Moraine Lake
Wednesday 12 June, 2024
Moraine Lake from the summit of the Rockpile.
With all-day hikes planned for our first and third days in Banff, I planned a break for our legs on our second day, a canoe trip on Moraine Lake.
Reaching Moraine Lake proved to be more complicated than necessary. The area is considered "backcountry," although my definition of "backcountry" does not really include a restaurant, a gift shop, and a hotel. The road is closed to private vehicles (unless, of course, you are staying at the hotel). You have to take a shuttle, and you can't catch it from the campground or Lake Louise. You have to drive 5 km/3 mi in the wrong direction up to a ski resort and park your car there. Furthermore, you have to have a reservation for the shuttle. The only part of this that was made exceptionally clear by Parks Canada was the needing a reservation part.
So, while the last thing I ever want to do on vacation is spend 17 km/10.5 mi riding a bus, as riding a bus is absolutely the worst part of not being on vacation, that is what we had to do.
While not quite as dramatic as Lake Louise, Moraine Lake was lovely.
But it was cold! Thinking that we were going to be canoeing, I had left my down jacket back in Mather at the ski resort parking lot. And, to protect it from moisture, I had not brought my camera, either, and had to take pictures with my phone. It was quite clear that capsizing a canoe here would likely lead to a Titanic-like hypothermia situation.
But we didn't need to worry about that, because canoe rentals were not open for the season yet. You can see in the photo how there was not yet enough glacial melt to bring the lake level up to the dock.
While considering how to spend our day in this beautiful place, Eric bought some gloves at the gift shop, and I waited in a ridiculously long line to warm up with hot cocoa that wasn't actually even that hot.
Eric observed a well-fed and aggressive Clark's Nutcracker on the patio for the café.
Rather than embarking on yet another ambitious hike, we took it easy did a short but sweet hike called the Rockpile.
Us at Moraine Lake from the Rockpile.
The expansive view from the Rockpile, including the trail below.
We returned to camp, and Eric rigged up our blockhouse shower to a tree. The blockhouse had failen over in a desert windstorm at Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah. We had thought it could still stand on its own with the bent pole, but we should have replaced it.
After so much time and trouble for a shower, I ran out of water with my left leg still unwashed. Eric took a sponge bath in the tent.
On to Johnston Canyon.