the parking lot is full, Parc Canada asks us to turn back to a gigantic parking lot close to the highway. There, a shuttle bus can take you to Lac Moraine or Lac Louise (8 $ return). The system works quite well, and there are plenty of shuttles. More on this in another article, as we used the shuttle on another day.
For me, Moraine Lake is one of the most beautiful places we've seen in this region. The blue of the lake, with the mountains in the background, the fir trees, in short, it's magical. I can see why it's such a success. Unfortunately, it's like any other tourist spot that's not so pleasant to visit. It's too crowded, people don't respect the rules clearly written on a sign two meters away...
But despite that, the place is worth the detour and I don't regret going. But if anyone has a secret time of year when it's not so crowded, I'd be curious to go back in a quieter situation.
After enjoying the view and the early sunrise, a little complicated to see with the same problem of smoke, it's time to set off for our hike of the day: "Sentinel Pass".
Sentinel Pass
Our hike is divided into two parts. The first part is a classic, gentle climb of around 4 kilometers to reach Larch Valley and Minnestimma Lake. Then a steeper 1 km climb to the top of Sentinel Pass. Not forgetting the return journey, this makes a total of just over 11 kilometers.
The start was along Moraine Lake. We set off into the forest. There weren't many people around, so it was very pleasant. The landscape remained relatively unchanged for a while. Trees, trees and more trees, with a path that climbed in an S-shape until we reached a plateau.
We hadn't seen any wildlife so far, apart from a few small chipmunks and birds. But in this meadow we were clearly entering the territory of a large number of Columbian ground squirrels. We stopped every two minutes or so to observe a new group. They were everywhere. They were really cute.
This part inevitably took a little longer, but we eventually pushed on and the forest became less and less dense. In the distance we spotted a lake with brides and grooms and a photographer. We continued on our way to Lake Minnestimma. It was very beautiful, even with limited visibility due to the smoke.
We had a view of the pass we'd have to climb. And it was going to be pretty tough. But we went anyway. The climb was pretty tough, so we took our time. Once we got to the top, we put on another layer as the wind was blowing hard and the temperature was dropping. We took a lunch break in a small stone circle that gave us a little protection.
With the cold, we didn't linger any longer and started our descent. We passed the squirrel meadow for a second photo opportunity before heading back towards Moraine Lake.
In the end, it took us 5 hours 10 minutes for 12.4 kilometers. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/7258308399
It was a very, very nice hike that I recommend. Moraine Lake is well worth the trip.
Pizza canmore + Ice cream
We take the car back to Canmore. Time to relax at the hotel, and we're back in town for a bite to eat. Tonight it's pizza at "rocket pie pizza". I wasn't expecting much and I was very pleasantly surprised. It was really very good. So yes it was a bit expensive, but for the quality of the pizza, I think it was worth it.
I 100 % recommend %!
It still lacked a dessert, yes, we're greedy. So we went to try out a little ice cream in town. It was our first of the trip, and after wanting to try a first place that was unfortunately closed, we fell back on the "Old School Bus Ice Cream". A great second choice, we were not disappointed. Perfect to finish the meal.
A short digestive walk, during which we came across Canmore's famous rabbits, back to the hotel rounded off the day.
The next day should be quieter. We plan to meet up with Raph to hike Johnston Canyon.
To be continued.
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